First and foremost, I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Ann Meyer, who has taken on the position of AMSF Treasurer. Ann is busy learning a new program for keeping our accounts up to date, and I am sure that not only will she make an excellent Treasurer, but she will be an excellent AMSF board member too. Welcome, Ann; it's good to have you on board!
Ann succeeds Yasunari Ishii who, as many of you might know, has left the area for Barre, Vermont, where he and his partner, Dan Jones, have become the Innkeepers of Maplecroft B&B. Yasunari and Dan plan to open for business on the first of August. So if anyone is looking for a place to stay in VT, their web site address is www.MaplecroftVermont@charter.net. Yasunari will remain a member of AMSF, and I know he plans to keep in touch with us. Hopefully he will be making periodic visits back to this area when we will be able to hear him play again.
As you will see from another post on this page, our Annual Meeting and Party will be held on Sunday, October 11 at 2:00 p.m. We plan to keep business to a minimum. One of the main features of our annual get-together is to afford members, old and new, an opportunity to socialize with one another, and to meet the coordinators of the many performance series we offer.
Last year for our 20th Anniversary, we were very fortunate to have Brian Ganz and Frank Conlon perform for us--a tough act to follow! This year I felt it was fitting that we recognize a long-standing member of AMSF, Victor Dyni, for his pianistic achievements over the years. In 2004, Victor was selected to play in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. His next achievement was to participate in the Washington International Piano Arts Council competition. (I should also add that our Special Events Coordinator, Donna Baldwin, was also chosen to play in that competition.) Victor completed his "hat trick" by being selected to play in the Bosendorfer Competition for Adult Amateurs which was held in Vienna, Austria, in May this year where he advanced to the Semi Final Round. Victor will be performing a selection of pieces for us.
I hope as many as possible of you will come along and enjoy both the music and the fun on October 11, and I look forward to meeting you there.
--Paul Williams
