Summer Music Festival Earns ASCAP Award

Sewanee Summer Music Festival is one of 27 American orchestras to be honored with a 2013–14 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming at the League of American Orchestras National Conference in early June. 

Sewanee Summer Music Festival (SSMF) was selected as the second-place recipient in the festival category, along with first-place winner Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (Santa Cruz, Ca.) and third-place recipient Aspen Music Festival and School (Aspen, Colo.). 

SSMF was selected for this award because of its contemporary programming in the 2013–14 season, featuring works from composers such as Mason Bates, Jan Bach and Thomas Sleeper, as well as a commissioned piece by current SSMF artist-faculty member Sidney King. The League and ASCAP present the awards each year to orchestras of all sizes for programs that challenge the audience, build the repertoire, and increase interest in new music. Approximately $750,000 has been bestowed on orchestras since the awards were established in 1947. 

“We are humbled to be presented with this award,” said Katherine Lehman, festival director. “To be recognized by ASCAP and the League of American Orchestras is a huge honor. Sewanee Summer Music Festival believes the exploration of new music is vital to artistic and cultural growth, both in Middle Tennessee and in the global music arena.”

The Sewanee Summer Music Festival is an internationally acclaimed summer festival combining a month-long program for advanced music students and a professional concert series. This year’s Festival will be June 21–July 20. A major highlight of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival 2014 repertoire is a world premiere of an original work by banjo virtuouso Béla Fleck on July 19. Other contemporary music highlights will include Kevin Puts’ “Millennium Canons,” Michael Daughtery’s “Raise the Roof” for timpani and orchestra (featuring soloist John Kilkenny), and a performance of Fleck’s “The Imposter” at the concert on July 20. Tickets and this season’s full calendar of events can be found at <sewaneemusicfestival.org>.

Selective enrollment of students from around the world, a unique curriculum, frequent performance opportunities and close mentoring with renowned artists position the young musicians at Sewanee Summer Music Festival as leaders in a changing musical landscape.

The League of American Orchestras leads, supports, and champions America’s orchestras and the vitality of the music they perform. 

“We are proud to partner with ASCAP in recognizing the ever-growing commitment of America’s orchestras to the music of our time,” said League President and CEO Jesse Rosen.

The League’s diverse membership of approximately 800 orchestras across North America runs the gamut from world-renowned symphonies to community groups, from summer festivals to student and youth ensembles. The only national organization dedicated solely to the orchestral experience, the League is a nexus of knowledge and innovation, advocacy and leadership advancement for managers, musicians, volunteers and boards. Its conferences and events, award-winning Symphony magazine, website and other publications inform music-lovers around the world about orchestral activity and developments. Founded in 1942 and chartered by Congress in 1962, the League links a national network of thousands of instrumentalists, conductors, managers and administrators, board members, volunteers and business partners. Visit <americanorchestras.org> to learn more.

Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. performing rights organization representing the world’s largest repertory, totaling over 9 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 500,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists. ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances. 

County School Board Requests 7-Cent Property Tax Increase

In an effort to solve the continuing budget crisis in the Franklin County School system, the board of education has requested a 7-cent property tax increase. The Franklin County Commission will have to decide whether to accept this recommendation.

The school board and Director of Schools Rebecca Sharber have been struggling to have a budget for the 2014–15 year that would have a $3 million fund balance. With the proposed property tax increase, the fund balance would be approximately $2.4 million.

At the April 7 meeting of the school board, the draft budget showed a $1.2 million shortage, which included increases in insurance costs and retirement. At that time, the board asked Sharber to come back with a budget that had a $3 million fund balance. 

Sharber reported she was unable to get there. Since then, she has been working with system staff to reduce projected expenses. Recommending a 7-cent tax increase was required to get the fund balance closer to $3 million. An earlier plan had recommended a 33-cent property tax increase. A majority of the county commissioners indicated they would not support such a large tax hike. 

Because the school board cannot levy taxes, the final decision about the increase must be made by the commissioners. There has been no increase in appropriations from the county commission to the school system for 10 years. The Franklin County commissioners will meet again on June 16.

Sewanee Community Invited to Take Survey

In conjunction with the community meetings in Sewanee regarding the downtown planning process, a survey is being conducted so that the broader community can share their thoughts and opinions. 

Please use the link <https://sewanee.wufoo.com/forms/sewanee-village-community-survey/> to access the survey and offer input for the planners. The survey is open through June 13.

Participation in this project will help as the planning moves forward.

St. Andrew’s Chapel Centennial Mass • Presiding Bishop to Preach and Celebrate

The Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States, will preach and celebrate the Holy Eucharist at a special Centennial Mass at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School’s St. Andrew’s Chapel on Saturday, June 7. The presiding bishop’s visit coincides with the school’s Alumni Weekend [see story on page 6] and is in tribute to the Centennial Celebration of St. Andrew’s Chapel.

The service begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Chapel doors will open to the public at 9:10 a.m. There will be a live video stream into McCrory Hall for the Performing Arts for overflow seating. Guests will be seated in McCrory Hall once the Chapel has reached capacity. Holy Communion will also be offered to those seated in McCrory. Visitors are asked to park in the McCrory Hall/Gym lot.

The Rev. John Thomas, SAS head of school, said, “We are grateful to Bishop Jefferts Schori for making time in her busy schedule to be with us as we celebrate the birth of the physical manifestation of the spiritual center of our community.” 

The Centennial Celebration also kicks off the school’s Chapel Centennial Campaign to restore and renovate the much loved but well used and deteriorated building.

The cornerstone for St. Andrew’s Chapel was laid in 1913 by Bishop William Alexander Guerry of South Carolina, the first Mass was sung in the Chapel on February 22, 1914, and the structure was consecrated in May of that year. Except for brief interruptions over the years for renovations, students have gathered in the Chapel at least three times a week for prayer and community. The Chapel is the setting for alumnus and Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Agee’s novel, “The Morning Watch,” a recounting of a young boy’s experience during the Easter vigil.

SUD Board Reviews Water Loss; Hears Request for Adjustment

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the May 27 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, the board asked Manager Ben Beavers about old supply lines being a possible cause of unaccounted-for water loss. The board also heard an appeal from a customer who received an unusually high bill due to a water leak.

Unaccounted-for water loss is the difference between water produced at the water plant and water recorded on customer meters. SUD’s unaccounted- for water loss, 27 percent, is slightly lower than last year, although still a cause for concern. Commissioner Art Hanson speculated that supply lines no longer in use could be the source of undetected leaks if the old lines were uncapped and under pressure at the junction with in-use lines.

Beavers acknowledged old supply lines as a possible source of water loss, but said significant leaks would be visible as groundwater or result in marshy areas unless the water ran into a stream bed.

Beavers said SUD had maps dating back to 1953 showing the location of all the supply lines in use at that time, as well as maps from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s showing the location of supply lines. However, Beavers said, until recently, no systematic records were kept indicating when lines were taken out of service and whether or not the lines were capped. SUD now caps all lines taken out of service and records their location. Beavers plans to investigate out-of-use lines as a possible cause of water loss when the meter replacement program is complete. (SUD hopes its ongoing program of replacing customer meters will help reduce unaccounted-for water loss, since old meters typically give a false low reading.)

A SUD customer whose last water bill was $1,186 more than normal asked the board to reduce the amount owed. The customer’s meter showed 60,000 gallons more water used than normal usage. The excessive use was due to a malfunctioning toilet. The customer, a part-time resident, was out of town and unaware of the problem. SUD discovered the excessive use when reading the meter and shut off the water to the residence on May 5.

SUD Board President Cliff Huffman said the board would “need to rewrite the policy” to authorize an adjustment to the customer’s bill. According to SUD’s bill adjustment policy for water leaks, leaks between the meter and the foundation of a home qualify for a 50 percent bill reduction, but the policy does not provide for bill adjustment for leaks within the residence.

Beavers said SUD could provide relief in the form of “payments for as long as you need with no interest and no penalty.”

Offering especially pertinent advice to SUD customers who plan to go on vacation in the coming months, commissioner Karen Singer said, “When you leave town, we recommend you turn off your water.”

The SUD board will not meet in June. The next regular business meeting is scheduled for July 8.

Local Groups Secure Bonnaroo Grants

The South Cumberland Community Fund and the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance have been awarded grants from the Bonnaroo Works Fund.

The Community Fund’s award of $3,500 will support the fund’s initiatives in education, cultural enrichment and community-building. “The people of the South Cumberland Plateau are creating innovative and successful programs to improve the quality of life here. The Bonnaroo Works Fund grant gives the Community Fund another way to support those programs,” said Scott Parrish, Community Fund board chair.

The MGTA’s grant of $5,000 will go toward construction of Phase II of the trail from Monteagle to Sewanee. “Bonnaroo’s emphasis on creating healthy communities fits right in with our mission to offer recreational and health benefits, as well as economic opportunity, to the area,” said Janice Thomas, board president of the MGTA.

The Bonnaroo Works Fund supports community projects and educational, arts and environmental programs. For more information go to <www.bonnaroo.com/get-involved>.

Blue Monarch Founder Receives Rotary Award

The South Pittsburg Rotary Club recently awarded Rotary’s highest recognition, the Paul Harris Fellow, to Susan Binkley. This award, named for the founder of Rotary, was established to recognize those that live Rotary’s motto, “Service Above Self.” 

Club member Beth Duggar said, “The South Pittsburg Rotary has donated $1,000 to Rotary International’s Foundation in Susan’s honor. She is the epitome of ‘Service Above Self.’” 

Binkley is the founder and executive director of Blue Monarch, a local residential nonprofit organization that provides services for women and children recovering from abuse and addiction. More than 500 women and children from 34 counties across the state of Tennessee have been served since Blue Monarch was established in 2003.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Blount, was invited to introduce Binkley. 

“The costs for incarceration are huge and increase yearly,” Blount said. “When we send mothers to prison, we must also pay huge sums to take care of children. We must look for alternative programs, because prison cannot be the only answer for this problem. Where do we look? We look to people who have visions of alternative programs. 

“We look to people like Susan Binkley and programs like Blue Monarch, where instead of incarceration, separation, destroying the family unit, and spending larger and larger amounts of tax payer money, we attempt to keep families together, to rehabilitate, to restore and to save taxpayer money,” Blount said.

“This award was a tremendous honor for me,” said Binkley. “My relationships with folks from Rotary have always played critical roles in the creation and development of Blue Monarch. And it was also special to be introduced by Steve Blount. His influence and encouragement in the beginning of this journey helped to shape the way we operate today.”

For more information about Blue Monarch go to <www.bluemonarch.org> or call (931) 924-8900.