Dear fellow MTAC-SF members,

This week I have begun my presidential duties and the first thing I want to do is to welcome all of you to the 2011-2012 MTAC season. We have new officers and some new board members as well as some new programs and procedure changes that you will be hearing about over the next few weeks, so please keep your eye out for MTAC emails in the near future.

But there are two events that I want you to know about right away: 1) the MTAC-SF Installation Tea and Potluck on August 28 and, 2) the first student recital on September 18.

INSTALLATION TEA

The purpose of the annual Installation Tea and Potluck is to swear in new board members and officers. The ceremony is extremely short, but very important for passing the responsibilities of running MTAC-SF from one administration to the next. But the annual Tea is much more than that: It's an excellent opportunity for many of the 100-or-so branch members to get together.

One of my goals as president is to build a feeling of community among our members. Attendance at the Installation Tea is a great place to start! Personally, I am hoping to meet every member of our branch before my tenure as president is over. I hope to meet many of you at the Installation Tea and to reconnect with the members that I know. All we ask is that you show up willing to have a good time and perhaps bring a food offering of some kind. Please note that we have a few vegan members, so something for them is particularly appreciated. Here are the particulars:

STUDENT/ADULT RECITAL - SEPTEMBER 18

This year we want to kick-start the season by offering a student and adult recital in September. We are very excited to have the Sherman Clay piano showroom on Mission Street as our recital venue this year! Sherman Clay offers a first-rate concert piano and an elegant performance environment, not to mention a great piano-shopping experience if you get there early! Because the store is open on Sundays, the recitals will all start at 4pm and, depending on the number of performers, may go until 7:30pm. We are planning on one student recital and one adult recital on September 18, each lasting about an hour. For those students who have had lessons over the summer, this is the perfect opportunity to try out their new repertoire well in advance of the Certificate of Merit exams. I know that adult students may need some prodding, but I'm sure that performing for their peers in an environment like Sherman Clay would be an important and meaningful musical experience for them. Please encourage your adult students to sign up!

We've made some changes in the recital application procedure. Now you will be able to submit your applications online and pay online through PayPal. Applications and checks will still be accepted through the mail. It may be another week before the PayPal link is operating, but you will still have plenty of time to submit recital applications before the deadline on September 4. You will find instructions on the MTAC-SF website.

Well, I tried to make this email short and failed miserably! I will add just one more closing message: As your new president, I want to encourage all of you to communicate to me any ideas and concerns you have regarding MTAC-SF. Your talent, creativity and involvement is invaluable to our organization.

Many thanks and I'm looking forward to a productive and inspiring year of music.

Sincerely,

Robert Schwartz,

President MTAC-SF

Newsletter published by MTAC-SF Branch Board of Directors