Kaitlyn Burgess, piano student of Mrs. Franklin Merrell, earned the prestigious Sonatina Award at the recent National Guild of Piano Teachers auditions held in China Grove. Ellen Shearer of Greenville, S.C. was the adjudicator for the auditions. To earn the Sonatina Award, a student must play five complete sonatinas for a total of no less than fourteen movements, and also play the corresponding scale of each piece. This was Kaitlyn’s eighth year of Guild participation.
Burgess is a sophomore at East Rowan High School where she is a member of the honors chorus, Young Life, Sigma Phi Gamma, Junior Civitan, Spanish club, and she has participated in the Broadway Revue. She has been recognized as a Granite Quarry Civitan Scholar for two years. She was selected by audition for the Mars Hill Choral Festival and for All-County Chorus. She is also a varsity cheerleader.
She has volunteered at Rowan Helping Ministries, Project Unify, Abundant Living, and participated in elementary school cheerleading clinics. She is also active in Elevation competition cheerleading.
The daughter of Joel and Tonya Burgess, she is a member of Union Lutheran Church where she has been a participant in the music program.
The National Guild of Piano Teachers was held on April 10 and 11 at the First Baptist Church of China Grove. The adjudicator was Ellen Shearer of Greenville, S.C., who has been a member of the Music Teachers’ National Federation of Music for 22 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Samford University, Ala. and a master’s degree in church music from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
The piano teachers and their students that participated are as follows:
Charity Hamka (Statesville) — Riley Shoffner, Jaelyn Ward, Harrison and Riley Schuerman, Shelby Fox, Eva Paquette, Jill Castillo, Caleb, Kayleen and Seth Moreno;
Dawn Merrell (Salisbury) — Anna Everhart, Alexis Miller, Abbey Deaton and Kaitlyn Burgess;
Andrea Stroot (Salisbury) — Joshua Spry and Colleen Welday;
Marsha Carter (China Grove) — Paul Faggart, Abby and Bailey Rodgers, Micah, Jeremiah and Matthew McNeil, Ayden Basinger, Kate Carter, Nate Cobb, Cody Brown, Carleigh and Preston Tadlock, Ava and Drew Huffman, Grace and Coleman Carter, Samantha Fleishaker, Kandus and Nathaniel Kimball, Victoria Pennington, Aden Castor, Maggie Utley, Rebekah Lippard, Mason White, Caitlin Harrison, Addisyn Keen, Nadiya Wilson, Sarah Johnson, Jordan Cline, Morgan Bowman, Molly Burgess, Claudia Utley and Logan Cheeseman.
Students are judged on technique, dynamics, memory and musicianship. Each student receives a report card, a certificate of participation and a bronze, silver or gold award pin, depending on the number of pieces performed for the judge.
Greensboro — Central Carolina Bride Association’s Unit 169 is sponsoring a duplicate bridge sectional tournament Friday, May 30 through Sunday, June 1 at the Oriental Shrine Club, 5010 High Point Road. Stratified Open and 299er pair games will start at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Saturday’s afternoon game is a special game for 299ers that will benefit the Junior Fund and awards 40% more silver points.
Stratified Open and Swiss Team games begin at 10 a.m. Sunday and include a hot lunch. The tournament is open to the bridge-playing public. A nominal fee is charged for each session. If you need a partner or team, contact Ruth Short at 336-254-3397 or email rshort7@triad.rr.com
More information can be found at www.centralcarolinabridge.org