Happy Midweek and Midsummer to you! Hope your Summer is going well!
Quick, this is a test!
What are the three functions of the MENC National Assembly?
What time of year do they meet?
Do NOT cheat, or you will not pass GO.....(but you can reference ML's blog from Monday!).
Good reference material to demystify the mysterious workings of the National MENC office!
This week a bunch of housecleaning will be going on at MENC.....since MENC transferred handling of book sales to Roman and Littlefield, the MENC stock of books were sent out of house, and so there are/were many shelves sitting empty in our basement warehouse. The amazing IT and mailroom guys have worked to clear out those shelves, dismantle them, and rearrange that area for more effective use.....and they're also changing MENC over to a new server this weekend, so staff has been instructed to clear out old computer files and emails to make the load on the electronic transfer less onerous.
We'll be without computers at MENC from mid-day Friday - Sunday, so I'm planning to FINALLY get up from my desk and CLEAN MY OFFICE, which is in sore need of it - boxes and piles of paper everywhere....(file system? what file system!?) Actually, I know what's in each pile and have a plan for what to do with them all (most go in the famous "revolving file" i.e. trash can - recycled, of course!)....but a few of the more precious entities will find (hopefully!) a prestigious place in an actual file cabinet! Tough to be an info pack rat! But I take heart from the "Infamous Organizational Myth** ", courtesy of my pal EW -
Myth: To be organized means to be neat or tidy.
"Yes, we will admit you can be neat and organized at the same time. But, there is also a huge percentage of neat, but extremely disorganized, men and women. In fact, and this one's probably going to surprise you- you can be the total opposite of neat (you can be sloppy) and still be organized! So, what does it mean to be organized?"
1. You get everything done when it's due
2. You find everything easily when it's needed
I strive for #1 and 2. Usually I succeed. # 2 is getting harder, which is why I'm taking advantage of Friday's server transfer and computer "downage" to make sure I DO know where everything is! KIND of important for the department that's an info resource!
***(note, The Myth and above text is from a commercial website; if you're interested in knowing it, write me at info@menc.org)!
As usual, below are a bunch of (what I think ) are interesting articles/resources..... Hope they're helpful/enjoyable...if not, just skip over this next section! (but do jump to the WATER COOLER!)
ARTICLES for FUN
The Stradivari of Ramadi: amazing U.S. Soldier who makes violins in his "free" time overseas!
U.S. Navy Band provides comfort on board Navy hospital ship
The Maestro of Method Actors: actor plays composers in more ways than one!
The Proms of England!
Around the WATER COOLER
FLASH!
MENC Membership rep SA brought in a wonderful treasure she discovered recently....while sorting through the possessions of an Uncle, she discovered, at the very bottom of a box, four perfectly preserved, not even yellowed or frayed, beautifully calligraphied original CERTIFICATES of AWARD/Honor given to her Uncle David Hall when he was a high school student back in 1935 and 1936 in Syracuse, NY. Yes, you guessed it - these certificates were awarded for superior performance in MUSIC, and awarded jointly by MENC and the National Bureau for the Advancement of Music (currently known as National Music Week) and also sponsored by David's high school and district sponsoring the event.
SA's Uncle David Hall played French horn, and he won superior and highly superior ratings as the French horn soloist and as the horn player in Group contests/District, for the New York State School Band and Orchestra Contest. What an amazingly cool discovery!
After high school, David went on to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia to study music. He joined the the U.S. Navy Band as a French horn player during World War II, and retired as a Chief Musician in 1973. He was a member of the Syracuse Symphony, the Philadelphia Symphony, and the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. He then worked at a large music store Alexandria VA for over 20 years. He summered on Fourth Lake in the Adirondacks in upstate NY, and played with the Booneville, NY Summer Concert Band. SA fondly recalls how Uncle David would bring his beloved French horn up to the camp during summers, and then get in his truck and drive out to where no one could hear him (he was a modest man!) and just play his horn for the love of it - SA likes to imagine him, sitting on a log, serenading the critters .......
SA has been working at MENC and never knew her Uncle had had a link to MENC. (SA also mentioned that David's Mother, Helen Hall, used to serenade her grandchildren with her piano playing, and it was REALLLY playing, all up and down the keyboard, according to SA! Turns out Helen used to provide the musical soundtrack behind the curtain for the silent movies at the Loew's Theater in Syracuse, NY!
(Organ at Loew's, click HERE)
Thanks to SA for sharing these treasures! (and to LE for alerting me!). Click on these links below to see these beautiful and unique certificates up close (If you'd like a PDF which shows more detail, write to info@menc.org)!!
MAY 1935 Horn Solo, Syracuse
MAY 1935 Fr. Horn Solo, E. Central District
APRIL 1936 Group
MAY 1936 Horn solo, Endicott, NY
See you next week! SR
