Spring Cadenza 2022
Kim Heath Streby, President
Vol. 49, No. 3
Larry MacDonald, Editor
June 2022 – September 2022
FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome once again to all our members. This is the third issue of the newly revamped St. Cecilia newsletter. The 2021-2022 season recently ended with our annual meeting and program on Friday, May 6th. We had a small turnout, but much was accomplished at the meeting, which was followed by a box lunch, election and installation of officers, and a highly enjoyable program.
The new St. Cecilia Board of Directors is as follows:
Officers
- Co-President – Kim Heath Streby
- Co-President – Jean Weamer
- 1st Vice-President for Program – Nancy Dahle
- 2nd Vice-President for Membership –
- Operations Treasurer – Carolyn MacDonald
- Awards Treasurer – Elizabeth Cummins Dean
- Recording Secretary –
- Corresponding Secretary – Alesia Byrd Johnson
Board Directors
- Larry MacDonald (Communication)
- Doris Knoblock
- Bernadette Atanga
- Frankie Hardy
- Glen Holcomb
Would you or another SCS member like to join our Board? Please let us know!
MFMC ANNUAL CONVENTION, 5/19-5/20
The following is an abridged version of the report from our convention delegate, Nancy Dahle:
“I was greeted with smiles and hugs as I arrived at the Somerset Inn in Troy on Thursday. I had the fortunate opportunity to ride with Beatrice Wasserberg, Convention Coordinator; Arlene Anger, MFMC President; and Deborah Freeman, NFMC President; to the Meadowbrook Hall Museum for a tour to kickstart the MFMC 104th Convention.
The next day included a morning-to-evening business meeting. Because our club was to provide the centerpieces for the luncheon and dinner, I was able to enlist the aid of Katie Florian, from the Owosso Musicale, to decorate the tables for both lunch and dinner. Our club also provided a special basket for the fundraising auction.
The agenda included reports from each club in the state that were printed in the Profiles Booklet. Our President, Kim Streby, deserves our thanks for having everything in order for the booklet.
We took time for a memorial service for all of our recently passed members. There were also musical interludes, which included the Birmingham Musicale String Ensemble, and harpist Christa Grix gave a demonstration on the harp on the musical theory of transitioning from classical to jazz chord progressions, which was very informative.
The Gala Banquet on Friday evening was a highlight of the convention, with delicious food followed by superb after-dinner entertainment. The Mack Sisters, a piano duo, played several selections, along with performances by several young award winners, who were outstanding.
I was encouraged by the camaraderie shown throughout the day’s proceedings and greatly impressed with the incredible talent of these young musicians, whose playing was not unlike what I have experienced in our local SCS programs. With all these musicians working and studying, not just in our state but all over, there is certainly hope for the future of the federation.”
REPORT ON PERFORMING MEMBER AUDITIONS
Thank you to all who helped put on the performing member auditions held at Court St. Methodist Church on Sunday, May 15th. In all, seven local musicians performed for two judges, Tom Fortier and Frank Yon. All the auditionees were heartily endorsed as performing members. In order of performance, these seven newly accepted performers are:
- Clayton Stoker, organist. Earlier this year, Clayton won a St. Cecilia college scholarship of $1,000 towards his expenses at Eastern Michigan University, where he will be enrolled this fall as an organ major.
- Janet Walworth, piano
- Andrew Cramer, piano
- William Sutton, tuba, and Ling Lo, piano, as a duo
- Ling Lo, piano (soloist)
- Michael Abbasspour, guitar
- Amanda Rodman, voice
We look forward to hearing all of these musicians on upcoming programs.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE FOR 2022-2023
The upcoming season will begin with a program scheduled for Sunday, October 9th. As the President’s Choice concert, this event has been chosen by our presidents to feature our new members. Hopefully, all those who auditioned on May 15th will be available to perform on this program.
There is going to be a second audition for those who were not able to perform on the May 15th event. The new members will be contacted soon about performing on Oct. 9th. The remaining concert dates for this season are:
- Sunday, November 13, 2022, FIM, 2 PM
- Sunday, December 11, 2022, FIM, 2 PM
- Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, FIM, 2 PM
- Sunday, March 12, 2023, Court St. Methodist, 2 PM
- Sunday, April 2, 2023, (with Junior club), FIM, 2 PM
- Friday, May 5, 2023, FIM, 1:15 PM
All performances will be at 2 PM, except the May program at 1:15 PM. All programs will be held in the MacArthur Recital Hall at the FIM, except the March 12th program, which will be at Court St. United Methodist Church, 225 West Court Street, downtown Flint.
For all performing members not involved in the President’s choice concert scheduled for Oct. 9th: Please look at the list of dates listed above (from November 2022 through May of 2023), and select your first, second, and third preferences of possible performance dates. Put your choices into an email and send them to both Nancy Dahle (dahlediva@hotmail.com) and Larry MacDonald (larmacd@yahoo.com). We will collate your email preferences and put a schedule together. You will get a group email listing the complete schedule. We hope to have this process completed soon.
In addition to this email, there will be flyers and posters listing the entire schedule of events for the 2022-2023 season. These materials will be planned in collaboration with the Graphic Arts Department at Mott Community College. We hope to have these done by early September.
IN MEMORIAM
We have received word about the passing of the following St. Cecilia Society members – Shirley Guerin and Rosemary Bigelow. Here are short informational profiles of each.
- Shirley Guerin (1921-2022) graduated from Flint Central H.S. in 1939 and received a bachelor’s degree in education at Western Michigan and a master’s degree at U of M in Ann Arbor. Shirley was a reading specialist for 22 years, in both the Birmingham and Flint Community schools. She was a long-time volunteer for both the Byrd Competition and SCS tea committees. Sympathy cards may be sent to her daughter, Dr. Nancy Bernthal, 5905 Shaw St., Haslett, MI 48840.
- Rosemary Bigelow (1928-2022) received a degree in Sociology from St. Mary’s College in Indiana. She worked for the Mott Foundation and as a counselor in the Flint Schools. She also coordinated the Head Start program in the Carmen-Ainsworth district and served on many SCS Hospitality and Tea committees. Condolences may be emailed to office@swartzfuneralhomeinc.com. Sympathy cards may be mailed to Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 W. Hill Rd, Flint, MI 48507.
If you know of others that should be listed in our newsletter, please let us know by contacting the Cadenza editor, Larry MacDonald at (810) 767-9418 or larmacd@yahoo.com.
HONOR ROLL: MEN OF ST. CECILIA
Soon after I was given an Honorary membership in St Cecilia, I realized that I have joined a list that includes some very illustrious men. I am proud to be in their company. The following is a listing of the fourteen men that have preceded me, with informational notes on many of them.
- J. Dallas Dort (1866-1925), automotive pioneer and amateur musician, founded the Community Music Association, predecessor of the FIM.
- William W. Norton conducted the Flint Symphony from 1921 until 1949, while Raymond Gerkowski led the FSO from 1949 to 1966, headed the Community Music Association and the K-12 and Flint Junior College music programs.
- William C. Byrd conducted the FSO from 1966 until his death in 1974 and also established the Young Artists Competition that now bears his name.
- Violinist Louis C. Krch came to Flint in 1968 to teach at Mott and was concertmaster of the FSO for many years. Together with Andrea Floden, Louis gave several concerts as fundraisers for the Society.
- Joseph Anderson was a GM V.P. who helped in the planning of the Dort Music Center. The Anderson Room was named in his honor.
- The other male honorary members include L.M. Coppens, Harold C. Dingel (husband of Cleo Dingel), George H. Gardner, Alfred Hamner, Herbert A. Milliken, E. C. Mitchell, C.W. Strong, and finally J. Bert Smith, generous donor to the Byrd Competition.
– L. MacDonald
REMINDER CONCERNING DUES
If you owe dues for 2022-2023, please make a payment ($45) to
St. Cecilia Society
c/o Teresa Lindhurst
1482 Westerrace Dr.
Flint, MI 48532
You may also use PayPal. If you have any questions, you may call or text Teresa at (810) 471-7036 or email her at trlindhurst@mail.com.
PARDON OUR DUST
If you go to www.stceciliaflint.org, you might notice an announcement stating that the website could not be found or that the website is down for maintenance. *drumroll* Our website is getting a facelift! With upcoming renewal of our website, we thought it would be best to give the site a fresh look. The site should be finalized by mid- to late- August.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE ISSUES
We welcome your thoughts and ideas on how to make Cadenza a more viable part of the Society’s ministry to support music in the Flint area.
St. Cecilia Society is a member of the National and Michigan Federation of Music Clubs. For information, contact stceciliaflint@gmail.com
