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Show A community treasure eJcniracaiwBD November 13, 2003 - The Springville Herald - Page Five 0 wwfr GiiDifD mm promm by Su Tullis A few years ago our family dreamed a dream and put our home up for sale. While waiting for action, I chaperoned musicians from Springville High School on a trip to Grand Junction, CO, where they would perform before judges and other music groups from around -the intermountain west. Halfway through the trip, I wondered to myself, "What are we doing with a For Sale sign in front of our house? Here is the very thing people of means search the world oyer for their children!" There are not many programs pro-grams that rival the standard of excellence found right in oiir own backyard. We have something here for our children chil-dren and community that stirs unbound gratitude aniong those of us in the know. j Fifteen years ago the Nebo School District hired a new orchestra teacher--a trombone player from Hawaii named Sam Tsugawa (Mr. T--or just Sam). Yes, he was a delightful and talented applicant, appli-cant, but some local musicians musi-cians were nervous about the future of the high school's orchestra which doesn't ordinarily focus much on trombones. A strings expert vias needed. What they didn't understand was Mr. T's fire! He took the job because-well, because-well, he needed a job! and music is music, which is his great love. The thing about Sam Tsugawa is that he knows quality, he knows it, and he expects it. He expects it of himself and his students, arid he's willing to -pay the price to get it. A Sam-style study of strings was soon secured, and he was off and running. Over the years, as part of the entire instrumental music program, the orchestra literally blossomed from a scant 12 students to 270! One cannot compliment Springville's instrumental rauaic program without also including John Talcott and Bryan (Doc) tobler. For 25 years, Talcott taught middle school music; 12 of those years he also taught junior high. His ability to teach technical skills ad his extreme ex-treme consistency in preparing prepar-ing you musicians for the rigors of SHS earned him respect and gratitude as a valuable feeder school teacher. teach-er. Talcott is now retired, but both Sam and Doc acknowledge ac-knowledge his legacy as vital in our town's unusual musicianship. musi-cianship. Bryan's own career of excellence prepared him for his amazing partnership with Sam. It is not uncommon for an old-time teacher like Doc to feel threatened by a fireball fire-ball arrival such as Sam, for walls to be built protecting personal turf and for petty rivalries to flare. But that is not the way of real men. Not men like Doc and Sam. Together they remind me of the miraculous possibility of synergy. One plus one equals much more than two, especially when it's whirled up with a talented and hardworking hard-working bunch of young people and supportive parents as found in Springville. Pulling off what these teachers do day in and day out takes enormous energy. It takes layers and layers of organization, endless communication, commu-nication, patience, vision, intimate knowledge of music and instruments and students, artistic choreographic coordination coordi-nation as director to pull dynamics and richness of sound out of performers, a critical ear, effective teaching strategies, audience training in protocol, a versatile knowledge know-ledge of music composition, fund-raising and money management for hefty expenditures expen-ditures (uniforms, instruments, instru-ments, music scores, stands, equipment, transportation of bodies and materials for trips, etc.) It takes rhythm. It takes grit. It takes heart. On their own time, these two teachers provide regular rehearsals before school at ,6:30 a.m. and after school several days a week and also travel frequently on tour. They juggle various groupings group-ings of instruments for differ ent styles of performance: concert band, marching band, concert orchestra, philharmonic orchestra (combining (com-bining almost all the instruments), instru-ments), jazz, wind ensemble, special interests like the school play and chamber orchestra featuring a small assembly of the finest musicians. musi-cians. Besides all this, they maintain an exceptionally rigorous performance schedule sched-ule to showcase the groups. Repertoire is not an item that will be found lacking in any student's portfolio! Recently two visiting professors from Utah State University worked by special grant with SHS musicians. One observed at the concluding conclud-ing performance, "These kids aren't just playing Beethoven for high schoolers. They're playing the real thing-Beethoven himself!" He added that he never had the opportunity oppor-tunity to play that evening's selection of music until he was in college and some he never played until 35 years old. The music is difficult. And Springville musicians play it with flare, sensitivity and skill. . A listener such as I could close her eyes at a chamber performance and imagine herself to be at Abravanel Hall soaking in the beauty that goes on and on. My husband shakes Mr. T's hand after a performance and claims honestly that he'd gladly pay $50 to hear a performance like that. While in Grand Junction, I overheard a competing music director confide to a hostess on duty, "I don't really care how my orchestra does. I just want to take first on chamber." My heart dropped a bit for him because be-cause it appeared he was clueless about what he was facing. After the SHS performance perfor-mance of Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings there was a stunned, silence in the audience, then the applause.' Shortly afterwards I watched while the eclipsed music director enthusiastically and earnestly congratulated Sam Tsugawa for an exceptional performance. He admitted that he loves the piece they performed, but it remains at the back of his file cabinet on account of difficulty. Sam's gracious stage manner and startling accomplishment helped his fellow musician to forget competition and bask with everybody else in the triumph at hand. At Grand Junction, chamber cham-ber orchestra took Outstanding Outstand-ing Strings, philharmonic orchestra took Outstanding Full Orchestra; wind ensemble ensem-ble took Outstanding Concert Band. Besides exciting programming, program-ming, Springville teachers create for their musicians a very health performance psychology. Terror does not reign here-it's solid preparation. prepara-tion. Students are taught to over-prepare. This explains their happy ease between performances and confidence on stage. These kids are bright, fun and well-mannered. They show genuine respect for their teachers and their music. They are excellent excel-lent students and musicians. . When trying to put my finer on what makes the SHS music program tick, one student friend offered this about Sam: "He's the most intimidating little man you'll ever know." After some thought, she added, "He makes you feel like you're absolutely essential to the orchestra-and at the same time he makes you feel like he could replace you in a heartbeat." Hmmm! Sam's unfluttered answer to me when I expressed my student's apprehension of difficult music was: "I find desire to be the greatest indicator of success." And so it was. One high school neighbor regularly overhears marching band rehearsal and Doc's instructions over the loudspeaker. loud-speaker. She remarked, "I now know why the kids respect him so much! It's because he respects them." One of his former students recently wrote a college essay about his favorite place in the whole world, and he chose Doc's band room and had much to say. Springville's musicians regularly receive superlative scores for both group and individual entries at music festivals. The music room walls are plastered with awards and trophies abound. Twelve straight years the orchestra has received the Christmas Lamb highest score of "1" at state level competition. Bryan Tobler, a BYU graduate, started out with the band 32 years ago, and his program has grown from 13 to 110 players. In the fall of 1984 his marching band won everything and was invited to perform at President Reagan's Rea-gan's inauguration ceremony. The whole city of Springville sprang into action to raise and contribute funds over the Christmas holidays for the band that year. More recently, recent-ly, in its division, the band has placed in the top five every year for the past 20 years at state competition. The SHS Marching Band recently competed at the Grape Bowl Classic in the San Francisco Bay area. We brought home four impressive impres-sive trophies: 1st in division, visual effect sweepstakes, best drum line and an award for color guard. A throng of proud parents escorted home the busses on Sunday afternoon after-noon from Jiffy Lube to the high school, complete with honking horns, posters and red and blue streamers. Bryan's concert band also enjoys a constant pattern of superior ratings at state competition. Last year at Children invited to enter art work The Springville Museum of Art will accept works of art from children ages 4 to 18 for the Christmas Lamb exhibit to be held in December Decem-ber in the "Works on Paper" Gallery. Art work will be received Nov. 12 to Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the museum, there is no entry fee. . This special Christmas 'show has become a, tradition at the museum and is sponsored spon-sored by" David and Ingrid Nemelka of Mapleton and the One World Thru Youth Foundation. Sixty art works will be chosen and each artist whose work is selected will receive a $10 cash award at the award program Sunday, Dec. 7, at 4 p.m. The theme is taken from the story "Christmas Lamb" which stresses the true meaning mean-ing of Christmas as unselfish giving that brings joy to the giver. The story "Christmas Lamb" is about the change that occurs in a young boy's life after he visits an art museum and views a special Christmas painting. Art work submitted should be original, individually individu-ally conceived and created by the student. No works will be considered for the show if they contain glitter, glued-on beans, 1 macaroni or '''Other materials that tends to fall off when handled. r The exhibit will run from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31. An open house will be held at the museum on Sunday, Dec. 7, from 3-6 p.m. A short program will be held at 4 for presenting the certificates and awards. A performance by the Mt. Nebo Children's Choir will accompany the award program. The 16th annual Religious and Spiritual Spiritu-al Art in Utah Show will also be on display during December Decem-ber in the Step Down, Southeast South-east and Music galleries. Goshen creche exhibit by Kelly Prestwich The members of communities commu-nities in and around the Goshen Valley welcome you to the 2003 Creche Exhibit, an interfaith celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Every room of the Goshen Chapel on 70 S. Center will be filled with nativity pieces, arranged by theme and representing repre-senting a global perspective. These displays also include live nativity settings presented present-ed by local children and young adults. "We anticipate over 500 arrangements this year," says Diane Allen, from Elberta, "and they will be unique, with few, if any duplications." duplica-tions." There will be a program during each of the three evenings with choral groups, soloists, the spoken word and instrumental pieces. Under the direction of P.J. Dimick from Eureka, the past two annual creche exhibits have provided not only a rare opportunity to view and hear beautiful art, but to feel the spirit of emotion emo-tion of the season in a rare way. More than a few visitors visi-tors have called it the "highlight "high-light of their Christmas season." Come join us this year and bring your friends: Dec. 5, 1-8 p.m., Dec. 6, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., program 6:30 p.m.; and Dec. 7, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., program 5 p.m. The exhibit is free state the band received superlative super-lative marks of 1 , 1 and 1, which equals overall 1, and the judge told him it scared him when they placed the heck out of Ticelli's "Vesuvius!" Bryan received his greatest honor when his band was invited to perform at the music educator's conference con-ference in St. George. He took his wind ensemble and there was voted by his peers as the Outstanding High School Music Teacher in our State of Utah. These teachers receive support from grateful parents who cooperate to provide a newsletter, search out grant monies, host and narrate concerts, chaperon travel and the list goes on. In my mind, the creme de la creme musical experience that a Springville audience can have is to attend a chamber cham-ber orchestra performance in the art museum where acoustics acous-tics and ambiance reign supreme. Tsugawa masterful- ly interweaves prize soloists :with his finest performing; group, showing off what is hardly believable and completely com-pletely enchanting. With classy style of his own, Sam directs his musicians and then responds to the multiples multi-ples of curtain calls and almost inevitable standing ovations. Together Doc and Sam, work like hand and glove. The pose a united front in high expectation and probe music to find its finest exT. pression. I hate to let the secret out because it means I'll probably have to leave even earlier to get a good seat at the next chamber art museum concert! And, incidentally, we no. longer sport a For Sale sign in our front yard. Richard Olson opens chiropractic office in Springville A new chiropractic office on Main Street in Springville is now open for business with Dr. Richard Olson at the helm. A native of Springville, Dr. Olson attended Brigham Young University graduating with a B.S. in microbiology. He later attended Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, earning his Doctor of Chiropractic degree de-gree and graduating as valedictorian vale-dictorian of his class. Olson is the son of Roger and Karen Olson of Springville. After working as an associate chiropractor in Cortez, Colorado, Dr. Olson is. , .returning to , Springville excited to continue in the career he loves in the place where he grew up. "I became a chiropractor because I am fascinated with health and human performance. perfor-mance. I love to help others overcome pain, maintain healthy lifestyles and achieve even better health. Chiro- AKL , Dr. Richard P. Olson , , practic can help in all three of these areas," said Olson.; , Dr. Olson's practice is located at 222 N. Main Street, and he is now accepting accept-ing new patients. Walk-ins are welcome, or to schedule an appointment, call (801) 489-4990. 0 J L I appreciate the support given to me in the recent city election. Thanks for your encouragement, your financial donations, and your help delivering brochures bro-chures in the city. Now that the election is over, we need to work together to develop a vision for the future. Like all communities on the Wasatch Front, we have tough problems to be solved. We need the interest and input in-put of the citizens to help us prioritize our efforts. We need people to be involved in the problem-solving efforts. I am willing to put my best efforts into this process and invite each citizen to be involved. If I can be of any help to you, please call me at 489-4880 or contact me at: pfksbirdaol.com. Thanks again for your support and involvement in the democratic process. Phil Bird Ywtf Love Our tfotQogsll Vienna 'Beef COKO Site tfvfVOQ 405 IV. 1C0 U. pnouo Mapleton City 2003 Minicipal General Election Results MAO-1 MA0-2 MAO 3 MAO 4 TOTAL Number voting 292 349 330 315 1286 Number registered 74-9 721 799 725 2994 Percent voting 38.9 48.4 41.3 43.4 42.9 4-Year Council Bob Evans 146 162 135 113 556 14.8 Trudy Gibby 54 38 80 178 350 9.3 Francis Gibson 14-9 229 220 152 750 20.0 RyanParham 222 228 201 137 788 21.0 Bruce Rees 103 51 108 212 474 12.7 Keith H. Sterling 172 310 229 122 833 22,2 Total Votes 846 1018 973 914 3751 100.0 |