Down On The Corner
• I'm usually better about printing corrections than I have been in this case. A photograph of Sandy Neuman's last jazz jam at the Rudyard that ran in the May incorrectly credited the photo to Jean Metcalfe. The photographer's name was Julie Daly. I sincerely apologize for this oversight.
• Mentioning the Louisville Ukulele Association Unlimited last month brought calls from Mary Lou Dempler and her husband Shane, pointing out two or three mistakes in the item. By the time all the conversations were over and the package containing everything I might ever want to know about the organization arrived in the mail, I knew there was only one thing to do: to send you, Gentle Reader, to their website for more accurate and complete information: www.ukulelemadeeasy.com.
I'm thinking I should make This Month's Apologies and Corrections from the Editor a regular feature in my column. It's almost as refreshing and humiliated as going to confession.
On to more interesting news:
• DSL Studios' new complex at 10532 Bluegrass Parkway in the Bluegrass Industrial Park in Jeffersontown is officially open. The studio has been in operation for a while, as readers of DOTC might remember. The facility has two complete recording suites, one built around a Pro Tools system, the other constructed to use vintage analog gear. Mike Baker continues as Chief Engineer, with John Bajandas coming on board as studio manager. DSL is owned by David Stewart. For more information, call them at 502-499-2102 or log on to www.dslstudios.com.
• Ray Shipp of Music Warehouse faxed over a news item printed in The Music & Sound Retailer, a music dealer trade magazine. The item described a recent study, conducted by David A. Johnson, a doctoral candidate at U of L's School of Education, at M. L. King Elementary School, which seemed to confirm that learning music early improves academic performance. Fourteen members of the Fabulous Leopard Percussion Group were given standard achievement and music aptitude tests along with 180 other fourth- and fifth-graders. The results: the Leopards scored about 10 percent higher than the other students on the music aptitude tests and above the 90th Percentile on the national reading and math tests. (The district averages for these tests are below 50 percent for third grade reading.)
Buy that toddler a drum kit today, improve math scores tomorrow!
• The Renfro Valley Entertainment Center has been donated to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum by Warren W. Rosenthal, owner of Renfro Valley for the last eleven years. The Entertainment Center will continue to operated by the current staff.
• Audition registration for interested music students through age 21 for the 2000-2001 season of the Louisville Youth Orchestra will begin on Friday, August 25 and end on August 27. Elementary age students with no prior musical instruction may also sign up for the LYO's Presto! String program in either Oldham Co. or the West Louisville area. For more information, contact LYO Executive Director Melody Welsh-Buchholz at 502-582-0135.
• The Kentucky Opera Guild's 27th Annual Book Sale will be held at Trinity High School Alumin Hall on July 14 and 15, from noon to 4 p.m. A party called "A Night of First Choice" will be held on July 13 from 5:30 until 9 p.m. The party includes a gourment buffet, entertainment and, of course, first choice of the books. Call the Guild at 584-4500 for more information and party tickets.
• The Louisville Ballet has elected new officers for the 2000/2001 season. Martha Nichols, Paul Semonin Co., was elected President; Barth Weinberg, Frazier Rehab Institute, President-elect; Andrew Mansinne, Brown-Forman Corp., Vice-President; Heidi Margulis, Humana Inc., Secretary; Jim Wheatley, Union Planters Bank, Treasurer; and Margaret Thomas Immediate Past-President.
The Ballet also paid the last payment on their East Main headquarters building and likewise erased the last deficit remaining form the 1999-2000 season.
• The Southern Arts Exchange 2000 has announced details for their Performing Arts Booking Conference and Training Institute, scheduled for October 3-6 in Atlanta, Ga. The event features workshops, seminars and showcases. For more information, log on to www.southernarts.org or write Southern Arts Federation, 1401 Peachtree St. NE,. #460, Atlanta, Ga 30309.
• Jim Halsey, longtime manager of the Oak Ridge Boys, has kicked off The Halsey Institue of Music and Entertainment Business in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Halsey claims that his institute is the first school to be focused on the business aspects of music and entertainment. For more information, call 918-624-2100 or log on to www.halseyinstitute.com.
• The Songwriters Association of Washington's 17th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest is now accepting entries. Entry fee is $20 for the first entry and $15 for additional entries. The deadline is August 8. For more information and entry forms, contact SAW at 1-800-218-5996 or log on to www.saw.org.
Also, would you please try really, really hard to run a correction in the July issue for the photo credit for Sandy's last jazz jam at the Rud. I believe the photo appeared in the May issue. The photographer's name is Julie Daly. Any gift certificate we might send to her? I'd like to send it along with the May and "correction" issue as soon as the latter is available, to ensure that she sees the photo and the correction at the same time. (In this instance, I hope that she hasn't already seen the May and June issues.) Thanks.
• Douglas R. Berry, 84, died in Shepherdsville on June 21. He was a musician and member of AFM Local 11-637