Dear Members,
Hope you all had a nice, relaxing spring break!
On April 6th, our own Branch piano evaluation was held at Laura Chang McManus’ studio. Sixteen students from the following studios participated: Deborah Brener, Sheve Hwa Su, Sandely Miller, and Marifel Bolanos. Liz Lucus from Orange County North branch was our evaluator this year. Her comments were positive and encouraging. Thank you so much Laura for inviting her and providing this important evaluation for the students!
We have a month packed with performances ahead of us. Kick off the month of May with a joint concert for both Composers’ Today and Senior recital. This concert will take place in Hoson House at 3PM on May 4th. Thank you to our CT chair, Jennifer Puhl and Senior recital chair, Dr. Xiaole Li, for creating the beautiful programs, organizing and hosting for this event. You may view both programs on our website, in the announcement column. Each high school senior who performs will receive a $50 scholarship. The participating studios are Chi Asada, Nanwon Baik, Vivian Field, Si-Jie Ling, Soo Lee, Xiaole Li, and Jennifer Puhl. Light refreshment will be provided following the program. It will surely be a memorable and special concert for everyone who attends!
The SWV competition, which is dedicated for instrumental students only, will be held on May 10th at 11am at Fields’ Piano. Anna Kim, the SWVC chair, worked very hard to invite students to participate. We have sixteen students enrolled this year; it is almost double that of last year’s enrollment. Thank you for your dedication and effort, Anna! We have three judges for three different instrument groups: Strings, Winds and Voice. Thank you to Anna Choi, Anna Kim and Stephanie Puhl, for securing the judges. Big applause to the teachers who signed up students for the competition: Esther Chen, Anna Choi, Anna Kim, David Pan and Stephanie Puhl.
Also on May 10th at Fields’ Piano, the Branch honor recital is scheduled for 2pm to 5pm, with fifty student performances. I want to thank Dr. Debbie Brener for hosting this event; Sandely Miller for online registration and scheduling.
Last festival of the year, Contemporary Flare, will be held on May 17th at Fields’ Piano. There are Sixty- six students enrolled in this event, which is featuring works solely for the contemporary composers. Laura Chang McManus is working hard on the students’ performing schedule and it will be sent out shortly.
The 2014 SCJBF Region V Festival will take place on Sunday, May 18th, 2014 at Saddleback College. There are 5 students from our branch that advanced to the regional competition. Good luck to them all!
Please plan to attend our last branch meeting of the year on May 21st at Fields’ Piano. The results of the Contemporary Flare will be distributed on that day. We are in the process of inviting fascinating guest artists to perform a recital for us. The details will follow shortly.
Lastly, I want to share a video my friend sent me from You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKezUd_xw20
Hope this humorous video helps you to stay cool!
Cordially,
Melody Lu