Events from the
Last Year

Christopher Norton in Peterborough

The Christopher Norton Spring Ontario/Manitoba 2010 Tour was hosted by ORMTA at St. Andrew's United Church May 3 and 4. It was a great success in many ways.

Of the 45 students who registered, 43 participated. These students represented 8 teachers, 5 of whom are ORMTA members.

We also ran a 2 hour Teacher Workshop on how to work improvisation into the lessons. Of the 11 registrants, 8 teachers participated.

The event was very motivating for students, parents and teachers. We all gained new ideas and approaches to rhythm, improvising melodies and composing, working collaboratively with students (coincidentally theme of this year's ORMTA conference in London). For most students this was their first exposure to masterclass teaching and it was both demanding and highly
rewarding. The crowning event was surely the Gala Concert, featuring student performances, demonstrations of the improvisation classes and even a few solos by Norton himself.

Our branch can be proud of providing such a unique and worthwhile opportunity to local students. Certificates from ORMTA and a disc of student pictures will be sent out to each teacher within the next couple of weeks.

Music for Young Children and Pauze Pianos very generously sponsored the event.

A small profit from the event of $335 has been deposited to the scholarship account.

I would like to thank, Norma Millen and Elizabeth Elstone for their hard work and commitment to making this event happen. We were fortunate to secure St. Andrew's United for the event, and we are grateful to Terry Head for his assistance at the Church and in printing the certificates.

Karen Lander