Five of my nine private students made the trek this weekend to the Chapel of Prodigal on the campus of Montreat College to compete in this wonderful competition. I LOVE this setting and this time of year is absolutely beautiful up there; the azaleas are STILL in full bloom and the mountains....!!!!

I am blessed to have a dear friend who lives about 3 blocks from the competition cite; My sophomore roommate in college, Karen Boyd, is a wonderful local piano teacher there so going to Black Mountain for me is like a trip home to my past.

The competition was conceived by another Asheville piano teacher, Suzan Fehr, who does a beautiful job of organizing and executive producing the competition. The SPECIAL part of the competition is the lovely awards ceremony where the students receive certificates and often MONEY for their exceptional accomplishments. Suzan presents the monetary awards in single dollar bills, tied up with a bow to the many thrilled students!

I am missing this ceremony as I speak because I had to come home to GRADE PAPERS for my Converse theory class. Well, that won’t be happening next year, ha. But dear Karen has promised to pick up all of my students’ certificates and, MAYBE, prize money.

Hold on for the results! I was a proud Mama today!

Dr. Taylor, Melanie, DT