We did it again!! We had another successful sale of Used Music on June 14th, and we cleared over $700 for student scholarships and recitals! We held our sale at Calvary Baptist Church and we thank them for all their valued support when our date and venue had to be changed.

The committee of Jean Collins, Joanne Bright and Paul Mason masterminded the planning and layout. Friday helpers were Joanne Bright, Tracy Lai, Paul Mason and Ann Sublett.

Thank you to Saturday helpers Bill Vaisey, Liselotte Jongedijk, Joan O'Mara and son Timothy, Ann Sublett, Jeanette Roberts, Paul Mason and Joanne Bright.

On Saturday, Frank and Lisa Horvat, Jeanette Roberts Newman, Tracy Lai, Leanne Kloppenborg, Joan O’Mara and Bill Vaisey took care of sales and cash and packed remainders. Music donations came in from members and from the community.

Many thanks to members storing music for next year’s sale (23 boxes): Frank Horvat, Leanne Kloppenborg, Mary Mexis Lumsden, Joanne Bright, Joan O’Mara, Ted Parkinson, Paul Mason and Jean Collins.

We hope to be back at St. John’s Norway in 2004 and to welcome you as part of this big CTB event!!

As president of this prestige-ous branch of the ORMTA, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all members and wish you much success in the upcoming teaching year.

To succeed Frank Horvat as president is a daunting task. His enthusiasm, delight in hard work, attention to de-tail, and love of music make him an example to us all. I am counting on his assis-tance as I become more fully acquainted with the duties of the president, and with the teaching scene in Toronto.

Since many of you don’t know me, I would like to include a short biography:

Launching the Beckett school in 1980 fulfilled a long-cherished dream for Director Marjorie Beckett. This distinctive facility offers instruction in music, art, and drama to over 1000 students each year, and its graduates are already distinguishing themselves in Canada and abroad. Marjorie was the youngest pupil ever accepted by Lyell Gustin, the Canadi-an leader of the Leshetizky Association. As a performer she received many awards and has held appointments at several colleges and univer-sities. Her students have won national and interna-tional awards and have advanced to musical careers of their own. In 1988, she was the Kitchener-Waterloo Business Woman of the year.

In conclusion, let me quote Lyell Gustin (1895-1988), "The discipline of music is an ideal preparation for life!" I think you’ll agree this is a good philosophy to adopt.

- Marjorie Beckett.

A wonderful gathering of new and old acquaintances at a Sunday afternoon reception welcomed the President of the National Music Teachers’ Association from the USA. In the evening, delegates attended the Grande Finale Concert of the Festival 400, the International Choral festival held the previous week. MC was "Buddy Whatsisname" and guest con- ductors were Erkki Pojola (Finnish Tapiola choir), and Bobby McFerrin, possessor of an amazing command of vocal dexterity over a 4 octave range, who led the performance of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.

Conservatory Canada’s lunchtime workshop, on their new and well designed theory books was led by Dr. D. Cook. The Royal Conservatory’s workshop on "Stylistic features of Baroque and Classical composers ­ imagination with discretion" was led by Chris Kowal and approached the topic from an examiner’s perspective.

The piano competitions (9 provinces) were of a very high standard. Ontario’s Tarina Kim won the award for best performance of a Canadian work ­ Kuzmenko’s In memoriam to the victims of Chernobyl.

A large group took advantage of the "Whale and Bird" boat trip on the free afternoon in splendid weather. And we saw everything ­ icebergs, 2 kinds of whales quite close, puffins, kittiwakes, murres, and gannets. Spectacular!

The closing Scoff and Soiree banquet gave us a taste of local fiddling, step dancing and singing. Congratulations St. John’s!

Central Toronto Branch maintains its partnership with Sinfonia Toronto for the 2003-04 concert season.

Under the direction of Nurhan Arman, Sinfonia Toronto offers ORMTA members attending their performances discounted prices for groups of 10 or more.

The group will also print a complimentary ad for the ORMTA in their concert programmes.

Performances are at the Glenn Gould Studio on Front St., unless otherwise noted. For more information, please contact Margaret Chasins at 416-499-0403.

This would be a great way to expose your students to chamber music!

FALL DATES:
October 25 "Very Violin" w. Corey Cerovsek, violin
November 22 "Katchaturian Centenary" w. Movses Pogossian, violin
December 7 "A Baroque Christmas" w. Jonathan Tortolano, cello. This concert at Lawrence Park Community Church.

A comprehensive and updated list of all awards available to students of Branch members can be found on the reverse side of the Autumn Tea flyer enclosed in this mailing. Please retain this copy for future reference. All Branch members are encouraged to study the list carefully to see which awards their students can qualify for. Special notice should be given to the Theory Scholarship section, which has been expanded. Please take note of instructions for submissions Successful results from May Theory exams must be submitted no later than September 21. Please send results to Mary Mexis Lumsden, 393 Main Street, Toronto, ON, M4C 4X9

Mark Sunday, September 14 on your calendar. This year’s Autumn Tea promises to be a special event.

The RCM Examinations department will run a power point presentation on the examinations department, their website and what they can do for you. They will also answer any questions.

If possible, please submit your questions in advance so that they may prepare. However, feel free to question them after the presentation.

A short General Meeting will also take place where you, the members can voice your comments, questions or concerns to the executive.

However, one of the more enjoyable aspects of the afternoon is the oppor-tunity to visit with colleagues, meet new members, and have a pleasant start to the new teaching year.

Special thanks to Marjorie Beckett for hosting this event.

The Central Toronto Branch is proud to be hosting a workshop run by Peteris Zarins called "Preparing for History examinations", on Monday, September 29th at the Women’s Art Association. Please note the morning start time of 9:30.

Mr. Zarins holds an ARCT in Piano Performance from the RCM, a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from U of T, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Michigan University. He is a faculty member of both the Community School and the Glenn Gould School at the RCM. He teaches piano, theory and history, and is also active as a clinician.In addition to his teaching activities, Mr. Zarins has performed as soloist and accompanist in Toronto, Ottawa, and in the U.S. He is a member of the Mogensen-Zarins piano duo and the Trio Kalaïs (with flautist Jamie Thompson and saxophonist Bruce Redstone) and has recorded with baritone Paul Berkolds. In 2002 he was appointed Chief Examiner, Training and Development for RCM Examinations and continues to contribute to RCM publications.

The Executive is pleased to welcome 2 new members to the Committee:

Jeannette Roberts (Vice President) recently joined the CTB. She teaches voice and has graciously joined us in the role of vice president.

Richard Summers (Teachers in Concert) has also recently joined the CTB. He is an examiner for the RCM and U of T. He has performed extensively as a duo and ensemble guitarist and operates the Toronto Guitar Institute, where he specializes in teaching classical guitar and popular style vocal accompaniment.

All the positions on the executive are purely voluntary. We are fortunate to have the enthusiasm and dedication of these new members along with the experience of our returning ones!

If any member feels that they would like to participate on the Executive in some capacity, please feel free to contact Marjorie Beckett.

On this note….we need someone to take over the position of treasurer/registrar in the year 2004-5. The job is not as onerous as it sounds. If you are interested in this position, please contact Marjorie Beckett or Mary Mexis Lumsden. Mary will also be happy to go over the exact amount of work and all details of the position, and to answer any questions.

Please consider taking on this most important position!!

Based on the initiative of Past Provincial President, Victoria Warwick, CTB members along with colleagues all across Ontario are welcome to participate under the auspices of ORMTA’s corporate team in this year’s Terry Fox Run on September 14.

Those members who are interested in participating are encouraged to collect pledges that go towards cancer research.

For pledge sheet or the location of a run site near you, please call 416-924-8252 or visit www.terryfoxrun.org.

On the day of the event, take your pledge sheets and collected pledges to the corporate tent at the run site near you and make sure to mention that you are with the ORMTA.

CTB member Maria Case is offering small group sessions in grade III Harmony and History, and has some spaces left in her Annex area studio. Students will take the exam/s in June. Please contact Maria at 416-944-9260 for more information.

CTB member Wendy Potter is expecting her first child in September. All the best Wendy, and may your labour not be TOO long!!

Congratulations to CTB member Chris Vanhaverbeke on the birth of his first child in the spring.

Also, Anna King, our secretary is expecting her first child in September. Hmmm…must be something in the air!!

Mary Mexis has space currently available in her studio for new students. I am located in the Main/Danforth area. Any age/grade piano/theory

Coming in One Month: Newsletter & Member Directories

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