Firstly, let me wish all members a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. We will be happy if our health is good. With that in mind, I’d like to encour-age you to attend the February 8th tea and mini workshop. Dr. Barry Shapiro will discuss chiro-practic postural evaluations and recommendations to eliminate or reduce impen-ding weaknesses commonly found in musicians.

Most of us have taught stu-dents who have developed tendonitis by carrying heavy knapsacks on one shoulder, sitting lopsided at the piano, bringing the shoulders up to the ears producing severe tension and/or "cramming" for an exam by suddenly practising 8 hours a day!

It is hard to conquer these problems, but good chiro-practic advice can help us, as teachers, point the students in the right direction.

At the beginning of this new year I would like to urge members to support our local branch by coming to the workshops, recitals and general meetings.

ORMTA is our professional organization and as private music teachers we should feel proud to belong. I realize there is a lot going on in Toronto and I strongly promote the professional development that is needed for successful teaching. However, please give the Central Toronto Branch the boost it needs.

Come to the winter tea, renew old acquaintances, meet new friends and talk "shop"!

See you there!

-Marjorie Beckett

The Central Toronto Branch would like to welcome the following new members. We hope that we will see them at some of our meetings and workshops.

Please add the following names to your white membership directory:

• Ms. Karen Rymal - Piano, Organ, Vocal
• Ms. Julie Loveless - Piano, Rudiments, Theory (Provisional)
• Ms. Erika Yost - Piano
• Dr. Stephen Satory - Piano and Theory
• Ms. Sandra Lau Martins - Piano
• Mr. William Bush - Voice (Pre-diploma)
• Ms. Kathryn Tremills - Piano (Provisional Active)

Once again, we welcome all our new members and urge them to take advantage of all that Central Toronto has to offer. Please feel free to contact any member of the executive if you have any questions.

The Fall Scholarship Recital was held on November 22nd at the Church of the Transfiguration. Many talented students performed to a large and appreciative crowd. All performances were very polished. This made the task of selecting Scholarship winners for our adjudicator, Jenny Regehr, a challenging one.

Congratulations to the following Scholarship Winners and their teachers & families for a job well done: Jenny Xia and Huixin Feng.

The Fall Recital also featured CTB's celebration of Canada Music Week. Sir Ernest MacMillan Scholarships for outstanding performances of Canadian works were awarded to Isabella Lamb at the senior level and to Serena Voutt and Peter Rotenborg at the junior level. Congratulations!

Thanks go out to our many volunteers for making the Fall Auditions & Recital a success. A Special Thanks goes to our Auditions & Recitals Convenor for doing another spectacular job of organizing.

It's hard to believe, but we are only 3 months away from April and the Branch Auditions & Recital.

The Executive is proud to announce that our adjudicators will be Anita Phillips for the Auditions and Eleanor Gummer for the Recital. Both have a proven track record and we look forward to their helpful suggestions for our students.

Other items that teachers should take note of:
- Please ensure that the timings of the pieces are accurate when you submit your entry form. Since there are so many students who are involved in the Audition process, it is absolutely necessary that we adhere to a strict schedule. Please understand that the adjudicator will stop your students if they go over their allotted time. (Please refer to #5 in Auditions/Recitals Regulations)
- To help us make the administration more efficient, please ensure that you submit only one cheque for fee payments on behalf of all your students.
- And finally, it is a regular gesture on the part of teachers whose students participate in the Auditions to donate their time. If you are able to lend a few hours of your Saturday on either April 17, 24 or May 8, please contact Ford Barker at 416-964-6682.

Central Toronto Branch is proud to award Theory Scholarships for outstanding results from the August 2003 session to Natasha Morrison for attaining 85% in Grade 5 Harmony, 94% in Grade 5 Analysis, and 95% in Grade 5 History. Natasha is a student of Frank Horvat. The branch decided to award Natasha a scholarship for each mark in order to recognize her achievement.

We also congratulate Alice Lam (90%, 3 History), Gwendolyn Lovsted (89%, 3 Harmony), Sarah Bradley (88%, 3 Harmony), and Caitlin McGarry (93%, 4 History)

For more information on the theory scholarships, please refer to the Awards & Scholarships list mailed to you in September. If you need another copy, please visit www.ormtatoronto.org, "Auditions & Recitals" section or contact Marjorie @ 416-927-0220. Successful results from December Theory exams must be submitted no later than April 14. Please send results to Mary Mexis Lumsden, 393 Main St., Toronto, Ont., M4C 4X9

Got those Winter Blues? Come out of the cold and join your colleagues in an afternoon of stimulating conver-sation and musical enlightenment.

On Sunday, February 8, the annual Winter Tea will take place in the home of Marjorie Francoz. All att-ending will be guided through a mini-workshop on chiropractic conducted by Dr. Barry Shapiro.

As Dr. Shapiro says, "Informing and educating teachers will allow them to create changes and generate awareness within their student body in regards to ergonomics and repetitive strain problems commonly occurring in musicians. Identifying an individual’s weakness before it manifests, and improving the dyna-mics which sets-up the problem can limit the degree of future injury and strain."

The workshop reviews anatomy, health and limitations to the nervous system. Posture, repetitive strain and symmetry are also addressed. All individuals attending will receive a gift certificate for a complimentary adjustment. Please feel free to 1 or 2 guests, but remember to inform Marjorie as seating may be limited.

A short meeting will also take place so that, the membership is up to date on branch affairs and events. You are welcome to voice your questions and comments.

For more information, please contact Marjorie Beckett at (416) 927-0220. See you on the 8th!

On Sunday, March 7, some of Central Toronto Branch’s talented members will perform in a concert to help support the Branch’s Scholarship Fund.

The annual Teachers In Concert will be held at the Women’s Art Association.

All members should encourage their students and their families to attend. To make the experience more stimulating for the students, a Review Writing Contest will take place. Click Here to find guidelines in assisting a student to write their review. Students are encouraged to take notes during the concert. Prizes include a Junior Scholarship (12 & under) of $35, and a Senior Scholarship (13 to 19) of $50. Details of submissions will be given at the Concert.

Help in publicity for this event from the General Membership would be much appreciated. If you know of some locales, students or colleagues that might like a flyer, please contact Mary Mexis Lumsden for extra copies.

We are all familiar with improv-isation (or extemporizing, as it used to be called), but very few of us are confident enough to do it ourselves, let alone teach our students.

With that in mind, Central Toronto Branch will hold a workshop by Jack Behrens on Sunday, April 4, discussing improvisation ­ how to do it, how it developed, what are the "rules". Participants are encouraged to bring their own instruments if they are not pianists.

If you know of some locations, students or colleagues that might like a flyer, please contact Mary Mexis Lumsden for extra copies.

If there are any Branch members who have 50+ years of membership within the ORMTA (or other CFMTA affiliated organisations), please advise the Provincial Treasurer, Lorraine Jorden at 705-728-1370 or jjorden@sympatico.ca.

For this extraordinary feat, you will be awarded a special certificate and a life membership to our Association.

Members of the Central Toronto Branch along with their students and families can continue to benefit from a partnership with Sinfonia Toronto.

The highly acclaimed ensemble under the direction of Nurhan Arman have offered ORMTA members discounted prices, when organizing a party of 10 or more, to attend their performances.

All the performances are at the Glenn Gould Studio. For more info, please contact Ms. Chasins at 416-499-0403.

Upcoming Dates:

• February 7, 8PM. "Four centuries of Melody"
• March 6, 8PM. "A breath of fresh air."
• April 3, 8PM. "Spring romance"
• May 8, 8PM. "Mozart forever"

Sinfonia Toronto also offers Young People’s concerts at Lawrence Park Community Church. Phone 416-499-0403 for more information. We thank Sinfonia Toronto for their ongoing support of the ORMTA!

Effective for the 2004/2005 school year, the Executive Committee will be in need of Branch members to fill positions that are to be vacated at the end of this year.

The following are positions that no one has expressed interest in filling at this stage: Auditions and Recitals, Treasurer/Registrar, & Publicity.

Other than these specific roles, anyone from the Branch is welcome to join the Executive in other capacities not mentioned. Even though executive members have a title, they tend to share the workload and help each other out.

You would be joining a dedicated bunch that volunteers their time to ensure that we maintain the quality of our events and a professional appearance in our community.

Think you would like to help out? Please contact Frank Horvat at 416-214-9534.

Of course, we urge you to attend the excellent work-shops presented by Central Toronto Branch. Our next mini workshop will be at the Winter Tea on February 8th.

If you have free time and inclination, the following workshops are being presented in other branches:

February 1: Understanding Aram Khatchaturian’s piano music presented by Dr. Araxie Altounian. For more info contact Marion at 905-831-8678 or Svetla at 905-420-0346

February 7: Sunshine and winter by Ronald Schmoll. For more info: Christiane Ermel (905) 886-3578. Proceeds to scholarship fund.

February 22: Bolton Brampton Caledon’s Teachers in concert recital. For more info: Khiet Lin at (905) 799-1918 AND A Master class with Andrew Markow. For more info, contact Virginia Taylor at 416.742.6429

Website Posting, and to Mary Mexis Lumsden for inclusion in the newsletter.

Change of address, phone number or email? Please contact Mary Mexis Lumsden with those changes.

The branch would like to congratulate Wendy Potter on the birth of her son in September, 2003.

The next Newsletter will be distributed in mid March. Members are welcome to submit announcements regarding professional activities to Frank Horvat for Website Posting, and to Mary Mexis Lumsden for inclusion in the newsletter.

Back to Top