AMSF’s third annual Breakfast with the President was held on March 1st at Ilya Rabinovich’s home. It was delightful!
Breakfast with the President is AMSF’s onboarding social for those who joined in the last 12 months, along with those who have rejoined after a long hiatus. It provides our new members with an opportunity to hear more about our offerings, ask questions, and get to know other newbies and leadership.
Orientation
Michelle Powell, AMSF President, gave a background of AMSF, the various recital series, Master Classes, Special Events, and our Annual Party. She mentioned that there is something for everyone with over 40 events annually! Michelle invited our new members to take part in as many events as they choose. She also encouraged newbies to volunteer, saying we are only a hundred strong and we have so many activities, so we try to take turns helping. Plus, the more members participate, the more they get out of it!
Our ever-bubbly Vice President, Carol Henry, talked about Keynotes and Community Outreach. Carol was equipped with a printout of our most recent Keynotes. She shared how AMSF’s Outreach audiences, usually ages 70–99, enjoy our music and how much they show their appreciation. And as always, Carol encouraged everyone to invite their friends to join our club.
Mary Lewers, Membership Coordinator, added details on our Prelude and Salon recitals, sharing her interest and experience in ensemble music. Mary also mentioned that when we invite friends to AMSF and encounter people who may not initially be interested, perhaps thinking performing is too big a deal for them, we can remind them that our recitals are informal, and Prelude is designed for those who are new to performing.
Ilya Rabinovich, Duetto Coordinator, discussed Duetto recitals. Ever-the-gracious host, Ilya talked about the joy of hosting. And true-to-form, Ilya shared how he, as a grandfather, became interested in taking up piano; how he got his first keyboard; and how he got his beloved grand piano. Of course, going to Ilya’s house is never complete without an invitation to tinker with his piano. So, we all went down to Ilya’s basement to hear him and Allan Wang play, impromptu!
Ilya Rabinovich, Audrey Kunkler
Our Newbies
We were happy to get to know Marian Spahn, Audrey Kunkler, Beulah Thorpe, and Allan Wang.
Marian Spahn is a violist and former viola teacher who lives in Rockville, MD. She joined AMSF last December, four days before supporting our AMSF ensemble’s Christmas performance at the Lee Fendall House Museum in Alexandria, VA. The Lee Fendall House Museum performance was a first for AMSF. So Marian is a trooper! She accompanied Carol Pew, Laura Garawski, and Don Foy at the event, playing holiday music. In fact, this was how Carol Pew enticed her into joining us! Marian was also at the recent Vibrato recital.
Audrey Kunkler is a pianist. She lives in Ellicott City, MD, and is a retired environmental science consultant. She joined last spring and soon began attending events. Michelle met her at the Encore recital last April and the Conference last August. Before Breakfast with the President ended, Audrey volunteered to help Michelle with Evites to the Annual Party and some special events. What a joy!
Beulah Thorpe is a singer, originally from Jamaica, who lives in New Carrollton, MD. She is a retired nurse from Montgomery County’s Bureau of Prisons. Beulah’s membership has helped AMSF reach a milestone: she is our first member who is solely a singer! Yes, we do have members who sing, but Beulah is a member because she is a singer! She grew up in church and had a mother who loved to sing. Beulah loves to sing solo and in ensembles, and she enjoys singing with a ladies’ quartet. Beulah, like Marian, joined late last year. She joined because of Carol Henry. Shortly thereafter, she attended the AMSF Lee Fendall House Museum performance last December, providing moral support. How wonderful!
Audrey and Beulah drove quite a distance to Bethesda. Both, however, have such nice attitudes. They have both participated in events in Fairfax, Alexandria, and Rockville, and they are happy to drive to our various venues, knowing that our members live across the DC area.
Allan Wang is a young pianist whose career is in biology. He lives in Rockville, and he joined AMSF last December. Allan, like our other new members, started participating very quickly. He attended the Encore recital in January, recently played at the Cadenza, and is scheduled to play at the upcoming Community Outreach. Allan began playing at a young age and resumed lessons in the last 12 years. He studies at the Levine School of Music. Allan, like Beulah, represents something special to AMSF: he is currently our youngest member! So apart from hearing his piano playing, we hope he invites his friends to join us!
Allan Wang, Mary Lewers, Beulah Thorpe
We welcome our new members, and we are proud that all who attended are model newbies: immediately active, willing to go the distance, and such troopers!
Breakfast with the President ended with all of us getting to know each other, and all of us remembering each other’s names.
Our Hosts
Thanks to Ilya Rabinovich and his wife, Anna, for graciously opening their home for our morning event. We hope the flowers we gave them lifted their spirits in the same way that their hospitality lifted ours.
“With ample time to converse…over brunch, [Breakfast With the President] proved to be a valuable opportunity to learn about the nuances of the many programming options.”