Bagaduce Music Lending Library NEWSLETTER Spring 2014 ENJOYING THE GIFT

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1 Bagaduce Music Lending Library NEWSLETTER Spring Music Library Lane P.O. Box 829 Blue Hill, ME Tel. (207) Fax (207) library@bagaducemusic.org ENJOYING THE GIFT By the time you read this, we trust that all of you recipients of the BMLL Newsletter will have read about the exceptional gift given to the Music Library by Jan and Bob Marville. If you have not, check the Blue Hill area newspapers, or contact the Music Library. We ll be glad to send you a copy of the News Release. BMLL Founder Mary Cheyney Gould, Donors Jan and, Bob Marville, Executive Director Martina Herries, and Founder Marcia Chapman, joyfully consider the possibilities of this wonderful gift. We are delighted to report that this gift appears to be giving the donors as much joy as the recipients! As the Board, the Donors, and the local community continue to celebrate the transfer of the former Liberty School property to the Library, work is underway to explore the Library s new space and to determine how best to use the property for the Library and for the area s arts community. This is an exciting time! Watch for more information in the Newsletter - to be reported as it develops.

A VERY SPECIAL LADY Marjory Chesney, Volunteer extraordinaire There is a very special volunteer who joins us every Tuesday morning to help with conservation of our printed music.

2 A VERY SPECIAL LADY Marjory Chesney, Volunteer extraordinaire There is a very special volunteer who joins us every Tuesday morning to help with conservation of our printed music. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on October 1, 1910, Marjory Chesney spent most of her early years there. Her father worked for the Canadian National Railway and Marjory had two older sisters and a younger brother. Later she moved to Toronto and then to Westmont, a suburb of Montreal where she thrived and eventually went to McGill College to study the arts. At that time in society, Marjory explains, women did not pursue a career path, but rather looked for a future stable family man. Marjory found her husband in the same field as her father, an accountant for the Canadian Railway. In 1936 she married Dukehart (Duke) Chesney and they moved to Albany, NY where they raised their four children, Lucy, Susi and twins, Jim and Alan. Granny Chesney as she lovingly calls her mother-in-law, had the foresight to purchase property on Deer Isle, Maine after WWI as a haven for family gatherings in the summertime. Granny Marjory explains, was a devoted mother and always encouraged family get-togethers on Deer Isle. In May of 2006, Ginger Reiman, a friend from her church, invited Marjory to volunteer at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library. This was the best thing I ever did. The company and community spirit are still broadening my horizons, even at my age. I just love it!!. She goes on to explain that, people at the music library are very welcoming and supportive of each other. When asked to what she attributed her longevity (she will be 104 years old this October), she replies, oh it runs in my family and they all lived in the cold weather of Canada or Maine There must be something to that theory as she is every bit as lively and vivacious as volunteers who are 25 years younger. The Library is so lucky to have such a variety of talent close at hand; it makes for lively conversation at lunch. We are so grateful for everyone s gift of time and energy that helps the Library to accomplish its mission of collecting, preserving and sharing printed music and promoting music education.

3 THE END OF A BEAUTIFUL YEAR It has been a scrumptious feast, this celebration of The Bagaduce Library s first thirty years. From that optimistic set of shelves in Mary and Marcia s garage, our music archives have evolved into a world-wide and world-class outfit. We have been honored in the State Capitol, on the ever expanding web and in our own beloved community. Visitors from all over the planet have come to see us, barely concealing their astonishment at the accomplishment of so many volunteers. Sometimes, as in the case of one gentleman who arrived unannounced, it results in a very generous check. It turned out that he was on the Board of the Bay and Paul Foundation in New York City, an organization that does NOT accept unsolicited grant applications. He came to check the Library out and we are now on that Foundation s grantee list! Many thanks also to the Libra Foundation, the Judson Foundation and Maine Community Foundation for their generous granting of funds for specific projects in The Library received over $26,000 in grant and gift money this year, for which we are sincerely thankful. We could not continue as a successful enterprise without these monies, achieved in great part through everyone s creative development skills We are ready for the next ever-expanding generation of the Bagaduce Music Lending Library. BMLL'S OWN REALITY SHOW IN NEW YORK CITY Picture the ever-so-elegant Harvard Club in New York City. Picture Paul Sullivan at a gorgeous Steinway piano and Theresa Thomason s equally gorgeous voice. Imagine a table with beyond-gourmet delicacies and impeccable service. Settle yourself amidst appreciative listeners and you have the scene of The BMLL s third annual NYC benefit on Oct. 18, Backpedal to the Holland Tunnel a couple of hours before the event. Martina and members of her family are nearing the tunnel when her cellphone rings. It is Paul. There is a sticky key. It is Saturday. The Tunnel will block out cell phone use. However, we managed to get hold of a kind and generous friend, Anthony Gilroy, at Steinway and Sons. Just days earlier, Gilroy had authorized the loan of the piano for this particular event, at no cost except for transportation. Now he again came to the rescue sending a piano technician to the Club within minutes. The key was fixed, Paul played brilliantly, including his inimitable Variations on Happy Birthday to one of the guests and the day concluded with kudos for artists and producers alike. This annual occasion has so many points of

4 light! It broadens the Library s sphere-of-acquaintance in the highest circles of culture. It deepens our commitment to serving the music world in unique and original ways and it fosters support for that effort in very concrete ways. Gifts generated from this lovely program totaled over $12,000. One gentleman asked directly, how much it cost to put on this event and sent a check for that amount. Another audience member offered her home as next year s venue with all expenses covered. On and on it goes. Thank you, one and all!! YOUNG COMPOSERS FESTIVAL On APRIL 26 th Each year the Bagaduce Music Lending Library sponsors a Young Composers Competition and Festival as a way to encourage Maine elementary, middle, and high school students to create and perform original works and to develop their musical notation skills. Not only does this program encourage young musicians to hone their skills, it puts them in touch with professional composers who provide both written and face-to-face feedback and encouragement. Over the past 18 years talented young musicians from all parts of Maine have had the opportunity to submit original compositions for critical review. They have a chance to perform their works at the Young Composers Festival for an audience of their peers, families, music teachers, and the judges. Winners in each category are announced at the Festival. All musical styles from classical to hard rock and anything in between are welcome! Entries are grouped by age: Category 1 = ages 13 and below; Category 2 = ages 14 through high school. All entrants receive a certificate and a written critique of their composition from a panel of expert judges. The compositions submitted to the competition become part of the Library s Maine Music Collection, an archive that contains nearly 3000 works by Maine lyricists and composers including pieces by R.B. Hall, Frank Churchill, Werner Torkanowsky, Walter Piston, and Noel Paul Stookey. The final event of the competition is the Young Composers Festival which will be held on Saturday, April, 26. From 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM at the Bay School in Blue Hill, Maine. The Festival is open to the public and all are welcome. There is no cost to attend however donations will be appreciated! Following the Festival there will be an open house at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library, 5 Music Lane, also in Blue Hill. If you are in the area, come on down and enjoy the music of our aspiring young composers! For more information contact Nina Doak at festival@bagaducemusic.org.

5 PUT YOURSELF IN THIS PICTURE! Like the Marines, the Music Library can use a few good people! If you like the feel of a score in your hands, or a keyboard under your fingers(computer, that is) or a neatly alphabetized shelf of Bach, or even a pink pearl eraser, there s a place for you in the warm loft of the Library. Come and volunteer for just a few hours a month and find a new dimension in your life. Call and say, Count me in. Many Thanks and Warm Regards!! Martina Herries Executive Director Till next time. Stay warm! Music Makes All the Difference

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