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WHAT'S NEW
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BREAKING NEWS:
 Project STEP is fiscal sponsor for new film celebrating Ann Hobson Pilot.
Ann Hobson Pilot, Principal Harp of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been in the orchestra since 1970. As a revered and cherished teacher, one of the first African-American BSO member musicians, and one of the first women to join the orchestra, she has been called an icon in the orchestra world. Ann retired from the orchestra at the end of the Tanglewood season this past August, 2009, and jumped into two immediate, full time projects: She will be premiering a harp concerto written for her and the BSO by John Williams at Opening Night at Symphony, September 23rd and again on October 3rd; and playing the piece with the BSO at Carnegie Hall’s 2009-2010 Opening Night, October 1. And she is making a sequel to the film of 1999, A Musical Journey. Project STEP is the fiscal sponsor for that project, which is at full throttle now, with filming and recording going on this September and October. For more information, visit www.musicaljourney.org.
 Project STEP Alum Takes Home $10,000 Prize, Career Management, Naxos Recording, Opportunities to Solo with Professional Orchestras.
Tony Rymer, a 19-year old cellist who received his pre-conservatory music training through ProjectStep (String Training and Education Program) and is currently a second year student at New England Conservatory, won the 12th Annual Sphinx Competition, February 1 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. His winnings include a $10,000 prize, a one year contract for career management, a professional CD from Naxos, and an opportunity to appear as soloist with a number of symphony orchestras. Within two days of his winning performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto (fourth movement), he had already received expressions of interest from the Detroit, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Cleveland Orchestras.
Read the entire article.
 Mariana Green-Hill, NEC Prep Faculty and Artistic Director of ProjectSTEP Honored for Achievements as Sphinx Alumna
Also honored at the Sphinx Competition was Mariana Green-Hill, another graduate of Project STEP and an NEC Preparatory School alumna. She won the Sanford Allen Award in recognition of her “artistic merit, persistence, and extraordinary achievement.” Green-Hill was named Artistic Director of STEP in June 2008 succeeding the retiring William Thomas. As a STEP student, she studied at NEC Prep from 1990-1997 where her teachers included Farhoud Moshfegh, Marylou Speaker Churchill, and Tamara Smirnova. She also played with the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and as a member of the highly regarded Amaryllis Quartet. Coached by the late Eugene Lehner, the Amaryllis won the 1995 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (Junior division). In 1996, Green-Hill won the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition and was a featured soloist with the BSO. That same year, she performed with the Boston Pops and the Civic Symphony of Boston.
Read the entire article.
 Mariana Green-Hill is First Former Project STEP Student to Return to Take On Leadership Role in Organization
Click here for the press release.
Randall Hiller elected President of the Board of Directors
Project STEP announces that Randall Hiller is the new President of the Board of Directors. Randy has served on the Project STEP Board since 1999 and participated in various committees including Executive, Finance, and Board Development. His background in music and mathematics suit the needs of Project STEP perfectly.
Randy says he plans to "refocus our efforts on the next 25 years. How can we bring all of our students to their full potential? How can we balance the pressure of our highly demanding program with the understanding, care and support that young children so critically need? How can we publicize our program more effectively so that everyone in and around Boston knows who we are and what we do? These are a few of the issues I would like to address during my tenure."
Randy is succeeding Margaret Williams-DeCelles , to whom Project STEP is most grateful for her exceptional wisdom, experience, knowledge of STEP and the BSO, and warmth, which helped STEP navigate some of its most exciting and most challenging times. Margaret completed two terms as President of the Board of Directors of Project STEP on June 30th, and we are very pleased that she will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
Project STEP is very fortunate to have both members on the Board and is grateful for their continued passion and support of the program.
STEP students perform at the Museum of Fine Arts
Project STEP students were invited by the Museum of Fine Arts to perform in December
2006
and January
2007
at special celebrations hosted by the museum. In December the String Chamber Orchestra performed in the
stately
Koch Portrait Gallery, a sumptuous setting for Christmas, Hanukkah, and classical works. The MFA opened its doors to thousands of visitors for a holiday celebration during which
the STEP
performance was
one of the highlights.
Again in January, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the MFA
featured
Project STEP students in two performances, at 11 a.m., and again at 2 p.m. Both performances featured solos. The program included Winter from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with Mariana Green-Hill, who is a Project STEP alum, graduate of The Juilliard School, and
currently
teaching young string players in Project STEP. Tony Rymer, a senior this year, was also a featured soloist, playing the cello for the Haydn Concerto in C Major for Violoncello. (See news about Tony below.)
Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson
offer
master class
Acclaimed musicians Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson, members of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and soloists
who perform
throughout the world, gave a master class for Project STEP students in November 2006. Mr. Laredo and Ms. Robinson were generous with their time, listening to and working with three different performances by STEP students. At the conclusion of the first performance, a concertino played by nine-year-old Hanifah Bostic, Mr. Laredo and Ms. Robinson exclaimed that they were astonished by the spot-on intonation in
such
a
young
student. They
then
helped Hanifah with her bowing, both positioning her arm and the tilt of the bow. Next they heard a movement of the Schubert C major "cello" quintet, and worked vigorously with the students on color and phrasing. Finally Tony Rymer played three movements from the fifth Bach cello suite. Mr. Laredo and Ms. Robinson
offered him
suggestions on posture and positioning, and were highly complimentary of Tony's playing.
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