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Personnel
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| Lucinda Tyler |
Lucinda Tyler, currently a Pocahontas County Historical Society VISTA and previously a Pocahontas County Free Libraries VISTA, initially began her experience with the Pocahontas County school system when she volunteered to read with "at risk" students at one of the elementary schools. The next school year she was asked to run the program of volunteers and in 6 months was recruited by VISTA to implement the same tutorial reading program in the other two elementary schools for the following school year.
Simultaneously she was awarded a mini grant from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation to conduct a pen pal program. The success of that format was formidable. She recruited three very urban schools in Los Angeles, CA and Fort Worth, TX to correspond with the three rural schools here. To this date some of the now fifth graders are still corresponding a year later with their pen pals.
In the course of one year she received 2 mini grants from Wal-Mart pertaining to the reading program. The following year Tyler procured an additional grant from Wal-Mart to purchase roll up keyboards and a digital piano for the Music Pilot Program with the 3rd grade class. Tyler then applied for and received three community grants to continue and expand Pocahontas Music to include 3rd, 4th and 5th grades at Hillsboro Elementary during the 2007-2008 school year.
From elementary through high school Tyler played classical piano or sang in select choruses. |
Lois Airgood |
Lois Airgood, the music teacher for Pocahontas Music, was classically trained on the piano, and as a child was fortunate to attend public schools and church with very active music departments. She studied classical piano for eight years, learning not only to play, but also receiving in-depth lessons in music theory and music history. In addition, she studied piano, violin, cello, voice and recorder at school, performed in school and county-wide orchestras, school vocal groups and church choir, and played piano, organ and hand bells at church.
Although she considered continuing her music education in college, Airgood instead opted to study computer programming at a technical school. After excelling there, she began her 12-year career in corporate mainframe computing, and enjoyed a steady rise from entry-level programmer to senior systems analyst. She has lived in Pocahontas County since 1990 and is now self-employed, designing and programming websites for clients in the United States, United Kingdom and India.
Airgood continues to enjoy playing the piano, covering music styles from classical to jazz and blues, and has taught her ten-year-old daughter to play as well. Several years ago she taught herself to play the guitar and has studied with local instructor Alan Dutchess, exploring various styles of music - everything from Old-Time mountain music to jazz. She also enjoys participating in the local Allegheny Echoes Summer Workshops, where she has studied fiddle and guitar.
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Vladimir Maleckar |
| Also involved in this pursuit is the retired Recording Engineer of the Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Maleckar who lives in Pocahontas County. He has coached us along and introduced Tyler to Cleveland Orchestra's program annotator and editor, and critic for the Christian Science Monitor, Klaus G. Roy who has been equally helpful with ideas and support. He wrote to Tyler "...if a music program with ten or twelve students affects two or three the program has been successful..." |
Allen Johnson |
| Director of Pocahontas County Free Libraries, musician and ardent supporter of Pocahontas Music. |
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