STEP

Dear fellow STEP members,

Less than 12 hours after his performance for us at the D.F. Cook Hall, Mark Fewer wrote this:

Greetings from Montreal - it's hard to believe I'm already back in my studio here. The past week is still vibrating heavily....

Congrats on a great production last night, and for all the efforts you and all put into the Celebrations for year 25. It was a very fun night for all. I can't wait to hear the broadcast of the show, it was such fun.

Again, congratulations. And a big thanks for presenting my mom with those beautiful flowers. She (and I) was really touched. Mark Fewer

What a consummate, professional and truly generous man! Mark did a week of publicity for the STEP program, the Master Class and the concert free of charge.

He is so right to thank "all" for the efforts that made his visit here such a success. Before I fell asleep last night, and it took awhile, I mentally replayed the many ways that our STEP family pulled together to make this such a great success.

I have to start with the students. They all arrived beautifully dressed, many in black and white so they were identifiable as STEP students, enthusiastic and ready to play. Their concert manners couldn't have been better. When they weren't performing, they sat in the front rows listening to Mark, Bill and Jim with rapt attention. If their attention did wander, they sat patiently, not disturbing the people behind them. They played extremely well and I heard many positive comments from the public about their professionalism. We could not ask for better ambassadors for our program. Congratulations to the students. You were all so GOOD.

Thank-you so much to the teachers who were able to attend. You deserved to relax and simply enjoy the show but instead, you helped tune up the students' violins and guide them through their play-in. I saw Julia Bowdring there, Evelyn Osborne, Nancy Case-Oates and Heather Kao. Thanks to you and anyone I may have missed. I am delighted that we can share the concert with those unable to attend, through the magic of radio in the New Year. I'll let you all know when to expect the Musicraft broadcast.

Parents - dear and wonderful parents. Thank-you to Anne Marie Carew and Michelle Ploughman who helped sell tickets and take them in at the door. Thank-you to Alistair Bath and Colette Philips who coordinated the students' play-in and kept everything under control in the instrument room. Thank-you also Alistair for helping liaison with the performers. Thank-you Piotr Trela for taking pictures and helping with some of the heavy work. Thank-you Catherine Lawton and our former administrator, Hsu-Hao, for helping to serve the cake.

THE CAKES: On Friday night Graham Hunt was struck by a car. His parents, our chair Jennifer Budden and her husband Bill Hunt, insisted on following through with their commitment to order 4 large cakes, with the STEP logo, and pick them up at Costco over the weekend, despite being in shock about their son's near fatal accident. I'm happy to report that Graham escaped without serious injury but was kept overnight in hospital as a precaution. In true STEP form, he attended the concert Sunday night with his parents!

Thank-you Kristina Szutor for hosting the event. You did so with such grace and elegance. I'm sure the low-lighting made it difficult to read your notes, although the audience would never know. And you never complained, although you had every right to, about some last minute changes to the program.

Thanks always to Valerie Howe, our volunteer treasurer, for handling the budget for this event, and to Heather Patey, our webmaster, for keeping us all so well informed.

Thanks also to Janet Russell who had the foresight to set up a table to sell STEP fiddle CDs, hand out brochures about our program (that she made herself), and ensure that our partnership with REAL, the city's program that enables students who could not otherwise afford the program, to do so.

To that end, I'd like to remind everyone of the fabulous event Janet has planned to raise money for the REAL STEP scholarship. On Sunday, even if the Santa Claus parade doesn't go ahead, we're all invited, with friends and family, to the Masonic Temple where Stan Pickett and Jane Rutherford will be teaching Newfoundland traditional dances. This is great exercise and great fun if you've not seen them in action before. Hot chocolate, chili and many other treats will be available. The event starts at 4 pm and concludes around 7 pm. It's just $5 at the door.

If you can help Janet with this event, please call her at 334-1054 (to bring cookies or help set up/ clean up). While it's important to get our children practicing at home, take them to their lessons; it's a great bonus if we can keep the program's Big Picture in mind (recruitment, community profile, charitable outreach) and this is a way to do that. Janet has ensured that we'll all have a great time on Sunday doing so.

cheers,

Marie Wadden

Labels: announcements, concerts