Summer Quarter May 30 - September 4, 2005

Krystal Weatherspoon

Composition Winners Announced

This year’s Composition Contest winners represent a wide variety of instrumentalists.

First Prize goes to violinist Krystal Weatherspoon, a student of Ilia Steinschneider. Her piece, titled “Flawless and Beautiful,” was given a nearly unanimous top score by the judges.

Second Prize is awarded to trumpet student David Young. David studies with Warren Clark. Third Prize goes to Daniel Bridges, guitar student of Harold Nagge. Two honorable mention awards go to Daniel’s brother David Bridges, a cello student of Nancy England; and Calvin Cummings, piano student of Rudolph Nemeth.

To avoid any possible bias, entries in the contest were judged anonymously by seven Music Arts instructors, none of whom had students entered.

Student Guide Money-Saving Tips

This is a good time for a reminder about how to help with the cost of your private lessons.

You’ve paid your bills on time since the beginning of the school year? You’ll be delighted to find a 10% discount on your continuing lessons again this summer!

An even more spectacular way to save? Simply refer new students to any of our Music Arts instructors. For every full quarter the new student completes, you’ll be awarded one free lesson, up to a possible two years! Think about it - refer 12 students and you could earn two years’ worth of completely free lessons! More details in your Student Guide (page 8).

Grants Galore

Thanks to a grant from the Tennesseee Arts Commission, recently a number of Music Arts instructors visited schools in Anderson and Morgan Counties. See the photo gallery below!

Marcay Dickens at Claxton	Doug Farmer at Petros-Joyner

Warren Clark at Coalfield	Ilia Steinschneider at Norwood	Amanda Thomas at Grand Oaks

Thanks also to TAC, our Summer Intern Program has funding. Music Arts students who are “practice teaching” this summer include Matthew Wham, Rebecca Walker, Krystal Weatherspoon, Matthew Vick, Becky Shipp and Emily Backus.

Music Class Offered

This summer, our director, Nancy England, is offering a crash course for students (any age) who need to get more comfortable with written music.

Class will meet for one hour a week for 10 weeks, only $65. We’ll be using staff paper (supplied), doing stuff like clapping and writing rhythmic patterns, recognizing intervals between pitches, determining placement of bar lines, learning to beam eighth notes, how to place note stems and other tricks.

The course is perfect for any student who’s had to fake it when a new piece of music is put before them, or when they’ve had trouble writing out their musical thoughts. Call Ms. England at 865-482-5614 by June 1.

Welcome Our New Faculty Instructor!

With an intensive background in piano and guitar, Dave Coulter started playing cello while in high school and was immediately convinced that this should be his major instrument. He feels that the interesting sound of rock music with string arrangements was very influential in his decision to try the instrument

Coulter began studying in the Music Business program at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1997. He was also studying cello and ended up switching to the school of music after one year, and majored in Commercial Music. There he studied improvisation, jazz theory, history of jazz, and played in the orchestra, as well as in both classical and jazz string quartets.

Coulter is very enthusiastic about cello literature, both jazz and classical. He’s planning separate recitals in both areas this fall, with his graduate jazz recital in November and a classical recital earlier in the semester. He has performed in jazz ensembles that include various combinations of flute, guitar, saxophone, piano, bass and drums. He has also performs in a string trio with fellow UT graduate students Robyn James and Clara Schauman. The trio, known as the JCS String Trio, performs chamber music for weddings and other events in the East Tennessee area.

With his training in both classical and jazz idioms and a solid background in cello technique, Coulter is looking forward to teaching all levels of cello students in Oak Ridge. He believes that good playing technique, particularly a solid understanding of left hand positions, and effective practicing are the key to mastering the instrument. He firmly believes that any student with a love of music and dedication to regular, focused practicing can succeed at the cello.