MUSIKFEST 2018, PlazaTropical, Monday, August 6, 2018
We all survived the 93-degree HEAT and humidity for another LV-MTNA recital at Musikfest 2018 at PlazaTropical. Mother nature was on our side by stopping the rain that was prevalent previous days…… some Musikfest venues were rained out but not our site. We had a beautiful, but very warm, blistery summer afternoon.
This year we added a new member, our president Kris Fosbenner, to our audition team, since Herb Heffner and his wife Mirta retired and moved out of the area. Vicky Serrao, Kris, and myself auditioned the students from the studios of Stephanie Condelli, Janice Derstine, Arianna Goldina, Susan Kuntz, Cindy Liang, Mary Ann Saylor, Martha Schrempel, Vicky Serrao, Elizabeth Zemanek, and myself. Moravian College, in the resounding acoustics of Peter Hall, was the formal audition site, which started at 10:00am and ended at 1:00pm on July 23, 2018. The students were well prepared and demonstrated exemplary talent to showcase our professional organization. Thank you teachers for encouraging your students to audition for this memorable experience.
For the past few years, Vicky Serrao and her husband Greg absorbed the costs of printing the official programs for the day of the performance on August 6, 2018. I want to again publically thank them both for graciously donating their time and funds to help make to the student’s performance flow in an organized and timely fashion. A much APPRECIATED gift to our organization and a sincere thank you.
This year, our performance included three (3) sets of piano duets, one (1) piano trio, eleven (11) additional piano soloists, thirteen (13) vocalists, and a violin soloist. Students performed a vast array of repertoire including classical, musical theatre, ragtime, and jazz, which brought the audience to a rousing applause. Many audience members commented that it was a wonderful and worthwhile afternoon of great music.
Performing at Musikfest is a huge thrill for the students and for me as the chairperson. I speak for Vicky and Kris when I say, we chose the perfect students to represent our organization at Musikfest 2018 and I publically thank all the teachers for their participation. In closing, I welcome the opportunity to host our chapter again in 2019. Thank you.