08 July 2013
Dear fellow accompanists and Guild members,
Although it has been a while since the last Newsletter was sent to members, the Accompanists’ Guild committee has been kept busy, continuing to promote the benefits of the Association and always aiming to satisfy members’ interests.
As announced earlier this year, we are presenting our first Master Class for Young Accompanists with violinist Stephen Chin, the organisation of which has been the main focus of our recent meetings. The application form for participation was of course sent to everyone some months ago. Now, we would like to invite all accompanists to attend this event taking place on Saturday 3rd August at 3:00pm, in the Music Teachers’ Association of Queensland auditorium, Taringa. We strongly ask you to make an effort to come and support not only the young “apprentice” pianists who will be performing a very attractive repertoire with our Guest Teacher, but also the activities that the Guild organises for your benefit.
Another important date coming up is the Annual General Meeting which this year has been set for Sunday 25 August – a little earlier than last year. Please make a note of this date in your diaries now, and again endeavour to be there! It is one of the few opportunities when members can be together, and with a special guest speaker to entertain us, it will be an enjoyable occasion. Annual membership fees also need to be paid before this date. All the information will be mailed to you soon.
Following on from the promotional posters sent to a number of Queensland schools last year, we have recently placed an advertisement for the Guild in the printed programme of the Queensland Vocal Competition held in May. This will surely be of benefit to singers looking for accompanists in performance situations, and we will continue placing this advertisement in future years.
Please continue to check the Guild website regularly. It is attractively maintained (with a link to our Facebook page) by Kathy Sander, and contains the latest information on various issues concerning accompanists, as well as members’ profiles. Currently, young accompanist Alex Raineri is featured. If you are interested in being represented on the site, please contact Kathy!
Finally, some interesting international news: good to hear that well-known accompanist Graham Johnson has been awarded the Wigmore Hall Medal in recognition of his “unstinting championing of song and his extraordinary achievements on the concert platform and in recordings”. Graham Johnson’s discography includes the complete songs of Schubert and Schumann. Let’s all be inspired by his accomplishments!
Looking forward to welcoming you to our events soon,
Regis Danillon
President
Accompanists’ Guild of Queensland
——————————————————