In addition to hosting "Cello Day", we also are able to sponsor other master classes from time to time when the Louisville Orchestra, Lexington Philharmonic and other area music series bring young talent and seasoned veterans to perform for their audiences. We will post local cello related events and recitals (including yours) as well as announce National and World Congresses as information is made available to us.
If you know of anyone trying to sell a cello of any size, we can also post that information on our Instruments page.
Our Newsletter is published periodically with news and information and sent to your home or you can receive it in PDF format from our newsletter editor. We also include a directory for members to be listed as private studio teachers and will include your name, phone number, fee, email address and address or area that you live if you so desire. If you have an existing web page, the KCC website will also include a link to your page.
By Susannah Onwood
It was a dark, cold night in December 1984 or January 1985. At my house, Mr. Starker was my honored guest at a party to celebrate a concert he had just played. He turned to me and said, "Susie, I have a bone to pick with you." (My heart sank.) "There is no Cello Club in Kentucky." (My heart picked up again.) Mr. Starker was already planning the Cello Congress1986 in Bloomington, and he wanted cello clubs from all over the country to be included. After all, the Cello Congress is presented by the American Cello Council and members of the American Cello Council are cello clubs, not individual cellists.
Well, I could do that. I could create a Kentucky Cello Club. I had spent most of my energy that fall creating "Friends of the Orchestra," which was an organization designed to help my orchestra get through our 10 week strike. I was a member of the players' commitee that was leading the strike, snd one of my jobs was to create "The Friends." So, I had written a Constitution and By-Laws for that group. It was ever so much easier to write a Constitution and By-Laws for the Cello Club since I didn't have lots of angry and adamant people with whom to share the job. I was "Queen Susie" and I could do whatever I liked! Suzanne Mc Intosh did give me the wonderful suggestion to make our quorum (for amendments and such) only one quarter of the total membership.
So, in January 1985 I started the Kentucky Cello Club. We held our first meeting on June 18, 1985, when we voted to accept the Constitution and By-Laws, and elected officers. And we were off! Actually, Mr. Starker gave a Master Class on January 27, 1985. That was our first function. My guess is that I made a deal with him that I would start a club if he would give a Master Class.
The hardest part in starting the club was getting the 501-C-3 status from the IRS. (That means that we have our own tax number on our bank accounts, but we have been designated "not-for-profit" by the IRS and therefore don't pay taxes.) I decided to save a bit of money and fill out the forms myself, step by step, slow and easy. Only the IRS didn't accept my first application. They said we were a "social" organization, since I had written that our main functions were "playins" and "cello parties"! So I had to change the application to make us "educational". We promote the art of cello playing and the exchange of ideas among students, professionals, and amateurs. Our purpose reads:
1. To promote the art of cello playing.
2. To provide a common ground for professional and amateur cellists to exchange ideas about pedagogy, performance practices,
instruments, career development, repertoire.
3. To engender a sense of pride in the evolution of the art of cello playing and its future advancement.
4.. To provide performance opportunities for cellists.
5. To keep abreast of current events in the cello world.
See? And now our main events are cello day and master classes, so we clearly are an educational organization...
