national humor & national poetry month

The Carillon Published by the Georgia Laster Branch of NANM, Inc.

(A nonprofit organization) Mission Statement: The National Association of Negro Musicians

promotes, preserves and supports all genres of music created or performed by African-Americans.

NANM Logo: Female Face - the singer; the Hand - the writer, composer; Keyboard Collar - the instruments; Male Face - the impresario.

GLB- NANM, Inc. Board of Directors

Mamie Henry

Branch President

James S. Bryant Vice President

Dera Tatum

Recording Secretary

Sandra Wheeler Corresponding Secretary

Henrietta Fortson Financial Secretary

Joel Graham

Treasurer

John E. Mayes Chaplin

Dorothy J. Hayes

Scholarship Chairperson

Danellen Joseph Membership Chairperson

Barbara Cole

Parliamentarian

Arvis Jones Western Region Director

Dr. David Morrow National President

James S. Bryant, Editor Editor's Note: The 15th of the current month is the DEADLINE for submittal, via e-mail, of materials for the next month's issue. Send to:

[email protected] If you do not have e-mail access, contact James via telephone at:

(661) 273-1744 Please visit our website:

www.GeorgiaLasterBranchNANM.org

April 2013 Issue National Humor & National Poetry Month

IMPORTANT MEETING DATES

GLB Board Meeting Wednesday, April 10, 2013, 6:00 PM

The Sizzler Restaurant 5856 Manchester Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA (310-641-1167) Please contact President Henry (213-749-5892) to advise her if you will or will not

attend this meeting. * * *

GLB Member’s Meeting Sunday, April 14, 2013, 3:00 PM

Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship 2085 S. Hobart Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90018

* * * GLB Board Meeting

Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 6:00 PM The Sizzler Restaurant 5856 Manchester Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA (310-641-1167) Please contact President Henry (213-749-5892) to advise her if you will or will not

attend this meeting. * * *

GLB Member’s Meeting & GLB 2013 Scholarship Competition Saturday, May 11, 2013, 11:00 AM - 5:30 PM

Crenshaw United Methodist Church 3740 Don Felipe Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90008

* * *

1. What is significant about April 4, 1968, in our nation’s history? Answer at bottom of page 4 of 6.

Some History About The Month Of April No one knows for certain how April got its name, but it may have come from the Latin word ‘aperire’ which means ‘to open’. April is considered the month when, in the northern hemisphere, buds begin to open and things start to grow again after the winter. Eostre moath or Eastremonath was the Anglo-Saxon name for the month. The name of the Christian Festival of Easter comes from this Anglo-Saxon word. April begins with a day of fun and jokes – April Fool’s Day. No one really knows when this custom began but it has been kept for hundreds of years. Another interesting fact – the arrival of the cuckoo is the signal that spring has come. It arrives some time mid April. Gemstone: Diamond. Flower: Sweet Pea. (Excerpted from http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs)

*Birthdays this Month:

Corinne Howe Ball – 4/10

Delores Body – 4/22 Gertrude E. Bradley – 4/1 Dr. Flora H. Cordett – 4/2

Barbara Cole – 4/15 Wardell Howard – 4/11

Stanley McWilliams – 4/7 Barbara E. Terrell – 4/21

*If your name is missing, contact Jim Bryant - 661-273-1744. It will appear here, next year.

Member Prayers & Concerns: Patti Anderson

Corinne Howe Ball Robert Ball

Harry Berthelot Dorothy Jackson-Hayes

Meryl Hinkle Vennie Johnson Geraldine Jones Gloria Lindsay

Mr. & Mrs. John Mayes, Jr. Patricia White

I Believe . . . That no matter how good a friend is, They're going to hurt you every once in a while, And you must forgive them for that. That it's taking me a long time To become the person I want to be. That we are responsible for what We do, no matter how we feel.

The Carillon – April 2013 National Humor & National Poetry Month 2 of 6

Think About It: I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.

--- Booker T. Washington

2. What of national significance happened on April 9, 1865? Answer at bottom of page 4 of 6.

The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc.

Presents The Western Regional Conference 2013

April 26 – April 27 Hosted By: Georgia Laster Branch

Arvis Jones, Western Region Director Westminster Presbyterian Church

2230 West Jefferson Blvd. (parking corner of 2nd Ave.) Los Angeles, CA 90018

Conference Registration - $30 Youth Registration - $10.00 (Workshops & Lunch included)

Schedule Friday April 26, 2013

7:30 pm Choral Festival Concert (Free will offering)

Saturday April 27, 2013

8:00 am On-site Registration and Continental Breakfast 9:00 am Business Meeting & Elections 11:00 am Special Presentation: Steal ing The Dy na sty Whi le We W atch: The Spir itual Dr. Samuel Walker, PhD M Guest artist Jeanie Gains presents Sarah, a monologue. 12:00 pm Lunch Is Served! 1:00 pm Workshop I: Bibl ical Worship & Choral Reading Ses sion Rev. Glenn L. Jones, Composer/Arranger 2:00 pm Workshop II: Got Cho ralography? Yvonne Farrow, Choralographer

3:00 pm Election Results and Closing

For Information: (213) 924-3510

(To attend this special event, complete the Registration Form – Page 5 of 6)


From the President

Al-le-lu-iah! When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride, it is as though the whole creation cries Al-le-lu-iah! How often making music we have found, a new dimension in the world of sound as worship moved us to a more profound Al-le-lu-iah! Let every instrument be tuned to praise, let all rejoice who have a voice to raise and may God give us faith to sing always, Al-le-lu-iah! Greetings Members, I trust that each of you had a blessed Easter. The preparation for the Western Regional Conference is a work in progress. There are some things left to be done, but we are making great strides in trying to make this conference a sure success. Those of you who wish to offer monetary donations please feel free to do so, it will be greatly appreciated. We are so fortunate to have the former Assistant Director of the Western Region, Yolanda West, spearheading this event. This is going to be an exciting event. Make plans to hear the Choral Festival Concert on Friday, April 26th at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 7:30 PM. See you at the conference. Good bless, Mamie Henry, President

3. When were the first Social Security checks distributed? Answer at bottom of page 4 of 6.

Jester Hairston Documentary Web Site

For those who would like to see the most recent version of this web site, per Dr. Hansonia Caldwell, go to http://www.jesterhairston.org. Please share with your friends.

Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Composer Fellowship Program

2013-2015 The Composer Fellowship Program is an intensive two-year, after-school (mostly Saturdays and some Tuesdays) composition training program for select young composers in high school. Eligible applicants must be entering grade 9, 10 or 11 and should live in Los Angeles County. Classes, rehearsals and concerts will take place at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Classes begin September/October 2013. Deadline for submission: May 1, 2013. If you have any questions and/or want an application, please call Benjamin Cadwaller, Educations Programs Manager, at 213-972-3647 or email [email protected].

Beverly Hills Auditions The annual Beverly Hills Auditions, sponsored by the City of Beverly Hills, are scheduled for Friday, April 26, 2013 in the Living Room of Greystone Mansion. Application submission deadline is Friday, April 12, 2013. If you have questions and/or want an application, please call Laura Schmieder, Chair. Artistic Director, at 310-205-0511, or click on the link at the bottom of this article. This audition is open to classical performing artists of all ages. Selected artists and ensembles are guaranteed two or three engagements: Music in the Mansion recital series in Beverly Hills, The Previews recital series in Manhattan Beach, and Music By The Sea in Encinitas, plus opportunity to be invited to Sundays Live! at LACMA, Long Beach Live!, Rolling Hills United Methodist Church’s Sundays At Two and many other Southland concert series in the Consortium of South California Chamber Music Presenters. Download the Beverly Hills Audition application at: http://www.palosverdes.com/tlcmusic/2013-14BHAuditionApplication.pdf

Additional Note from the GLB President

The Georgia Laster Branch of NANM, Inc. enthusiastically welcomes back the Reverend Glenn L. Jones a well-respected composer and arranger. Reverend Jones is also the 2nd Vice President of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., and has re-established his local membership with the Edna Hammett Porter Branch. Welcome home!

With warmest greetings, Mamie Henry, President


4. What major catastrophe occurred on April 19, 1906? Answer at bottom of page 4 of 6.

Answers: 1. Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. 2. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse,

April 9, 1865, officially ending the U. S. Civil War. 3. The first Social Security checks were distributed on April 27, 1937. 4. The great San Francisco earthquake happened on April 18, 1906 – killing 700 people.

Entertainment & Non-Entertainment Professionals Who Have Moved On

Bobby Rogers, a founding member of Motown group The Miracles and a songwriting collaborator with Smokey Robinson, passed on Sunday, March 3, 2013, in Detroit, MI, at the age of 73. He formed the group in 1956 with cousin Claudette Rogers, Pete Moore, Ronnie White and Smokey Robinson. Some of The Miracles’ hits include Shop Around, You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me, The Tracks Of My Tears, Going To A Go-Go, I Second That Emotion and The Tears Of A Clown. Rogers Shared songwriting credits with Robinson on The Temptations’ The Way You Do The Things You Do, The Contours’ First I Look At The Purse as well as the above-mentioned Going To A Go-Go by The Miracles. His voice can be heard on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin On, saying “It’s just a groovy party, man, I can dig it”. Rogers and The Miracles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Merton D. Simpson, an artist who became a trailblazing collector and gallery owner specializing in African art, passed on March 9, 2013, in New York, NY, at the age of 84. His work as a painter was mostly in the abstract expressionist mode; but grew more political after he joined the Spiral Group. They were a collective of black artists founded in 1963 by Romare Bearden, Hale Woodruff and others, and would meet to discuss the role of black artists in the art world nationally and world-wide as well. Simpson began collecting African and tribal art in the late ‘40s. His interest was further spurred by the influence of African sculpture on the paintings of Picasso, Miro and their contemporaries. Regarding Picasso and Miro, who people were talking about, Simpson used to say, “What about African sculpture which these people sort of got this idea from?” The Merton D. Simpson Gallery is at 38 W. 28th St., New York, NY. Bobbie Smith, a member of the Spinners from their early days as a doo-wop group in Detroit to recent years on the oldies circuit, passed on March 16, 2013, at the age of 76, in Orlando, FL. He was the lead singer on the Spinner’s first hit, That’s What Girls Are Made For and on three records that reached the Top 10 in the ‘70s: I’ll Be Around, Could It Be I’m Falling In Love and They Just Can’t Stop It (Games People Play). He also harmonized with Dionne Warwick on Then Came You - the Spinners’ only #1 hit. In the mid ‘50s Smith, Henry Fambrough, Pervis Jackson, Billy Henderson and C.P. Spencer began singing together as the Domingoes. A few years later they became the Spinners supposedly inspired by the hubcaps on Smith’s car. Much of the ‘60s was spent under contract to Motown where they had only one Top 20 hit It’s A Shame that was produced and co-written by Stevie Wonder. The Spinners became consistent hit-makers after they left Motown for Atlantic Records. Thom Bell, who produced most of the Spinners’ biggest hits, said Bobbie Smith “was the original sound throughout the entire career of the Spinners.” James Nabrit III, considered one of the greatest lawyers in the civil rights movement, passed on March 22, 2013 in Washington D.C., at the age of 80. Nabrit argued several prominent cases involving education and free speech before the U.S. Supreme Court from the ‘60s to the ‘80s. He was hired at the Legal Defense Fund by Thurgood Marshall, in 1959. His father, James Nabrit, Jr. became Dean of Howard’s School of Law before being appointed the University’s 12th President. Nabrit III’s most noteworthy case probably was Keys v. School District No 1, Denver, in 1973. It was the first school desegregation case to reach the Supreme Court from a state that did not have segregation laws. The Supreme Court agreed with Nabrit’s argument that de facto segregation in Denver left minority students with inferior facilities and staff members, thus denying the students equal opportunity to a good education.

* * *

Western Region Director Wears A Different Hat

While we know how fortunate we are, here in NANM, Inc.’s Western Region, to have the services of the region’s director, Arvis Jones, as it pertains to working to encourage our youth through the musical arts, an email I received from Yolanda West, allowed me the opportunity to see a snippet of Arvis in action – wearing her hat as a Traumatic Loss Grief Counselor. She is the Assistant Director of Hathaway-Sycamores’ Center for Grief and Loss for Children. KABC Channel 7’s Denise Dedore was reporting on the 9th Annual California Childhood Grief and Traumatic Loss Conference that convened March 19, 2013 at the Pasadena Convention Center. Part of the reporter’s piece included some video of Arvis working with a young mother who is still grieving from the death of her less than two-year-old son in June 2012. Hathaway-Sycamores’ main office address is in Pasadena, Phone: (626) 395-7100. We hope we will never need this kind of service; however, the service that Arvis Jones provides can be a wellspring of comfort should such a time happen in our lives. The Georgia Laster Branch salutes and gives Western Region Director Arvis Jones our most heart-felt admiration for the uncompromising service she is providing to these traumatized children within the greater Los Angeles community.


The National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. The Western Regional Conference 2013

April 26 – April 27

Hosted by: Georgia Laster Branch Westminster Presbyterian Church

2230 West Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018

Registration Form

Name ___________________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________ City/Zip ________________________________________________________

Phone (_____) ___________________ Fax (_______) _____________________

E-mail: __________________________________________________________

Please check all that apply: [ ] Choir Member [ ] Soprano [ ] Alto [ ] Tenor [ ] Baritone/Bass [ ] Choir Director [ ] Musician List instrument (s): __________________________________ Member of NANM [ ] Yes: Name of branch_________________________

[ ] No [ ] Yes: Interested in becoming a member of NANM.

[ ] Supporter of the Arts.

Conference Registration Fee - $30.00 / Youth Registration Fee - $10 (Includes Workshops & Lunch)

Payment by: [ ] Cash [ ] Check # _______________

Please Make Check or Money Order payable to: Western Region, NANM, Inc.

Mail to: Byron Smith, Treasurer 4570 Don Rodolfo Place Los Angeles, CA 90008

Send via U. S. Mail by April 19th or pay at the door.

Dr. David Morrow, National President Arvis Jones, Western Region Director

Information call: (213) 924-3510 (Parking available in the lot on 2nd Ave. and Jefferson Blvd.)

Georgia Laster Branch – NANM, Inc. 3309 W. 82nd St.

Inglewood, CA 90305 (323) 752-8443

To All GLB Newsletter Recipients: Page 5 of 6 of this newsletter is the registration form for the upcoming 2013 National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., Western Regional Conference. 1. We have some wonderful workshops planned; 2. The Choral Concert will be uplifting and wonderful; 3. There are new branch by-laws from National to discuss and learn about; 4. Election of new region officers, 5. And mostly for the fellowship of the Region members. The Georgia Laster Branch is asking each member to send in the *$30.00 registration fee, even if you are unable to attend the conference. As this year’s host we will benefit from your generosity. Please make every effort to attend this very important and informative event. With appreciation, Georgia Laster Branch - NANM, Inc.

James S. Bryant James S. Bryant, Vice President *Because we are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization your $30.00 contribution can be considered a tax-deductible donation when you file your 2013 tax return, if you are unable to attend this event.

GLB - NANM, Inc. Executive Board

Mamie Henry Branch President James S. Bryant Vice President Dera Tatum Recording Secretary Sandra Wheeler Corresponding Secretary Henrietta Fortson Financial Secretary Joel Graham Treasurer John E. Mayes Chaplin Dorothy J. Hayes Scholarship Chairperson Danellen Joseph Membership Chairperson Barbara Cole Parliamentarian


national humor & national poetry month

Documents