Summer Quarter June 2 - August 31, 2003

Winners of Note!

First prize winner in the 2003 Composition Contest is Jessie Pounds, cello student of Nancy England. Jessie wrote a piece for flute, which gathered many compliments from the judges for being quite fresh and interesting, an appealing tune with interesting rhythms.

Second prize goes to Kirk Patterson, Rudolph Nemeth’s piano student, for an ambitious piano solo.

Third Prize is awarded to Matthew Wham, a piano student of Edward Pierce, for a piano piece with “neat rhythms” and a “catchy tune.”

More Winners

Congratulations (and free lessons!) to the winners of Spring Quarter essay contest!

First Prize, a full quarter of free lessons, goes to Kim Lloyd, who wrote that the sacrifice of driving 45 minutes each way to fiddle lessons with Shannon Hamblen was worth it, and how the lessons were inspirational to her son.

Second Prize, 6 free lessons, went to Diane Dykas, whose daughters Jana and Jaris are piano students of Rudolph Nemeth, and who also won the top prizes in the Student Essay contest, worth $50 and $30! Third Prize, 4 free lessons, was awarded to Julie Colburn, whose daughter studies piano with Edward Pierce.

Fourth Prize tied between two entries, and the judges decided to award both 2 free lessons.

One was from Marcella Russell, whose son studies piano with Edward Pierce and daughter studies voice with Lisa Griggs; and the other from Kay Autrey, whose son studies cello with Li Ting Sankey.

Odd Sense?

You’ll notice that your monthly billing option no longer has numbers like “$33.67.” We’ve revamped a small part of our billing system to eliminate the “odd cents” that often occurs when dividing quarterly payments into three equal monthly payments (except where an earned Discount might be fractionally lost). But by the end of the quarter, you won’t be paying any more or any less. Do you prefer to have it rounded off? Please let us know what you think!

Guitar instructor joins Music Arts

We’re really pleased to announce that Steven Ward has joined our faculty.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, together with a Master’s degree in Counseling, Ward is well experienced in teaching. He studied piano for many years, giving him a good background in the structure of music.

Ward started playing the guitar in his teens. He reports that the song which inspired him was "House of the Rising Sun," and, without guidance from an instructor, it took him weeks to learn the piece by ear. He admits he had to listen to it many times in order to get all the notes.

After that experience, he started picking up a larger repertory, all of it by ear. He reports that John Denver’s music was a big influence on his playing and his enthusiasm for guitar.

Like many teenage would-be guitarists, Ward admits to having been impatient with guitar instruction. "After my first lesson I was really frustrated," he reports. "I wanted to play, but it felt like the teacher spent all our time showing me the names of the strings. I didn’t care if that was an ‘e’ string! I just wanted to play!"

He came to realize that if you want to be a great performer, you have to begin with basics. This has shaped his approach to teaching. "In addition to picking out tunes, learning chord progressions is very important. I can sympathize with young people who want to jump ahead to the ‘fun’ stuff," he says, adding that he does his best to shape the instruction around the student’s main goals and interests.

Emphasizing that he wants to focus his teaching on beginners, he says "Yes, you really do have to know what an ‘e’ string is, but from there, you can learn finger picking, strumming, rhythm. Learning chord progressions is a very basic thing, but it’s also very rewarding when you can start filling out a song with harmony."

Ward continues, "When I have a beginning student, I like to think back to when I was learning. I can give students some information that can shorten the time it might take them to learn, certainly shorter than it took me!"

Smiling broadly, Ward says "I like beginners. Often they don’t know what they want, other than to be a rock star. I tell them that they can have that goal, but first they have to learn at least the basics."

He feels that the style of music is secondary to learning the basics. “Once you learn the fundamentals, you can head in any direction you want," he points out. "Various styles all have the same basic needs. For example, Chords. We can start with that, and when that comes easily, I can show students how to transpose the music from one key to another."

Ward’s specialty includes many styles, including Folk, Country, Gospel and Blues. He’s written a number of songs in all those styles, and will gladly help his students compose their own pieces.

Ward has recently taught at an "after school" school on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Knoxville, called Lady Ladd’s, a place for youngsters to come after school and learn a variety of things, such as computer skills, drums, karate or keyboard . According to the director, Mrs. Andrews, Ward was a well-liked teacher who got along excellently with a big variety of students and their needs and problems.

Discover Organ This Summer

If you can play a Clementi Sonata or Bach Invention, you might be interested in the “Pipe Organ Encounter” on June 15 through 21 at UT.

Sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, it’s a week-long event designed to introduce students ages thirteen to nineteen to the world of the pipe organ. Previous organ experience is not necessary.

Registration fee is $325 and covers tuition, daily private and group lessons, materials, local transportation, room and board at UT and lots more. If you’re interested, call Wanda Parks at 865-482-6489.