[Members] MASTA Teacher of the Year

[Rick Dapprich, Editor]

To All MASTA Members:
Here are the candidates for our 2010 Teacher of the Year Award. This  
year you have a choice of voting either by email to LPDITTMAR at SBCGLOBAL.NET 
  or by sending a paper ballot to Larry Dittmar at 3456 Gettysburg in  
Ann Arbor, MI 48105. The voting period extends from the date of this  
email until December 18, 2009. We hope you will find this new method  
of voting more helpful and less time consuming but please be sure you  
don’t put it off and then miss out on casting your vote for one of  
these two worthy candidates. (There were no nominations for  
Administrator of the Year.)

Wendy Tenney:
Currently teaches orchestra in Lowell, Michigan for the Lowell Area  
Schools. She started the orchestra program there where none had  
previously existed and has worked tirelessly to involve the entire  
community of Lowell in building an outstanding string program in both  
quality and size. Through her efforts to serve each child’s needs,  
this program has grown from 24 at the beginning to over 200 students.  
Wendy has also voluntarily created and maintained a fiddle club that  
meets weekly after school and serves as a recruitment group for her  
orchestra program. In addition, she created the Lowell "Fusion"  
Ensemble which incorporates all styles of music (rock, jazz, classical  
and folk) and also serves in helping to build community support. Wendy  
facilitates many string quartets and has enlisted top high school  
students to assist her with younger student’s classes including  
teaching lessons.

Her professional work includes performing with the Grand Rapids and  
Lansing Symphony Orchestras, while also maintaining a large private  
lesson studio including students from several Youth Orchestras. Wendy  
also has been a conductor at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and a  
section coach at the Interlochen Arts Camp, for the St. Cecilia Youth  
Orchestras and the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony. She received her  
Bachelor’s of Music Education from Michigan State University and is a  
Master’s Degree Candidate at Grand Valley State University.

Bruce Uchimura:
Has taught at Western Michigan University since 1988 where he is  
Professor of Cello and Director of Orchestras. He maintains a private  
cello class, and is well-known as a performer as cellist of the  
Merling Trio. He is also faculty advisor to the MASTA Student Chapter  
at WMU.

As an adjudicator, Bruce has served across the state for events such  
as the MASTA String Competition, Concerto Competitions at Calvin  
College and Michigan State University and MSBOA Solo and Ensemble  
Festivals. He has also served as an adjudicator for the past two years  
for the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. From 1985-2007, Bruce  
served as coordinator of chamber music at the ENCORE School for  
Strings in Ohio. Recent summer teaching credits include the Calvin  
College String Summit and Seminar at WMU. In state clinician  
activities include the orchestras at Hudsonville HS, Dexter HS,  
Lakeview HS, the Kalamazoo Suzuki, the Detroit School of the Arts and  
String Day at Walled Lake and WMU. Additional educational conducting  
engagements include the All State Orchestras of Vermont and Illinois.

His students hold positions as educators and performers around the  
world. Alumni include Ellen Nettleton of the Dayton Symphony, Dan  
Scott of the Jenison Orchestras, Carter Dewberry of the Definiens  
Project in Los Angeles, Anne Thompson of the Forest Hills Public  
Schools and Grand Valley State University, and Anne Francis of the Fry  
Street Quartet. Cello students have received graduate fellowships at  
such institutions as the University of Iowa and Miami University.

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