Catherine Goode studied at the University of Houston and Michigan State University, where she received her Master’s Degree in Performance. Ms. Goode performed this past year with the Kentucky Opera as well as in the Merola Opera Program, where she was named as Young Artist for 2021. One of her career goals is to create roles and commission a song cycle for women composers.

Renée Pape is a soprano who holds a Master’s Degree in Music, Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Houston. She also studied at the Moores School of Music, where she recently performed in Carmina Burana. Ms. Pape is Resident Artist, Opera North and, in 2019, she was named Emerging Artist at Opera in the Ozarks.

Brian Yeakley, currently the director of the Houston opera company
Operativo, also studied at and holds degrees from the University of Houston. Mr. Yeakley has pending contracts for 2021 at both the San Antonio Opera and Opera Saratoga, where recently he showcased his talents(from the ridiculous to the sublime) in performances from Pirates of Penzance and Madama Butterfly.

Elliot Kim, First Place Winner

First Place winner is Elliot Kim, Violinist, who won First Place in the Wilcox Contest in 2018. He has studied violin for 12 years, the last 9 with William Dick of Austin. Among his many awards is acceptance to the National Youth Orchestra of the United States ofAmerica in 2020 and 2021. He is first violinist and founding member of the OPUS String Quartet, sponsored by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. He is also an award-winning pianist. Elliot will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, where he plans to continue his music studies and ensemble participation while focusing on pre-medical course work.

Violinist Laoise Matsumoto, Second Place Winner

Second Place went to Laoise Matsumoto, Violinist, and student of U.T. Professor Sandy Yamamoto. Laoise began her violin studies at the age of three, with Kristi Manno. She has participated in numerous festivals, music camps, and institutes over the years, and has won many awards, including two first place awards and a second place award in the 2020 Great ComposersCompetition, an international online competition. Laoise will enter the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the fall, and will study with Professor Sibbi Bernhardsson. She plans to go on to Masters and Doctoral programs after her undergraduate studies.

Flutist Ella Jones, Third Place Winner

Ella Jones, Flutist, won the Third Place Award. She is a student of Ann Kjerulf Knien, who has given us several winners in the past. Ella has won many honors, including first chair in All-State Band, First Place in the Junior Division of the Austin Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition, and 3rd Place in its Senior Division. She will attend Trinity University in San Antonio in the fall, where she has been invited to play in their wind symphony and orchestra.

Our Fourth and Last Virtual Performance Meeting will be held on Zoom at 10 AM on May 19, 2021. We will hear recorded performances of the winners of the 2020/2021 High School Competition. Remember that this year, due to COVID19, only high school seniors were invited to compete.

Club Members will receive a link to the performance via email. If you are not a member and would like to join the virtual meeting, contact our webmaster.

Program

First Place: Elliot Kim, Violinist

Elliot will perform the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D major by Amadeus Mozart accompanied by  Dr. Park Bogum.

Second Place: Laoise Matsumoto, Violinist

Laoise will perform the first movement of the Concerto No. 4, Op. 31 by Henri Vieuxtemps and La Gitana by Fritz Kreisler accompanied by Betty Lin.

Third Place: Ella Jones, Flutist

Ella will perform the “Sarabande” from the Partita for Flute Solo in A minor by J. S. Bach

Our next Zoom meeting which was originally planned for March 3 is going to happen on March 10 at 10 AM. The problems which plagued the last meeting have been fixed so we are counting on a smoother experience for all. Please join us.

PROGRAM

Three Poems: “End of Winter” by Louise Gluck, “For a New Beginning” by John O’Donohue, and “Spring” by Gerard Manley Hopkins read by Michelle D’Arcy

“Musings” by Melanie Richards, composer/pianist

“Fantaisie for Flute and Piano” by Phillipe Gaubert performed by Pat Yingst, flutist, and Carolyn McColloch, pianist

“Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor” by Frederic Chopin performed by Brian Grothues, pianist

“Soliloquy for Flute, Op 44” by Lowell Liebermann performed by Sheryl Goodnight, flutist

Because of the current weather and power outage situation, we are extending the application due date for the High School Competition to Monday, February 22. As long as your application is postmarked by Monday, February 22, it will be honored. If you have problems or questions email the Competition Chairperson here.

A Special Wednesday Morning Music Club tour has been set up just for us thanks to David Hammond. So don’t miss your chance to take this virtual tour of the new KMFA facility.

To pick up the link for the virtual tour, see the October newsletter Noteworthy in your email inbox or on this website.

After broadcasting from leased space for 52 years, KMFA is getting a new permanent home. They have purchased land adjacent to the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center (RBJ Center) as part of a mixed-use development just east of I-35 on the north shore of Lady Bird Lake. The planned 18,000-square-foot building will open in late 2020, tripling the size of the current KMFA studios and allowing for new amenities including performance and recording spaces.

The redeveloped RBJ Center will open up myriad opportunities for growth and engagement. The new “urban village” will be home to retail, offices, market rate rentals, and affordable housing on its 17.8-acre site.

I deeply regret that we haven’t seen each other in months now. We had such a great beginning in the fall with our luncheon, followed by excellent programs at First Unitarian Church, which seems to work well for us, and at Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church. Then suddenly in March it came to a screeching halt! 

Though we were unable to meet together, the Board has been in contact virtually and has begun discussions about how to proceed this coming fall with the safety of our members and performers being of paramount interest to us. 

First, let me bring you up to date about the decisions the Board has made:

1) Submissions for the Fielder Grant Competition will proceed as in the past. Judging will not occur until spring 2021 which gives us time, should a change in procedure become necessary.

2) Submissions received for programs for the upcoming year have been very few, so the deadline for submission may need to be extended beyond June 15th.

3) Upon the recommendation of the Wilcox, Maurer, Rudd and Putter Committee, all ten high school Seniors who had entered the contest will be given an award of $500 each. These students have worked very diligently and such diligence deserves to be acknowledged and rewarded.

4) The WMMC is making a gift of $1000 each to KMFA and to Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM).

5) The yearbook format may be changed somewhat for next year, but it should be completed around August 1st.

These were decisions the Board felt comfortable making without input from the WMMC membership.

The difficult part of the Board’s job cannot be completed without some input from you. We wonder whether to plan meetings again in the fall, wait until early 2021 to begin, or some other variation. Therefore, we would like for you to help us by answering the following questions. Keep in mind what the church decides about utilizing their meeting space will play a critical role in our decision-making.

1) If we begin in the fall, would you likely attend meetings?

2) If we wait until early 2021 would you be more likely to attend meetings?

3) Would you feel more comfortable waiting until fall of 2021 to begin meeting again?

Our plan is for a WMMC Board member to make personal contact with each of you. We want to know how you’re doing and what you’re doing. Please be thinking about how you would like to see WMMC move forward.

In addition to this report, I cannot express too strongly how important it is for you to pay your dues. The work of the National Federation goes on and we are part of that. We encourage you to retain your membership, whether active or associate, in the WMMC and to remain engaged as a member by sharing your suggestions and thinking with us.

Very truly yours,
Sarah Harriman, WMMC President 2019-2021

Stay Home and Stay Safe