Posted: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:16 pm

The Delphian Review Club recently met in the home of president Vicki Blanton with 16 members and a guest present. Martha Clendenin read a quote by Oscar Hammerstein from Doris Freeman’s, also known as Cousin Tuny, book “Cuz” for the thought for the day. Mrs. Blanton introduced guest speakers Barbara Jones and Peggy King, both of Martin, who gave an informative talk on “The Color of Music.” This is an educational contest developed by the Jackson Symphony Association and is open to all students in grades K through 8 in West Tennessee public, private, parochial, home whether schools or special education programs comparable to grade levels K through 8. The goals are to provide an opportunity for listening to and visually interpreting classical music, to increase awareness of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra and familiarize students with the orchestra’s repertoire and to encourage a lifelong appreciation of symphonic music by young people. Jordan Tang, music director and conductor of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, makes two selections of music, such as “Overture to Candide,” by Leonard Bernstein and “Symphony in C Major,” Movement 3 by Georges Bizet, then sends the CDs to the various classrooms with instructions to the teachers on helping the students understand the relationships between art and music. After the two musical selections have been heard, each student selects one piece to interpret in a two-dimensional art form. The contest emphasizes the interpretation of music. Judges will be looking for creativity and imagination, not necessarily artistic ability. Teachers (or independent judges) select three entries per grade level and submit the entries to the symphony office. The entries are selected based on what the judges feel best captures the “essence” of the music. The artwork must be two-dimensional, using crayon, pen, ink, watercolor, tempera, batik or collage. It must be on 12-inch by 18-inch paper and must be mounted on black posterboard size 14 inches by 20 inches. A panel of local artists and musicians will consider all entries and select the blue ribbon and top prize winners. A student whose work best reflects the spirit of the “Color of Music” contest, illustrating music as the universal language, will be awarded the Jackson Symphony League Bravo Award. The Jordan Tang Awards will recognize the students whose works best represent, in the opinion of the judges, the “essence” of their musical selections. The Jordan Tang Prelude Award will go to a student in K-2; Jordan Tang Capriccio Award will go to a student in grades 3-5; the Jordan Tang Fantasia Award will be selected from the entries from grades 6-8. All top award winners will receive, in addition to the prizes awarded blue ribbon winners, a cash prize. These four winning entries will be featured in publications of the Jackson Symphony League and the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, as well as on the Symphony Association Web site. Following the program, the members enjoyed a delicious frozen fruit salad dessert garnished with fresh orange slices served by co-hostess Mrs. Clendenin. Published in The Messenger 1.14.09