Message from the President
A few months ago, someone posed the question, “What is the relevance of the ARS?” Being the president, I was a bit wounded that the question even surfaced. However, the more I pondered the subject, the more I understood that it is a question all organizations must consider. Times change and so must the ARS, but not losing the core principles that brought the organization into being in the first place. At its fall meeting in Denver, CO, the ARS Board of Directors will welcome newly-elected Board members and select a new executive committee to carry on day-to-day business. It is always an exciting time— coming together to work as a team, developing new programs and membership benefits to keep the ARS relevant in such a fast-paced world.
We are a “plugged in” society looking for ways to connect to others. Some people do it through electronic means, but we recorder players come together to enjoy the fellowship of music that can only be experienced live and unplugged. That is why the American Recorder Society stays relevant today.
I see it in every chapter meeting I attend. My fellow recorder players may not be “professional” musicians but they play and learn with extraordinary enthusiasm. We support and encourage, in a community that is bound together by respect for one another and the music we create together. It takes my breath away to be amongst the talents of my recorder friends.
You can visit the ARS on Face-book (thank you, Tony Griffiths and Valerie Austin) and use the amazing web site expertly handled by Win Aldrich and our St. Louis staff of Kathy Sherrick and Patty Thompson. If you are a member, you can read current and back issues of the AR magazine and download Members’ Library editions for free. There is a lot the ARS can do for you digitally, but where we shine is through the members of our chapters, consorts and recorder orchestras across North America.
I belong to this recorder community because the ARS was conceived 75 years ago and continues to be relevant.
