Annual Fall Conference 2024
Minutes
District VI
Texas Federation of Music Clubs
November 16, 2024 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Austin
President Janie Keys called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. with the following members present: Lois Armor, Brett Bachus, Sue Bachus, Huiyoung Chun, Johnana Clark (by zoom), George Edwards, Marcia Edwards, Judy Gorrell, Mike Gorrell (by phone), Yulia Hanna, John Isaacks, Virginia Kniesner, Sherri Stricker and Angela Smith.
Janie introduced herself in her new capacity as District VI President, replacing Virginia Kniesner who resigned due to health problems.
The group sang “America” led by Sherri Stricker.
Sue Bachus, President of Opus 64 Club, welcomed everyone to the meeting. She offered sincere thanks to St. Andrews Presbyterian Church for fitting us into their busy schedule and for use of their meeting room and sanctuary. She expressed appreciation for the 50% discount for use of their facilities. Lois Armor, President of Etude Music Club, responded and announced that next year’s meeting will be in San Antonio.
The Minutes of the October 2023 meeting were approved as distributed, with one minor addition: Sue Bachus, President of Opus 64 Club, was added to the list of Club reports.
Treasurer John Isaacks presented the proposed 24-25 budget. He noted that there is a shortage of approximately $200 to cover the cost for the District VI web site. Judy Gorrell made a motion to use the dividends from our CD which renews in September toward the cost of the web site and divide any additional need between the District VI Clubs. Motion was seconded and unanimously passed. (Treasurer’s reports, Appendix A)
Judy Gorrell moved to Accept the Budget as presented. Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
Lois Armor brought forth the subject of the need to appoint someone to fill the position of 1st VP vacated with the ascension of Janie Keys to President. She moved that Marcia Edwards be appointed to the 1st VP position for the remainder of the term. Motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
The minutes of the Executive Board meeting held November 6, 2024 were reviewed and approved as presented.
OFFICER REPORTS:
President Janie Keys gave a brief report of District VI responsibilities for the NFMC Convention being held in Austin in June 2025. One need is for exhibitors and presenters. There were several attendees who voiced interest and requested more information.
2nd VP Judy Gorrell reported on her activities (Appendix B)
CLUB REPORTS:
Reports were given by the following (Appendix C):
Judy Gorrell, Arpeggio Festival Music Club Sherri Stricker, Crownridge Music Club Lois Armor, Etude Music Club of San Antonio Janie Keys, Music Club Austin Johnana Clark, New Braunfels Music Study Sue Bachus, Opus 64 Music Teacher Club Julia Klueva, Russian Ukrainian Overtones
Memorial Service: Angela Smith of Music Club Austin recognized Katharine L. Parmelee Race and Carol Bann Koock, members of their club who have passed away since our last meeting.
Marcia Edwards requested Clubs send photos for our Web page.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:45 a.m. for a musical interlude in the sanctuary. Brett Bachus and his student, Krithik Tenneti, played selected duets from Miniatures, 46 Piano Duets for Student and Teacher by Leopold Godowsky. Also, singers from A Cappella Unlimited, a chapter of Sweet Adelines, performed for us a variety of music, including a Christmas piece.
Lois Armor, Recording Secretary
APPENDIX A. Treasurer’s Reports
Budget Report of the Treasurer of the TFMC District VI for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025
Income 2024 - 2025 Predicted 2024 – 2025 Actual
Member Clubs Annual Club Dues ($20.00 x 8) $160.00 $160.00
Fall Meeting Host Fall Meeting Registration Split $77.50 $75.00 Spring Meeting Host TFMC. Spring Meeting Registration Split $71.25 $ 0.00 TFMC Pro-Rata Rebate 2024-2025 $318.08 $293.00
Donations Web page $224.67 $224.67 Donations Unplanned Fall Meeting Expense $50.00 $50.00
Total Income $851.50 $752.67
Expenses
Administration. Unplanned/Miscellaneous $100.00 $ 00.00
Web Page Yearly Fees Page / Domain $224.67 $224.67
President President Expense Allowance $250.00 $250.00
IPFAC (Opera in the Ozarks) Annual Membership $100.00 $100.00 IPFAC (Opera in the Ozarks) Donation $50.00 $50.00 Festival Chairs Pro-Rata Awards,'24-'25, 4 Chairs $120.00 $120.00 Fall Meeting Host Venue Allowance $50.00 $00.00 Spring Meeting Host Venue Allowance $50.00 $50.00 Administration Excess Fall Meeting Expense $50.00 $50.00
Total Expenses $994.67 $844.67
Surplus / Deficit -$143.17 -$92.00
Proposed Budget of the Treasurer of the TFMC District VI for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025
Income 2024 – 2025 Predicted 2024 – 2025 Actual
Member Clubs Annual Club Dues ($20.00 x 8) $ 160.00
Fall Meeting Host Fall Meeting Registration Split $ 77.50 Spring Meeting Host Spring Meeting Registration Split $ 71.25 TFMC Pro-Rata Rebate 2024-2025 $ 318.08
Donations Web Page $ 224.67
Total Income $ 851.50 $ —
Expenses
Administration Unplanned/Miscellaneous $ 100.00
Web Page Yearly Fees Page / Domain $ 224.67
President President Expense Allowance $ 250.00
IPFAC (Opera in the Ozarks) Annual Membership $ 100.00 IPFAC (Opera in the Ozarks) Donation $ 50.00 Festival Chairs Pro-Rata Awards, 24-25, 4 Chairs $ 120.00 Fall Meeting Host Venue Allowance $ 50.00 Spring Meeting Host Venue Allowance $ 50.00
Total Expenses $ 944.67 $ —
CDs:
RBFCU $5,000.00, 35 Month @4.36, Matures 15-Apr-2026
SSFCU $1,061.00 15, Month @5.03, Matures 3-Sep-2025
APPENDIX B. Report from District VI 2nd Vice President Judy Gorrell
First some news from NFMC -
The new Festival Bulletin is out and unfortunately has many mistakes! There are 7 pages of corrections. Teachers must check these corrections before assigning their students pieces for judging. There is a link to the Bulletin Corrections on the homepage of Vivace.
There is a new Festival category for students to enter called Popular Piano. You can find it on page 41. This category was put in the Bulletin to hopefully increase participation in our Festivals because students do not have to memorize their 2 pieces. A student picks 2 pieces from the same level, and they can stay in the same level for 3 years if they need to. The Level 1 pieces of this category seem to be at the 2nd Level of the Piano Adventures series. FYI, participation in Festivals is down. Back in 2016 we had 99,220 participants nationwide. In 2024, we had 69,621. These statistics are all available in the latest Junior Keynotes magazine.
We want to encourage our students to apply for the NFMC scholarships. The applications fee is $20 or less, and the deadlines for entries for most scholarships is either March 1 or May 1 each year.
Now for some District VI News -
Back in January, The Texas State University Music Department announced that they would no longer let large groups rent the Music Building for Festivals or for the All-State event in May. Texas State is building a new Music Building and the old Music Building is crumbling and requiring a lot of maintenance. District VI and the All-State Festivals have been holding events at Texas State University since 1947. I started looking for a new venue fore the 6-1 Festival in June. I was fortunate to find that the Austin Community College Highland Campus was available and had enough rooms! Since 90% of District 6-1 has students from the Austin area, I decided it was time for the whole Festival to stay in Austin and that I should retire as the Chair. I notified Jennifer Key and she helped find a new chair for 6-1, Dr. Huiyoung Chun from Austin. I enjoyed being the District 6-1 chair for 9 years. I will now have more time to help my husband Mike with the District 6-3 Festival.
Best wishes to all of you for successful Festivals this year in District VI!
APPENDIX C. Club Reports
Arpeggio Festival Music Club, President Judy Gorrell and District 6-3 Festival Chair Mike Gorrell
The Arpeggio Festival Music Club in San Antonio will host the annual TFMC District 6-3 Festival. It will be held at Arpeggio Music Academy on Saturday, January 25, 2025 in San Antonio. There will be 7 teachers participating this year. With the realignment of District 6-1, two of the 6-1 teachers—Mary Wittrup from Canyon Lake and Juliana Michie from Lockhart—have now moved to participate in thew District 6-3 Festival.
Students will be performing in many events: Piano Solo, Piano Hymn, Vocal Art Song, Vocal Musical Theater, Violin Solo, Classical Guitar, Snare Drum Solo, and Music Theory.
The 6-3 Festival is continuing to grow in numbers, and we look forward to a great festival experience for all of our students.
Crownridge Music Club, President Sherri Stricker
Crownridge Music Club started the year with 33 members! We had 6 general meetings in the 2023-2024 year, meeting at the Steinway Gallery in San Antonio.
On October 14, 2024, our club hosted a memorial concert in honor of long-time member Mary Thomason. The event was held at Ft. Bend Music Center, San Antonio.
The 16th annual District 6-2 Festival was held February 8, 2024 at San Antonio College, with more than 590 entrants! Entries included strings, voice, piano, harp, sight reading, theory, hymn, and patriotic playing. It takes a good deal of effort year-to-year to find and secure a venue.
Our year’s end was delightfully celebrated with a luncheon at Milano on Wurzbach, with guests TFMC President Lynn McNew and also Lois Armor.
Crownridge Music Club continues to grow, and now has 42 members!
Etude Music Club of San Antonio, President Lois Armor
I am happy to report that Etude Music Club is alive and well, although our Marque McKay had covid and pneumonia last week. She is not doing well. Unfortunately, she will be missing our meeting Monday, just to be safe.
We have added two new members to our club this year, which is exciting. We now have 13 active members and 3 associate members.
Our programs this year are:
September - “Creepy, Crawly, Flying Things” - (Music, Poetry and Readings) October - “Loving Irving (Berlin)” - Piano music, sing-alongs, even an interpretive reading of “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun” November - “Thanksgiving Throughout the World” and potluck (Music from Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands, UK, Canada and USA) December - “A Musical Christmas in Merry Olde England” January - “Bells and Belles” - (I think the star of this program will be the choral reading of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Bells”) February - “God Bless America” March - “Broadway Magic” (Rogers and Hammerstein) April - “Two for the Music” - (Piano duets and 8 hands on 2 pianos) May - “American Spirituals” (Terminology and origin of American spirituals)
At the end of last year, Etude was able to present two $1,000 scholarships. One went to a graduating high school student who has his whole scholastic life planned and is eager to work hard. The second went to a Trinity University student entering her senior year.
Music Club Austin, President Beth Moreno, presented by Janie Keys
Having just completed its centennial celebration (1923 - 2023), Music Club Austin proudly enters its SECOND century of service to the local music community and beyond. This year’s programming will focus on PARTNERSHIPS by trying to maximize our connectedness with other music and arts-focused organizations. We’ve become a business sponsor of KMFA, Austin’s 24-hour classical music station, and we have opened up an alliance with the Armstrong Community Music School which provides lifelong access to the musical arts for all members of the community through instruction and performance opportunities at all age and skill levels. To support our outreach efforts we have developed our first-ever publicity brochure which highlights the club’s mission and support of student musicians.
On March 19, 2025, we will be hosting the biennial Fielder Vocal Career Advancement Grant Competition. Check our website for an application and recommend it to any aspiring vocalists you know. Up to $12,000 in grant money may be awarded. Later next spring we will conduct our annual high school awards competition, generously funded by bequests from former club members (Minnie Sneed Wilcox, Jeanne Maurer, Maria Putter, and Sally Rudd). The talented winners will perform at our spring luncheon.
Our newletter, website, and YouTube channel continue to flourish. We are especially proud to have three of our members—Virginia Kniesner, Janie Keys, and Angela Smith—in leadership roles within District VI. And like other clubs represented here today, we will be doing our fair share to support the National Federation’s Convention planned for June 10-14, 2025 at the Airport Hilton hotel.
Our meetings are open to the public, so if you find yourselves in Austin any first Wednesday of the month, please make your way to the Unitarian Universalist Church on Grover Avenue and enjoy some lovely music performed by our talented members. Or better yet, add yourself to our roster of performing guest musicians and feel the love!
New Braunfels Music Study Club, President Robbie Borchers, presented by Johanna Clark
The New Braunfels Music Study Club began its year with a September program featuring the Strings of Gruene, two violinists and a cellist who shared their repertoire of popular songs. In October two of our members provided the program of duets for classical guitar and cello. In November our club hosts practice sessions for the 63rd Advent Vespers program which is scheduled for Dec. 1, when the choir of community singers presents a program of sacred Christmas music. The offering taken at the program supports the scholarship fund. The January program features our two scholarship recipients; this year both are students at Texas Lutheran University. The February program will feature both men and women ensembles singing popular musical theater classics. In March we hear the Festival superior winners from the two music studios in our club. The March and April programs of the Mid-Texas Symphony OIrchestera are highlighted; members are encouraged to attend one of these concerts, enjoying a dinner meal together afterwards. The final program in May will highlight composers of early American music.
We look forward to another year of exceptional musical programs and the pleasure of sharing them with others who enjoy the love of music.
Opus 64 Music Teachers Club, President Sue Bachus
Opus 64 Club Members: This year, the Opus 64 Club has 21 members. We welcomed two current member teachers from District 6-1 (Deanna Padgett and Janice Chi). Two of our past festival judges have joined as new members this year (Parvati Mani and Alice Kan), and two new members (Andrei Tcymbalistenko and Meredith Hammond) have joined.
2024 District 6-4 Festival: The last 6-4 Festival was held at TxSU in San Marcos on March 2, 2024. After many years of hosting our local and statewide festivals, TxSU is no longer able to host our events due to the declining condition of their Music Building.
2025 District 6-4 Festival: We now have a local venue for our 2025 District 6-4 Festival. It will be held at Austin Community College (Highland Campus) on January 18, 2025.
Website: A big “Thank you!” to Marcia Edwards, our previous District president, for creating our District VI website. To assist with the cost of website hosting, Opus 64 Club donated $20 toward the 2024-2025 District 6 website hosting fee. The Opus 64 Club intends to continue donating each year for web hosting.
Festival Sponsors: We are grateful to Strait Music who has been a wonderful financial sponsor for several years. Last year, we added 3 restaurant businesses as festival sponsors: Culvers, Wienerschnitzel, and Cycle. They donated condiments, plastic cutlery, and napkins to help with festival expenses. We gladly honored these businesses by displaying their business names, addresses, and logos on the D6 website’s Calendar page and providing table space at festival for their advertisements. We are actively searching for additional future sponsors. Hopefully, we can eventually have all of our festival needs met through local businesses.
Russian Ukrainian Overtones Austin, President Julia Klueva
District 6-1 has a new chair, Dr. Huiyoung Chun. The newly formed club consists of six studios:
Luna studios, Round Rock
Crystal Academy, Pflugerville
Sarvar Kaziev studio, Austin
Russian Ukrainian Overtones, Austin
Janny Yang violin studio, Round Rock
Milana Golenkevitch studio, Leander
Since the growth of the club represents many studios and nationalities, it has been proposed to rename the club from Russian Ukrainian Overtones to Allegro Music Club. Voting will take place during the next meeting in December 2024.
District 6-1 had three concerts this fall.
September 23, Domra (Ukrainian National Instrument)
November 10, Teachers recital featuring piano and canon (national instrument of Azherbadjan)
November 16, Domra concert at Steinway piano gallery, Austin
