In a Melodious Tribute, MENC Member Receives MENC/Sweet Adelines Award

David Weatherred presents the the 2010 MENC/Sweet Adelines award to Anne Kotchman.

MENC and Sweet Adelines International presented the 2010 MENC/Sweet Adelines award to Anne Kotchman at the 2010 International Convention and Competition, at which nearly 7,000 musicians, including 70 quartets and 43 choruses, competed in Seattle, Washington last October.

David Weatherred, MENC Northwest Division Immediate Past President, from Spokane, Washington, presented the award, which recognizes "an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the advance school music education," and "the promotion of four-part harmony barbershop style for women."

MENC member Kotchman is the choir teacher at Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Fair Haven, Michigan. She is also a member of the Shoreline Sound Chorus in Sweet Adelines Region 2, where she serves as the Young Women In Harmony Coordinator, and has taught at the Get Harmony summer camp in Davison, Michigan.

Kotchman said, “This award means so much to me and I find it humbling” to join the ranks of past MENC recipients.

She said, “To do what I love and share it with high schoolers, and to give them an opportunity to learn and experience the passion I have [for barbershop] is such a privilege.”

Kotchman added “since including barbershop in my curriculum the performance opportunities for my choir has improved so much.”

She also urged other Sweet Adeline members to work with students. “Reach out to them. Make a difference in their lives.”

Post and respond to choral queries on the MENC Chorus forum.

Sweet Adelines, a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance, is an MENC Affiliated Organization

MENC Affiliated Organizations

--Roz Fehr, January 20, 2011 © MENC: The National Association for Music Education