On November 5th, our sensational Will Gannon was awarded First Place for the 2nd year in a row in the Senior Category (15-18) State Division of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Young Artists Competition! This is quite a feat. Will performed a 30 -minute program of great historical sweep and complexity. He will now go on to the West Central Division of the competition which encompasses 8 states. Last year, Will was awarded Alternate in this Division (also quite a feat) placing him in the top 14 in the country. Should Will win 1st Prize in the West Central Division, he will be 1 of 7 national finalists to compete in Reno, Nevada at the MTNA National Convention. We will keep our fingers crossed! Jo Anne and I have been wanting to visit Reno!
In the same competition - but at the Junior Level (11-14) - Andre Peck and Gaia Daniel were awarded Honorable Mention. These two young artists are magnificently gifted and talented and are on a meteoric rise. We expect great things from both of them in the near future.
Last but not least, our beloved Kate Hibbs has added two more major prizes to her multiple triumphs on the International Children's Video Competition Circuit. She will be performing at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on her way to Singapore and shortly after arrival, will be performing at Singapore's Chinese Cultural Center. As many of you know, Kate's family is moving to Singapore for her father's work in the agricultural business. It is a temporary position and we have the highest hope for their return after about a 3 year stint. It will leave a terrible hole in our roster - both artistic and personal. It is an especially acute heartache for Jo Anne as she and Kate have a very special and profound teacher/pupil relationship that has produced such incredible results. But Kate has been able to join the studio of Albert Tiu, the internationally recognized top teacher at the Singapore Conservatory of Music. We trust that her skyrocketing development will continue unabated.
Yours in Music -
Joe & Jo Anne
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