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Thread: Read the CMSA Newsletter

  1. #1
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    Default Read the CMSA Newsletter

    Just received via email, worth sharing for those of you not members, minus a few FAQs at end as it ran long what is allowed here.

    At their November meeting, the CMSA board discussed the need to focus on you, the CMSA membership. We want to look at what can be done to ensure our organization remains a vibrant, relevant, and downright necessary part of our members' lives. We will also explore ways to attract new members, and once we get them, how to keep them. As such, we now have a Membership Committee made up of Lou Chouinard, Vicky Gleicher, Nancy King, Nora Morgenstern, and Joane Rylander.

    A necessary part of this process began at the November meeting with a review of our membership dues. Current members who have recently renewed probably noticed that the annual dues went up $15—the first increase in about 15 years—and the household membership had a similar increase. We added a student membership for $20. We also eliminated, for now, the lifetime membership. All current lifetime members are grandfathered in, and we will be evaluating whether to bring it back and if so, in what form. As we head toward the 2019 Bloomington/Normal convention, the Membership Committee will be putting their collective genius together to come up with realistic goals and ways to meet them. All ideas will be on the table, including those offered by our members. If you have any ideas and thoughts about how CMSA should be approaching our next 33 years please send them to info@classicalmandolinsociety.org.

    2019 Convention Updates

    We are excited to announce some of the guest artists for the upcoming convention in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois October 9-13. Hint: mark your calendars! Another hint: there are lots of opportunities for classical guitarists! Another hint: there are three, yes three, pre-convention workshop opportunities!

    Sebastiaan de GreberDutch mandolinist Sebastiaan de Grebber will be one of the guest performers and will offer a pre-convention workshop. As well as being a true ambassador of the virtuosic and original Italian mandolin repertoire of the 20th Century, de Grebber’s interest also lies in modern music. By portraying the versatility of the mandolin he wishes to inspire contemporary composers to write for the instrument in different formations. Currently, Sebastiaan is music education and mandolin teacher at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Zwolle, is the concertmaster of ‘Het Consort, is the director of the ‘Kamper Mandoline en Gitaar Orkest’ and gives mandolin solo, duo and Quintet recitals and concerts with Eva van den Dool (piano) and much more. For more information, visit Sebastiaan’s website at http://www.degrebber-mandolin.com/.

    Naeim RahmaniNaeim Rahmani will be a guest performer and will offer a pre-convention workshop on classical guitar. Award winning guitarist Naeim Rahmani was born in Isfahan, Iran and immigrated to the United States as a refugee in 2003. Currently based in Seattle, Naeim completed his Master's degree with Rene Izquierdo at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Naeim has performed throughout the US and internationally and enjoys bringing his music to small community or arthouse spaces where he can interact with the audience. Outside of his performance career Naeim is the director of the Seattle-Isfahan Guitar Project. Naeim is an experienced and popular teacher. He served for several years as the lead classical guitar instructor at the Latino Arts Strings Program in Milwaukee, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging the artistic development of youth in the community. While there he also served as director of the annual guitar festival and competition. Naeim currently teaches at Bellevue College and is a booking coordinator for Aranjuez Artists, Inc. For more information, visit Naeim’s website at https://www.naeimrahmani.com/.

    Robert LunnThis year’s composer-in-residence is composer and guitarist Robert Lunn. He received his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Composition from The Ohio State University in June of 2010. Winner of the 2008 Ruth Friscoe Award for his Sonata for Guitar, Dr. Lunn was a three-time recipient of the Donald and Marilyn Harris Scholarship at Ohio State. He was also awarded the Graduate Teaching Award in Music Theory while teaching at Ohio State. He received a BA from Hope College and a Masters in Music Theory and Composition from The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Lunn has taught at The Ohio State University, Grand Valley State University, Hope College and Lake Michigan College. He is currently a full-time instructor at Lake Michigan College where he teaches music theory, music technology, guitar and directs the jazz band. He studied guitar with Larry Malfroid at Hope College and participated in master classes with Christopher Parkening and Paul O’Dette. Dr. Lunn has released twelve albums that can be found on iTunes, Spotify, as well as many other online shops. For more information, visit http://robertlunn.com.

    Jim BatesReturning as conductor of the EnMasse Orchestra is our own Jim Bates—AND he will offer a pre-convention workshop in conducting! He is Director of Orchestral Activities at Otterbein University in Columbus, OH and serves as an assistant conductor for the Westerville Symphony (OH) and Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestras. Conducting duties in the department include leading the string orchestra and directing the early music ensemble. As a conductor and teacher, Dr. Bates is able to draw on considerable experience as an educator, performer and historian. He has served as president of Kentucky ASTA and as string coordinator for the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. From 2010-2012 Dr. Bates chaired the Coda Bows for America Community Outreach Program for ASTA, and currently serves on the state board of the Ohio String Teacher’s Association. In addition to string education he is very involved with the Classical Mandolin Society of America and period instrument performance. He is on the National Board of Directors of CMSA and chairs their educational initiatives. Dr. Bates is music director of The Early Interval, Columbus’ professional early music performance ensemble and serves on the board of directors for Early Music Columbus. He has degrees from the University of Louisville (B.M.E.), a Masters in double bass performance from Indiana University, where he studied bass with Lawrence Hurst and baroque performance with Stanley Ritchie, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Kentucky. He has two sons, Ethan and Gideon.

    We hope our guitarists are seeing the incentive in attending this year’s convention. Be sure to encourage all of your classical guitar-playing friends (who should really join a mandolin orchestra) and let them know about this fantastic opportunity to study and play with such talented musicians.

    Martha Tyner and Sarah Curtis are excited to be chairing the Bloomington-Normal Host Committee. Watch the CMSA website convention page for more information.

    Convention Hotel Updates

    Our 2019 CMSA Convention will be held at The Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The CMSA rate for the convention (Wednesday, October 9th to Saturday, October 13th) for a standard room is $129 per night (before taxes). Please make your reservations by using this link:

    Marriott Reservations

    If you want to take a few days to vacation in the Land of Lincoln before or after the convention, our negotiated hotel rate is valid three days prior and three days post-convention dates. IMPORTANT: If you plan to take advantage of this, please reserve your room by phone at 1-888-236-2427, as their online reservation system isn’t set up to accommodate booking dates outside our convention dates. Please identify yourself as belonging to the “CMSA Group Block”.

    Please make your booking before September 15th, 2019 in order to receive CMSA’s discounted rate! We have a limited number of rooms available at this discounted rate. These rooms will go quickly once the announcement is made regarding our unique guest performers! We encourage you to make your hotel reservations early. See you in Bloomington-Normal!

    CMSA Fellows Program

    As a reminder, we are requesting nominations from CMSA members for the inaugural class of Fellows, which will be announced at the 2019 convention. The new program honors activities since the founding of CMSA in the late 1980s. There are two paths to Fellows status – service as a CMSA president or co-president (automatically becomes a fellow) or election by the CMSA Board. CMSA members in good standing may submit one or more names in nomination. Your nominees (a) must be living (b) NOT be a current or former CMSA president or co-president (c) contributed substantially to classical mandolin in North America, as described by the criteria listed above. Any individual with at least ten member nominations will be automatically considered by the CMSA Board for Fellow status. Please send your nominations by email to Robert Margo at robert.a.margo@gmail.com by April 15, 2019.

    Updates to the CMSA Website

    The CMSA board has undertaken a significant initiative to collect, catalog, and present CMSA assets, including important board documents, audio and video files, programs from past conventions, and sheet music libraries, among others. An example is the Previous Conventions web page. Here, you will find convention and concert programs, photos, performance and promotional videos and audios, and more. If you see something missing from a previous convention page and happen to have it, please forward the information to webmaster@classicalmandolinsociety.org.

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  3. #2

    Default Re: Read the CMSA Newsletter

    Sigh...I know dues aren't that expensive for everyone, but I've given up all my former organizations now that I'm on a limited income. I think there should be a reduced SENIOR rate, as low as the student rate. I would love to support my musical groups, but cannot afford to.
    "There are two refuges from the miseries of life--music and cats" Albert Schweitzer

  4. #3

    Default Re: Read the CMSA Newsletter

    Quote Originally Posted by violmando View Post
    Sigh...I know dues aren't that expensive for everyone, but I've given up all my former organizations now that I'm on a limited income. I think there should be a reduced SENIOR rate, as low as the student rate. I would love to support my musical groups, but cannot afford to.
    I am trying to find information on the Classical Mandolin Society in Dayton. Do they have their own website? Do I need to join the Classical Mandolin Society of AMerica to access their information? I think the dues are listed as over $50. Any advice for a beginner finding workshops, groups, etc. in Greater Cincinnati or Dayton would be appreciated. I'm not opposed to paying the dues once I know there are some resources around my area. I hope I'm asking the right questions here....
    Thanks!

  5. #4
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    Default Re: Read the CMSA Newsletter

    "I am trying to find information on the Classical Mandolin Society in Dayton. Do they have their own website? Do I need to join the Classical Mandolin Society of AMerica to access their information? I think the dues are listed as over $50. Any advice for a beginner finding workshops, groups, etc. in Greater Cincinnati or Dayton would be appreciated. I'm not opposed to paying the dues once I know there are some resources around my area. I hope I'm asking the right questions here....
    Thanks!"

    There is no "Classical Mandolin Society of Dayton". There was a mandolin orchestra in Dayton but it is not longer active, according to the latest information I have. There is an active quartet -- the Pandini Brothers -- in the general vicinity that you can connect with on Facebook that may be able to help with lessons, etc. CMSA is an national/international organization. Some parts of the website are accessible to the general public but other parts, such as the membership list etc. is accessible only to members, so to gain full access you would have to join. The benefits of membership are fully described on the website.
    Robert A. Margo

  6. #5

    Default Re: Read the CMSA Newsletter

    HI
    The Dayton Mandolin Orchestra is now defunct, sad to say. Several of us still play, in small ensembles or on our own. There was also a Centerville Mandolin Ensemble, for the less advanced set, but I think it's on hiatus https://www.facebook.com/Centerville...7032850812500/
    I am a former music teacher who plays. Feel free to contact me if you'd just like to play duets or something...I'd love to get something started up again!
    "There are two refuges from the miseries of life--music and cats" Albert Schweitzer

  7. #6
    Sheri Mignano Crawford Mandophile's Avatar
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    Default Re: Read the CMSA Newsletter

    The best featured perforamnce at the CMSA convention, Nov. 2018, was embodied in the mandolin students of the San Francisco middle school where Carlo Dean teaches. "La Scuola" is investing in the music curriculum that supports a mandolin-based orchestra. Those students are the hope and future of CMSA! Invest in the kids. CMSA should offer free subscriptions to the newsletter-journal and membership to all music instructors who encourage the mandolin. Every CMSA member should be going into their local schools as a guest, speaking and performing. It is crucial to show youngsters how a beautiful musical instrument can transform lives.

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