March 2018
Fairfax Loudon Bell Choir Fairfax Loudon Students VA: Fairfax-Loudoun Music Fellowship participated in another outstanding fundraiser at the beautiful Lansdowne Resort throughout the month of December. They had a total of 183 students and 12 teachers participating and raised $2000 for MusicLink this year. This is their 8th annual MusicLink fundraiser and they look forward to hosting many more fundraising events in the future in hopes of raising more money for this wonderful foundation. FLMF wants to support the MusicLink Foundation as much as possible in hopes of reaching the community and giving back to those in need who deserve to have the gift of music in their lives! New Business PartnersDaeon Lynch (NY) enjoys a new cello donated by Day Violins (VA). We are pleased to welcome the following new MusicLink business partners to our roster: WA: Artisan Piano Services, Bellevue, provides discounts on tuning for ML students; ProPiano Move moves pianos for MusicLink students at a discounted rate. VA: Day Violins provides discounts on string instruments for MusicLink students. MusicLink Students Perform with DancersPiano Students and Dancers In October, MusicLink piano students, Erika Amarkhuu and Raylen Tang performed with The Bowen McCauley Dance Company at the First Stage in Vienna VA. The dancers choreographed their dances to the student compositions which was a unique experience. Memorial FundsFrom 1964 to 2013, Gerald Christoff composed more than 100 works of classical music. Although he wrote large symphonic, chamber and choral works, including a commissioned oratorio on the life of St. Francis, Gerald was one of the few contemporary composers to write extensively for solo piano. He recorded his piano music on five albums for Legacy Records from 2011 to 2013. A donation of $2,500 in memory of Gerald Christoff was donated by Rosemary Christoff Dolan, Christoff's sister, to assist MusicLink students in New York State with camp scholarships and instruments. Seybourn Draper Seybourn Draper was a natural musician. His greatest love was keyboards but he could play any instrument he picked up. Music was in his DNA, his heart and soul. Seybourn died in early January. He had just turned 57. Seybourn inspired many people with his music and anyone who had the privilege to be around his talent will never forget the experience. His music was beautiful and there was always something a little miraculous about the way it poured out of him. His family is celebrating Seybourn's memory by asking friends if they wish to make a donation to aid the excellent work of the MusicLink Foundation to help provide instruments for students in need, scholarships for students to attend music camps, and lessons for talented young musicians. We remember with love and gratitude long-time MusicLink teacher, Michelle Porter, who passed away on December 10th. Michelle taught many MusicLink students and served as a local coordinator for several years in the south Minneapolis area. She was a great gift to the many students she reached out to share her gift of music and she will be missed by many. Spotlight YOUR Student!Have you seen our student spotlight feature on the MusicLink website and Facebook page? So far we have featured five outstanding MusicLink students. On our home page click on NEWS and then Spotlight Archives to view past student spotlights. If YOU have a student who deserves some time in the spotlight, please email us your nomination at Andrea@musiclinkfoundation.org.
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Hall of Fame RecognitionMusicLink relies on the dedication and generosity of our MusicLink teachers who reach out to deserving students and share their love for music for many years through ongoing lessons. These teachers represent the finest examples of caring music teachers who truly make a difference in the lives of MusicLink students. Teacher Laureate - 20 YearsMusicLink is proud to honor our newest Teacher Laureate, Sally Ritchie of Shiocton, Wisconsin. Sally is only the second MusicLink teacher to reach this 20-year milestone! Growing up, Sally was the oldest of five children in a family that could not afford piano lessons. Her mother taught her how to read music, and with the help of some old music books from her cousins, Sally began learning how to play the piano. In the fourth grade, she joined the school band and began her formal musical education and learned to play several other instruments. Sally didn't have her first real piano lesson until after completing her college degree and getting married. Luckily for us, Sally met Sue Wege, MusicLink Director of Coordinators, while at a music conference in Minnesota over 20 years ago. Sally had already been giving free or reduced lessons for many years to students that had little or no ability to pay but had a great desire to learn and a love of music. Over the last 20 years she has had 24 students in this program and they have received discounts and music from the foundation and the businesses that support it. Many of her former students have gone on to pursue careers in music or have continued with music as a large part of their lives. Just last year one of her MusicLink students graduated from Lawrence University and is now teaching music in an elementary school. Another is working on her graduate degree in collaborative music at UW Madison. Sally said, "I have never regretted a minute of my decision to become a member of MusicLink. It is a wonderful group of caring individuals that have come together to help some very deserving music students. I love the looks on their faces when I give them music that I have gotten from ML! Whether it is new or used, it is precious to them." Sally has been teaching since 1969. In addition to her MusicLink students, Sally teaches 55 students at her local public school. She also accompanies the choirs at the school as well as playing for the elementary music programs. She has a strong instrumental background so she works with the band and choral students for their competitions. In addition to her piano students, Sally also teaches guitar and even started a "rock" group called Black Sand. They played together for many years and performed gigs for about 6 years. And if that doesn't keep her busy enough, she is also the head organist, choir director, and music director at her church. Sally holds a patent on a music education system and started a company called Whirligig LLP which produced music theory games and teaching aids. A few years ago, she entered into a collaboration with Keys to Imagination and Michelle Sisler. They work together on developing new music teaching aids and innovative ways of teaching music theory and inspiring teachers and students. Sally is married with four children: two sons and two daughters and a foreign exchange German daughter who is definitely a part of their family. She has 10 grandchildren in American and one German granddaughter. She said, "the thing I do best is being a Grandmother!" Teachers like Sally Ritchie epitomize the mission of the MusicLink Foundation. We are so glad she found us! Teachers of Distinction with Honors |
Anne Beamer VA - 8 students |
Pauline Eidemiller OR - 6 students |
Ellie Fregni MN - 45 students |
Lydia Holsten MN - 4 students |
Rene Johnson VA - 6 students |
Linda Judiesch IA - 2 students |
Priscilla Keogh ND - 4 students |
Marjorie Lee VA - 6 students |
Helen Marie Plourde MN - 6 students |
Nancy Van Kampan MN - 25 students |
Julie Wegener NY - 9 students |
LeeAnna Xanthos-McQueen VA - 3 students |
Teachers reach the MusicLink Hall of Fame when they have taught for five to nine years. We are honored to recognize 17 teachers for reaching this category - with our thanks for their dedication to teaching deserving students through MusicLink:
Jean Bostrom, MN | Deborah Brady, GA | |
Patricia Cestaro, NY | Nancy Cree, IA | |
Mary Dekkers, GA | Peggy Denler, MN | |
Mitchell Grussing, MN | Sylvia Lange, MN | |
Caroline Langfeld, MN | Kirsten Levorson, MN | |
Peggy McNulty, VA | Susan Munson, MN | |
Rebecca Smith, MN | Margarete Thomsen, MI | |
Annetta Vander Lugt, MI | Arlene Veith, MN | |
Gretchen Wagner, MN |
We added 15 new teachers to the MusicLink Foundation over the past three months, equaling 310 active teachers and 2,791 teachers overall.
CA: Elizabeth Erickson; MA: Dave White; MI: Rosalie Baxter; MN: Zachary Briscoe, Emily Ireland, Caroline Povolny, Sue Ruby, Emily Sasik; NC: Cathy Pesevich Kreplin returning, OR: Terry Taylor; SA: Yan Hei Yiu; VA: Kristin White; WA: Jessica Andrews, GraceAnn Cumming. Note: Ellen Pickell (WA) was inadvertently left off our active teacher list in the Annual Report.
Did You Know?MusicLink offers a School Packet for teachers who have not yet been linked with a student and would like to reach out to a local school to locate a student to teach. It is available on the website (How to Participate, Teacher Info). MusicLink can send materials to state and local coordinators to distribute at conferences to spread the word about the MusicLink Foundation. We want to create a MusicLink alumni association! Get back to us with contact info you may have about alumni of all ages. |