Dear Friends in CoMeT,
Within a few days it will be Christmas, with hopefully for all of you a short period of rest, whilst enjoying familial intimacy and happiness around the traditional tree. Let me wish to everyone a really fine new year, filled with love and friendship, and also with stimulating and successful professional activities.
Our Collegium is doing well, and I think I can bring you mainly positive news. We had – without any doubt – a glorious 2012 : The highlight was our congress of last April, masterfully organised by Mara Behlau in Sao Paulo: an event to remember, scientifically as well as socially. We also enjoyed, at the end of August, a fine Symposium within the Festival in Salzburg, managed by our General Secretary Josef under the auspices of CoMeT. Our Collegium was further very well represented at the World Voice Conference in Luxor, where, thanks to our friend Nasser, we held a very fruitful General Assembly.
The question of membership repeatedly comes back in our discussions within the General Assembly and remains to some extent a source of concern. I am convinced that being a Member of CoMeT is something important for a broad majority of you: we are proud to be CoMeT Members! But the implications of Membership include contribution to the running organisation expenses (e.g. the website) by settling the annual fee (40 Euro), and participation in our (yearly) Symposia, for sharing scientific information within our domain. We try, as far as possible, to join large congresses in our field, in order to limit expenses. Nevertheless, the really “active” CoMeT Members remain no more than a fraction of our Member’s list.
Therefore, the Board has decided to make 2013 a “special” CoMeT-year, with an attractive proposal to all of you: We will, as CoMeT, join the Pan European Voice Conference (PEVoC) in Prague (August 21-24, 2013 – see the website : www.pevoc.cz).
In agreement with Dr. Jan Svec, one of the organizers, the CoMeT-participation will consist of some specific sessions within the PEVoC Conference : e.g. a Round Table on acute voice problems of performing artists, and a Tutorial session on instrumental assessment of singing voice. Additionally, we could have a session with CoMeT free papers. Please consider this as a ‘Call for contributions’, and provide me with suggestions (title and abstract).
Traditionally, CoMeT meetings are enlightened by a vocal artistic event, and this time we have something exceptional to propose: As you know, Mozart loved Prague, where he felt supported and understood. He created there, at the Estates Theatre, on 29 October 1787 his Don Giovanni. The CoMeT-Board has decided to offer the entrance ticket for this unique opera-event (Aug. 23rd,2013), in the opera house where it actually was created under Mozart’s direction, to all Members whose subscription payments are in order*. We also have decided to simplify the fee-payment, by using the PayPal facility. You will soon find more informations on this topic our website. Other payment options can be found here.
Please may we request that you also take this opportunity to advise our General Secretary Dr. Josef Schlömicher-Thier of any changes in your address, or e-mail address-mail.
Further notice that for 2014, we already have a nice project: a CoMeT-congress in Salzburg, at the time of the Festival of course, and to be organized by Dr. Schlömicher-Thier. We also plan to participate in the UEP-Congress in Moscow (2-5 Oct., 2014).
I look forward to meeting with you in Prague in August.
Merry Christmas and happy New Year !
Cordially yours, also on behalf of the Board,
P.H. Dejonckere,
President CoMeT
*According to our By-laws (Art. 5) “To remain a Member, payment of membership must not lag behind more than two years including the current year. Ex-members who want to renew their membership shall be accepted after payment of 3 membership fees the first year.”