Announcements
2007-08
Suzukithon is February 23rd and just a reminder that forms are due the 9th, if forms are in the mail, please at least let me know how many students are coming from your studios by the 9th. We have exciting options and clinicians at Suzukithon this year. Hope to see as many of your students there as possible.
Tammy Poon
CSSA Chairperson
The Annual General Meeting of the Calgary Suzuki Strings Association will be October 11, 2007 at 7:00pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Crescent Road Chapel, 202 Crescent Road NW.
There will be a brief meeting with the election of the Board and report on the past year followed by refreshments and a performance by VIVA! ARRIBA! We are looking forward to an exciting year and hope that you will be able to join us in our activities.
Tammy Poon
CSSA Chairperson
Welcome to the new CSSA year! Our first event is the Heritage Park Play In. The date is September 22, 2007 at the bandstand, so mark this on your calendar and encourage the students in your studios to come out for the fun. Download the Poster. Each violin student and one parent will get in free so this is a good opportunity to enjoy the park as well. We hope to see you all out there!
Tammy Poon
CSSA Chairperson
These dates are just tentative, subject to change, but here's a look at what is being considered for the new CSSA year:
- Heritage Park Play-in - September 22nd
- AGM - October 11th
- Teen Event - November 2nd and 3rd
- Suzuki Thon - February 23rd
- Spring Festival - April 18th and 19th
To make our proposed season happen, however, we will need volunteers to organize and supervise the various events. Please consider how your children benefit from the CSSA and offer your help. More details will be provided in our next newsletter or contact Tammy Poon, Association Chair, at tlpoon@telusplanet.net
Your Calgary Suzuki Strings Association Executive
2006-07
Non-Competitive Spring String Festival
Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28, 2007. The registration deadline is April 7th. Visit the Spring String Festival page for more information and required paperwork.
Annual General Meeting
Thursday, January 18, 2007.
Heritage Park Play-in
Saturday, September 23rd at 1:00 pm.
2nd Annual Teen Event
The very popular Teen Event is returning! Scheduled for May 26th and 27th, renowned violinists Edmond Agopian and Jeffrey Plotnick and renowned violist John Thompson will be conducting master classes. In addition, there will be a pizza and games night on Friday and an ensemble class on Saturday. A demonstration will follow the ensemble class.
There are a limited number of spaces so please register soon to avoid disappointment. Visit the 2006 Teen Event Page for a Registration Form and details of this great opportunity for teens of all playing levels. Registration is open to CSSA members only.
SuzukiThon
February 25th - visit the Suzukithon Page for more information and a Registration Form. Deadline for Registration is February 4th, 2006.
2005
CSSA Spring Festival
Philip Kashap will again be returning to adjudicate for our 4th Annual CSSA Spring Festival May 6 & 7. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to play in a non-competitive environment and receive feedback on enhancing their performance. The registration deadline is April 8th. Visit the Spring String Festival page for more information.
Our 1st Annual Teen Event
Member students aged 12 and older come and enjoy some fun and learning April 15th and 16th, 2005 with Calgary's celebrated violinist, Cenek Vrba. Visit the
Teen Event page for more information.
2004
Concert at an Art Gallery
Anne Lyon and Carmen Wise are joining Studios to play at the Diana Paul Art Gallery at 314 Fourth Avenue SW at 10:00 am on Saturday, December
4. The event is the opening of a new collection of large, colourful paintings by Katerina Mertikas whose favored subjects are families, children and
pets. She will be exhibiting as well paintings of children playing musical instruments.
The Gallery is also selling one of Katerina's paintings in a silent auction during the day. The proceeds will go to the Scholarship Fund for CSSA for
events such as the Summer Institute. The general public is most welcome. Parking is available directly behind the Gallery at the Hy's Steak House parking lot.
Annual General Meeting
On Wednesday, October 6, 2004.
Heritage Park Play-in
On Saturday, September 25, 2004 from noon - visit Heritage Park Play-In for a write-up
The Kids at the Stampede Road Race
by Mel Lopez
The idea of kids playing classical tunes to weary runners in a road race was for me, at first, rather strange. In the past, I didn't usually associate classical music with athletic competitions. The image that normally conjured up in my mind was that of a gigantic hi-fi playing earsplitting rock anthems to athletes psyching up to "destroy" the opposition. That was, for me, the norm. Until, of course, a bunch of inspired kids showed me otherwise at the Calgary Stampede Road Race.
With violins and violas in tow the kids, all CSSA students, bravely played to runners numbering in the hundreds. Playing mostly Book One tunes, they serenaded runners from the gazelle-like to the gritty not-so-gazelle-like, with sheer confidence and passion. And it worked to perfection. The music put smiles on runners' faces. It cheered them on and helped them run the race with renewed energy.
For their efforts, the young performers were showered with praise. Runners, already exhausted to their limits, clapped and cheered the kids as they passed by. A few even stopped to take pictures of the young performers, which was quite poignant since the kids were brought there to cheer them on. In a letter to the CSSA recently, Glenda Shufelt, Stampede Road Race Coordinator, wrote that "..several runners approached (her) after the race to comment on how the Suzuki students were a 'light' at the end of the tunnel for them as they ran down the final stretch of the race course."
The kids' performance at the Stampede Road Race, to say the least, was a success. The race organizers have once again extended an invitation to the CSSA to perform in the annual race next year.
2002
Master Classes
On Saturday, February 23rd with Cenek Vrba, CPO Concertmaster
Festival on the Bow, Mother's Day Concert, Winter Workshop
Christmas Concerts, Fall Play-In at Princes Island Park, Medicine Hat Fiddle Contest, Winter Workshop