WINTER NEWSLETTER 2013
The Academy Accent Table of Contents 2 3 4 5 6 7 9
A Piano Festival Review Joel Fan Voice & String Workshops Faculty Interview & Bluenote Brainteasers Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Festival Zoosical! A Children’s Concert Student and Faculty News
Upcoming Events 12/10
12/15 12/22-1/3 1/10 1/11 1/17 1/20
1/25 2/21-2/22 3/8 3/21-3/22
MANC night at Ten Thousand Villages, 6:00 – 8:00 pm Shop at Ten Thousand Villages Greensboro and part of your purchases will support The Music Academy. While you shop, enjoy performances from our violin, piano and guitar students! Student Showcase Recitals, 12:30-4:30 pm Winter Break: studios & offices closed The Snowman: A Children’s Concert, 6:00 pm The Snowman: A Children’s Concert, 11:00 am Last Day of Fall Trimester Studios & offices closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. First Day of the Spring Trimester 15th Annual String Festival & Competition 9th Annual Guitar Festival & Competition 5th Annual Voice Festival
Happy Holidays! In this season of thanks we would like to express our gratitude to the many members of our Music Academy family! The work and dedication of our faculty, staff, students, families, volunteers, and donors enable The Music Academy to continue providing
Lessons for Life! If the weather outside is frightful… Announcements of closing will be on The Music Academy’s website, WFMY-2, WGHP-Fox 8, WXII-12, Facebook, and communicated by email. A decision regarding morning classes/lessons will be made by 7:30 AM followed by an update for afternoon classes (if needed) by noon.
2
The Fifth Annual Constance Kotis Piano Festival and Competition The Fifth Annual Constance Kotis Piano Festival and Competition at MANC was a great success! Nearly eighty piano students participated (both MANC and non-MANC, adult and youth) in this year's piano festival and competition, and our guest artist Joel Fan brought endless energy and enthusiasm as he worked with and performed for our students and families. Thank you to all students, families, teachers and volunteers who spent many hours planning, practicing, organizing, and assisting for this event! In case you missed them, here are the results of this year’s piano competition:
And the winners are… ELEMENTARY First place: Claire McDowell (Student of Susannah Steele) Second place: Karissa Sitepu (Student of Susannah Steele) Third place: Eric Wang (Student of Christy Wisuthseriwong) JUNIOR First place: Dale Bates (Student of Aaron Mood) Second place: Melissa Davis (Student of Samee Griffith) Third place: Anna Selzer (Student of Christy Wisuthseriwong) SENIOR First place: Bethany Davis (Student of Samee Griffith) Second place: Noah Woods (Student of Amy Zigler) Third place: Rohini Rajnarayanan (Student of Janice Wells)
Congratulations to all the students who participated for all of their hard work and preparation!
Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC
3
Guest Artist Joel Fan The Music Academy was thrilled to welcome Steinway artist, Joel Fan for our Fifth Annual Constance Kotis Piano Festival and Competition. There will be many intangible returns from this event, as seeds of inspiration were planted in the students who were able to hear Joel play and work with him in the masterclass. Joel Fan's fundraising concert was also a tremendous musical experience, and we'd like to offer a huge thank-you to all who purchased tickets and attended. We raised $12,870 total, including ticket sales, sponsorship, and donations! The entire festival weekend with Joel was filled with great music and energy. He was an energizing presence, and we were so happy and grateful to host an artist of his caliber who has a passion for giving back to the music community!
Our sponsors at Kisco Senior Living hosted a lovely Meet-The-Artist reception following the evening concert
A MANC Family’s Perspective Our family was amazed by Joel Fan's talent and his generosity towards The Music Academy of North Carolina. We had purchased tickets to his evening performance knowing that the proceeds would directly benefit MANC; however we were not familiar with his work. At the afternoon concert for families, we were impressed by his high energy performance and his ability to relate to the audience. Not only did he dazzle the audience with his moving performance, he eagerly answered questions and shared the stories behind the pieces he performed. Our daughter won the opportunity to participate in a masterclass with Mr. Fan. At first she was a little intimidated but he quickly put her at ease and gave thoughtful feedback appropriate for an eight year old. As we left MANC that afternoon, we knew the evening concert would certainly be a treat. Mr. Fan did not disappoint as he performed romantic classics as well as selections from his CD "West of the Sun." After the concert we had the opportunity to enjoy refreshments and mingle with the world class pianist and other music fans. Our weekend was filled with beautiful music and we loved to see the community support The Music Academy. -Diane McDowell
Mr. Fan works with elementary level competition winner, Claire McDowell.
Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC
4
Fall Workshops for Voice and Strings “Voice, Word, and Gesture: Bringing Songs to Life!”
Vibrato Workshop for String Students Dr. Rebecca MacLeod, strings
Dr. Scott MacLeod, voice Scott MacLeod joined us on September 7th and held a workshop and masterclass for our voice students. His focus was on commanding the stage expressing yourself through natural gestures developing an array of facial expressions to tell the story
Dr. Rebecca MacLeod led a violin/viola vibrato workshop at MANC on September 7. Vibrato is an essential string technique, but can be difficult to learn. Dr. MacLeod used games and exercises to develop and refine the workshop participants’ vibrato. Her fun and knowledgeable approach to vibrato was enjoyed by everyone.
All of our students thoroughly enjoyed all that Dr. MacLeod had to share and we look forward to working with him again soon!
Voice Masterclass with Hope Koehler On Sunday, November 24th, soprano Hope Koehler gave a masterclass to 5 MANC voice students and 2 voice students of Burlington teacher, Diana Thompson Brewer. Dr. Koehler is Associate Professor of Voice at West Virginia University and close friend of MANC Voice Faculty, Mittie Douglass. She listened to each voice student and then gave them tools to improve their sound and technique. We thoroughly enjoyed having Hope Koehler here and we look forward to seeing (and hearing!) her in the future!
Thank You Playbill Advertisers! A Cleaner World Carolina Bank Hable & Company Hicks, McDonald, Noecker, LLP Kisco Senior Living Knit Bin Living History Kids Pam Murphy Music For A Great Space Noble Academy
Piedmont Music Center The Greensboro …….Montessori School Well•Spring
Power 2 Give Join our Volunteers!
The Music Academy’s last Power2Give project, “Take a Stand for Music” received full funding in mid-October, Be on the lookout for providing us with the means an upcoming email to purchase 24 new music announcing our new stands! Now our studios and parent volunteer group ensembles will be better led by MANC parent equipped to handle our Debbie Little. growing student population. Thank you to all those who donated to make this project a success!
Look us up on Power2Give.org to find out about our next project to raise money to purchase instruments for our African drumming program!
MANC playbill provided with the generous sponsorship of Quality Printing.
The mission of The Music Academy is to enable students of all ages, interests, abilities, and Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC their inherent talents. backgrounds to discover, develop, realize, and express
5 Q: Do you play any instruments?
Meet Chris Rachal, Recording Engineer
A: I play guitar and sing, but it is more of a thing I do from time to time. Q: What exactly do you do for this job?
Interview and article by MANC piano student, Ellie Little Chris Rachal has been working at The Music Academy since the summer of 2010 as a fill-in for the usual guy while he took the summer off. Since then, he’s become the full time recording engineer and even has his own small studio in the back of the building. It was here that I sat and talked with him about what it is like to record all the talent MANC has to offer. Q: How long have you been in the recording profession? A: There’s kind of a two-part answer to that question. The first part was when I worked in radio for eighteen years and every day I worked in radio I recorded. Usually it was just commercials, so I would record my voice reading the [script] of the commercial. The other part is when I went to recording school, so I could [record] more in a studio, in 1997. I started working for a music store, and that inspired me to put together a home studio. I was able to record some with Mitch Easter, a pretty well known recording artist in the indie rock circles. The big thing on his resume is that he produced the first two R.E.M records.
T A R
K
Z
Y
X B C V
G
X
E
C X V Q S D F
S I
L Q Q D H D F
J
A V I
B R A P H O N E I
A
P
E
C H O
R
D
T
Y A V L
X
O
R
C
R
O
E X B A S S O O N R C N
K
Z
M
T T A M B O U R I
R N Z H A R P S I I
T R U M P E T
N F V U W Z
D K J
C J
I
N E C
U
F
B
V U S A X O P H O N E N
T
V
O
I
C C O
L
O
N
O Z U A P C S O F L U T
O B Y B V K P I
E
A
E
L T I
M P A N I
A Y P T T
M
B
A
T A R
Z
E
B
L O B C
Q
L
O
E B A S S W C
F
U
D R U M X C E L O D O U B L BASSOON CELLO CLARINET
M A R I
A G U I
FLUTE
SAXOPHONE
TRUMPET
GUITAR
SITAR
TUBA
HARPSICHORD TAMBOURINE
Q: Do you have a favorite instrument to record? A: No, not really, I like recording singers a lot. Genre wise I enjoy recording pop music. I’ve never really thought about it that much, I just try to get the best recording I can with which situation I’m in. Q: Do you have any particular stories from working at The Music Academy? A: One thing that was incredible was recording Christina Lowder playing the vibraphone and singing at the same time. That was awesome and really challenging because there was music in front of her, so I couldn’t put a microphone up too close to her mouth without it getting in the way of the music or making it difficult for her to play. That was great and a lot of fun. The best thing though is just getting a chance to work around artists around here, they just have such a good vibe about them, I enjoy the people a lot.
VIBRAPHONE
DOUBLE BASS MARIMBA
TIMPANI
VIOLA
DRUM
TROMBONE
VIOLIN
PICCOLO
A: I record the recitals and make all the CD’s for the students, but I also work with faculty. If they have a project the want to record I do several here. Just recently, I recorded Christy, the Dean of Faculty, playing some piano pieces for her grandmother. Sometimes I just record anyone off the street, who isn’t associated with anyone here. I also record students who need pieces for a resume or audition.
Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC
6
Fifth Annual Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Festival On Saturday, November 2nd, the Fifth Annual Woodwind, Brass,.and Percussion Festival brought together musicians and educators from throughout Guilford, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. The focus of this year's festival was student preparation for the upcoming AllCounty Band auditions. Offerings included classes led by faculty and guest artists on sight-reading, scales, drumming, and mock-auditions. The faculty recital featured performances by faculty members on flute, piccolo, oboe and saxophone. A flute trio recital was presented by Peter and Lissie Shanahan-- current MANC faculty-and guest artist Dr. Laura Stevens. Local band directors participated in a session led by guest artist Rodney Workman-- a very fine band director from Davidson County-- on creative ideas for developing a band program. Thank you to all of those involved for a highly successful festival! - Peter Shanahan, Artistic Director of the Woodwind, Brass, and Percussion Festival
The Accelerated Program Fall 2013 Events Musicians’ Bootcamp On Saturday, October 5th, Drs. Susan Fancher and Amy Zigler led sessions with tips on making practice more effective and efficient, as well as understanding performance anxiety, including ideas on how to better focus and handle nerves during performance.
Music and the Brain: with Dr. Paul Laurienti On Saturday, October 19th, Dr. Paul Laurienti, professor of Radiology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine as well as the Director of the Laboratory for Complex Brain, presented a view of the brain as a connected network by focusing on examples of how brain networks are activated when people listen to music.
Guitar Masterclass & Concert Classical guitarist Mac Nelson joined us at The Music Academy on Saturday, November 23rd for a masterclass and concert. Three students had the opportunity to perform and work with Mac in a masterclass setting. Later in the afternoon Mac presented a solo guitar program including works by Villa-Lobos, Barrios Mangoré, Moreno Tórroba, and J.S. Bach. We thank Mac for sharing his talents and experience with us and hope he will visit us again!
Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC
7
Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC
8
Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC Lier, MANC parent. Thank you, Jacqui! Zoosical photos by Jacqui Van
9
Student News
Save the Date!
From the voice studio of Stephanie Foley Davis: Jasmine Ismail performed the roles of the Factory Worker and A Woman of Paris in Les Misérables with the Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance. She was also chosen to participate in the prestigious Honors Chorus this year, which performed at the NCMEA conference in Winston-Salem.
Our most recent Adult Student recital and reception was held on Saturday, Oct. 19. Student performers included:
“The Snowman” January 10-11
Claire Kaiser made the Junior Olympics Team in Volleyball. Claire attends St. Pius Catholic School. Clayr Kroenke received first runner up for the 2014 Carnegie Hall Honors Choir. From the percussion studio of Christina Lowder: Nathan Clemmer and Nick Dobson, were both selected for the Greensboro Youth Symphony Orchestra for the 2013-2014 season.
David McDonald, piano Art Harron, voice Dick Kennett, piano Bob Carter, saxophone Scott Robertson, voice Kate Larson, piano Sabine Ford, voice Lisa Upper, voice The Recorder Consort: David McDonald, Sabine Ford, and Jane Whichard Congrats to all our performers!
th
15 Annual String Festival & Competition February 21-22
Faculty and Friends Showcase Concert Faculty and friends of MANC performed in a showcase recital to raise money for student scholarships on Sunday, September 29th. With performances on piano, voice, guitar, viola, clarinet, and saxophone, we raised $323 in ticket sales to benefit our student scholarship fund!
Adult Student Recital
9th Annual Guitar Festival and Competition March 8
5th Annual Vocal Festival March 21-22 Fall 2013 • The Music Academy of North Carolina • Greensboro, NC
Lessons for Life Society Thank you to the members of the Lessons for Life Society for your generosity to The Music Academy. Interested in joining? Contact Laura Holley at 379.8748, x103 or
[email protected] Abbotswood at Irving Park Richard R. Allen The Boles Family Drs. Holly Chambers & Richard Steedle Sabine and Robert Ford Susan McMullen & Bob Gingher Heritage Greens Susie and Rasmus Fenger Dr. & Mrs. James Hochrein Emaline Holley Laura & David Holley Kisco Senior Living Connie Kotis Kenton & Page Kreager Ellen & Bill Linton Avery Lloyd Virginia & Michael Lombardo Mother Murphy’s Laboratories Bill & Patty McIvor Robin Morgan Pamela Murphy Mittie Kay Smith B.J. Williams Jane & Ernest Whichard Kelly & Doug Wright
