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BY THERESA M. ROCHA
MT STAFF WRITER
6 School School
News News
Piano lovers and performing arts
enthusiasts gathered for a weekend of
piano.
Piano Days, presented by the Laredo
Community College Performing Arts
Department, was a three-day event created
to promote awareness of piano
playing in Laredo.
It included VMT’s Director of Piano
Studies Dr. Mary Grace Carroll.
The event began with a concert featuring
Poland native Dr. Anna Gorecka
on Friday, Jan. 19. Gorecka played
selections by F. Chopin such as Ballade
g-minor, Sonata b flat-minor, and
Scherzo b flat-minor. She was also
scheduled to play M. Ravel’s Gaspard
de la Nuit and W.A Mozart’s Variations
Student of the Month, Head of the Class recipients
in D-major.
Gorecka has played in Vienna,
Moscow, and Berlin.
Encoring her performance, the next
morning, Gorecka gave a master class
that was open to everyone .
Following Gorecka, Carroll presented
a class.
Carroll’s program consisted of two
pieces by Debussy, La Puerta del Vino
and Lis’le Joyeuse. In addition she
played several pieces by M. Ponce
including Scherzino Mexicano,
Romanza de Amor, Intermezzo #1 and
C. Although noted on the program, she
did not play M. Ponce’s Gavote.
Carroll disclosed that the piece was
scheduled for a later performance.
Carroll has played piano for more than
30 years.
The pieces she played she said were
basic repertoire, the essential pieces
pianists have learned.
The event ended with a duet performance
by Elizabeth Gutierrez and
Kevin Richmond of San Antonio. The
two put on a Latin American performance.
Their program consisted of Agustin
Lara’s Granada, Ernesto Lecuona’s
Malagueña, Manuel Ponce’s Idilio
Mexicano, Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez’s
Cavaleiro Fantastico and Carlos
Guastavino’s Romance del Plata.
The two presented separate classes
prior to their performance.
Gutierrez is an associate professor of
piano at the University of Texas at San
Antonio.
According to http://music.utsa.edu/
Faculty/richmond/index.html,
Richmond “…has performed numerous
The Magnet Tribune
May 11, 2007
MT photos by Krystal Battistata/Selina Hernandez, Natalie Castillo, Theresa Rocha
Six students were named Student of the Month or Head of the Class during the school year by the U.S. Border Patrol and other groups. Left photo, from left, Selina
Garcia, Jose Chavana and Leonela Gutierrez. Middle photo, from left, Veronica Cruz and Irma Hernandez. Right photo, Jaime Rodriguez.
Radio, television students get $2,500 Best Buy grant
BY LUCIA VILLAGOMEZ
MT STAFF WRITER
Carrie Robaina, Radio/TV instructor,
was the only teacher who received the
Best Buy Teach Award, a grant of
$2,500.
To apply for this $2,500 grant
Robaina downloaded the application
from the Internet.
Then she wrote essays on some of the
elements that the application required,
along with background information on
her program, and school population
statistics.
When she got the news that she had
been chosen to receive this grant,
Robaina was shocked.
“I couldn’t believe I received the grant
because it was a grant open to teachers
in the U.S.”
She added that she was “excited and
happy that students were getting some
new equipment.”
Leslie Widales, a junior, and
Radio/TV student, was pleased with
the news.
“I was very excited when I found out
we had gotten the grant,” she said.
Both Robaina and her students discussed
what equipment they should
buy.
Robaina took some of her students to
Best Buy.
Students had freedom of choice on
what equipment they wanted to get.
They looked, tested, and chose the
equipment they thought would work
best for them.
In the end they left the store with
three digital camcorders, three tripods,
a digital camera, CDs for their radio station,
a projector, and some headphones.
Oh, and Robaina decided to treated
her students with lunch at Applebee’s
restaurant.
The students who weren’t able to
make the trip to Best Buy with Robaina
thought all the new equipment bought
was cool.
Students could not believe they were
able to get all that equipment with
$2,500.
This equipment has really helped
Robaina with her program, she said.
Now students are able to take the
camcorders home for projects, whereas
before they couldn’t.
“They’re allowed to branch out with
their stories,” added Robaina.
Widales explained how the items
have helped with their assignments.
“Our work has really improved with
our new equipment. The new cameras,
headphones, projectors, etc. have
helped us make our projects even better,”
she said.
“It’s great that companies like Best
Buy offer those types of awards to public
education because we’re under
funded. Students deserve the best,”
said Robaina.
Magnet piano instructor performs at LCC’s Piano Days
solo recitals in Germany, France,
Austria, Japan, and the USA.” He is also
a member of the faculty at UTSA.
The conglomeration of performances
was a memorable experience.
“The goal of this event was to make
people aware of piano playing in
Laredo,” Carroll said.
“I wish that more people had gone
because it gave them a chance to gain
exposure to a different kind of playing,”
she added.
All performances were free and open
to the public.
Carroll also played piano alongside
John Reimund, director of Low Brass
studies at VMT in “Tuba on the Edge”
on Apr. 28 in the Texas A&M
International University Center for
the Fine and Performing Arts Recital
Hall.