Gordon Professor--Massachusetts Music Educator of The Year--Leads Summer Music Academy On Campus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2009
 
MEDIA CONTACT
Jo Kadlecek
Office of College Communications
978.867.4752
[email protected]
 
WENHAM, MA--For over a decade, Sandra Doneski, associate professor of music at Gordon College, has directed a number of outstanding choirs for children on the North Shore. From June 29--July 2, she will once again direct the popular program known as the Summer Music Academy, a weeklong program for students grades 4-12. The Academy will focus on choral and instrumental ensembles with music electives integrated with outdoor and Bennett Center activities.
 
This summer, though, Doneski will be overseeing the summer program as the newly honored Massachusetts Music Educator of the Year. Last month, she was awarded the Massachusetts Music Education Association (MMEA) 2009 Excellence in General Music Award, presented annually in recognition of a “leader in the field of general music [who] demonstrated outstanding dedication in the general music field.”
 
“Of course I’m honored and humbled to have been recognized for doing something I love to do,” Doneski said. “But this is really only one part of a bigger program with many talented and dedicated people. The Music Education Department at Gordon College is top notch. And our Summer Music Academy is a wonderful extension of all that we have to offer here.”
 
The Summer Music Academy will be held on the Wenham campus of Gordon College (255 Grapevine Road, exit 17 from R128), June 29 - July 2, 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. It is open to all students grades 4-12. Tuition is $275 per child, but “as always it is our desire that any student who wants to participate can . . . so there are scholarships available,” Doneski said.
 
Doneski, an active member of MMEA, was also honored with the Lowell Mason Award, given each year to a MMEA member who, like its namesake, demonstrated “outstanding leadership and contributions in music education.” Lowell Mason was the first public school music educator in the US and he taught in Boston. As a result of his work the school committee in Boston voted to make music a part of the curriculum in 1838.
 
Besides serving as the assistant director for Gordon’s Master of Music Education degree program, Doneski also oversees two other music programs at Gordon for children:
    1. Music Mania, which meets on Saturdays during the spring semester and is open to any child Pre-K through grade 6;
    2. Children’s Choir Programs, whose seasons run from September through May with regular weekly rehearsals. These choirs include:  

• Lyric Choir for beginning singers (grades 1-3, Mondays 4:30-5:30 PM);
• Concert Choir for Experienced Singers (Grades 4-8, Mondays 5:00-6:30);
• NYSO Chorale, which is a partnership with the North Shore Youth Symphony Orchestra programs for high school singers (Wednesdays, 5:30-7:00).
  

There are no auditions for Music Mania or the Summer Music Academy.  
 
Auditions for the Children’s Choirs will be held the weeks of June 24-30, August 3-8 and August 24- September 21. Parents are encouraged to schedule an audition time by calling Diane Clark at 978.867.4429 or email [email protected]. For more information on the Children’s Choir, please visit www.gordon.edu/childrenschoir.
 
For more information on the Summer Music Academy, please visit, www.gordon.edu/sma. Or contact the Office of College Communications, 978.867.4752.

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