Newsletter: January 2026
Claudia’s Comments
Dear Mu Phis,
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I enjoyed being able to wear a coat for a few days! I can imagine most of you either performed Christmas music or attended at least one concert that got you in the spirit. I was able to acquire tickets through the Dallas Opera for a festive concert at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The featured tenor was David Mejia, who was our original singer in Anám. Not only were the two sopranos delightful, but there was a string quartet that played carols and a brass quintet which played a medley from The Nutcracker. My friend and I completed the evening with dinner at our favorite El Fenix.
A special shout out to Ashley Bourus for being voted Teacher of the Year at her elementary school. It’s so gratifying to be appreciated by your peers and I know she is so deserving of this honor.
I hope to see many of you at our January meeting at the home of Susan Poelchau. On January 31 we hope to have a good representation of Mu Phis to honor Katy Freiberger, pianist, singer and composer who was a long time Mu Phi and passed at age 98. She will be missed. In the meantime, we continue our love of music, friendship and harmony.
Claudia Jameson, President
Next Meeting
January Meeting – Welcoming the New Year
Susan Poelchau will host us assisted by co-hosts Ashley Bouras and Mary Alice Rich.
Program:
Fran Pearson - selections from J. S .Bach Suite No 1 in G major for Unaccompanied Cello (played on viola)
Dylan Kirk, tenor (Beta Mu, Commerce; music teacher at Richland Elementary School/Richardson) – singing Being Alive from Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” with Nancy Laine at piano
Amy Canchola, soprano and Noe Garcia, guitar – performing 2 Schubert Lieder, Autumn Leaves and Cielito Linda.
February Meeting – joint meeting with MPE & SAI – Joining in music
Monday, February 9, at 7pm
Location: CC Young Retirement – Auditorium
4831 West Lawther Dr, Dallas, TX 75214
(At corner of Northwest Hwy at west side of White Rock Lake)
Program:
Alicia McCormick, soprano (Beta Mu, Commerce)
Dallas Consort of Viols with Noe Garcia, lute - playing music of John Dowland
SAIs TBD
Last Meeting
November Meeting – Sounds of Fall
Thanks to Host Claudia Jameson and Cohost Tena Hehn.
Program: Mary Ann Taylor, flute, played songs of memory, revisiting works by Bach, Debussy and Hindemith.
Soprano Rebekah Boatwright sang 3 selections from The Faces of Love by Jake Heggie, and Pierrot by Debussy, accompanied by Nancy Laine.
The Founders Day ceremony reminded us of our beginnings and ideals.
There was no meeting in December.
chapter news
TCU Visit
Claudia Jameson and Rebekah Boatright visited the TCU Chapter November 3rd to introduce the collegiates to our alumni chapter and inform them of the Scholarship we offer. We received these cards celebrating the 85th Anniversary of our chapter this February. They were designed by their members and will be available to see again at the next meeting.
UNT Visit
Claudia Jameson, Mary Williams and Nancy Laine visited the Phi Tau Chapter in December for the installation of their new officers. Actually, we gave them a pitch about our scholarship and how they can apply, about the Foundations grants and scholarhips, and about joining an alumni chapter when they graduate. We didn’t stay for the initiation as their meetings start at 9 pm.
Hoping to visit A&M Commerce and Baylor
Claudia would like to visit the Texas A&M in Commerce and Baylor chapters in January. She would love to have other members join her. This personal contact is so important to get our message across to collegiates. Tell Claudia when you could visit one of these chapters.
member news
Katy Freiberger
Member Katy Freiberger passed away on Oct 3. We are saddened by her passing after a long and fruitful life. We are happy that we were able to have a meeting at her house recently and got to see her and enjoy some of the music she composed. She is pictured here with Nancy Laine and Tena Hehn who played some of her duets at the meeting at her home, Behind them is a wooden rocking horse from her collection.
We will share information about a service for her when that is announced.
Mary Ann Taylor’s peace poem Bless the Space Between Us with music by Mary Alice Rich was performed by the Cathedral of Hope choir with a few members from Mary Alice's church joining them. The occasion was a lovely Thanksgiving inter-denominational peace service. Several other MPE members also attended this service.
Noe Garcia has a change of address. For new address, please reach out to Mary Williams.
Claudia’s son William, daughter-in-law and grand-daughter have moved to Japan for graduate studies.
Mary Williams hosted a lady from Wisconsin for a week for a Friendship Force inbound journey from the Missoula, Montana club. Lots of sight-seeing and making new friends. Exhausting!
Her two east-coast daughters were in town for 4 days with their two Dallas area sisters for a “sister trip” in Fort Worth. Mary assisted in airport pickup and had lunch with them on Thursday. They don’t seem to get any older.
Ashley Bouras was selected as Teacher of the Year for Jess Harben Elementary School in Richardson. She said:
"I was overwhelmed with emotion today when I was announced JHE’s Teacher of the Year. Thirteen years at this incredible school, and I still feel honored every single day to teach our students and serve this community. Thank you to my colleagues, administrators, families, and especially my students for filling my days with music, laughter, and purpose. This recognition means the world because it comes from a place and a people I love so deeply."
On Facebook was posted: "… We are blessed beyond measure that she is our music teacher and has been for over ten years! She serves the district and our community with excitement and passion! Congrats Mrs Bouras. JHE loves you!”
Ashley’s 8-12 year old students performed a one-hour musical show of "Annie" tunes at her school in fall.
New member Patrick Orr, an SMU graduate student, played his second graduate recital November 16. Mary Williams attended and can report that Patrick played an ambitious program with great ease! What a talented pianist!
Please note in your Yearbook a clarification to Patrick’s address:
His apartment number is listed after zip code; it should be with his address.
Please add organist Chris Brunt to your yearbook and email list. Nancy Laine plays organ on some programs with him sometimes and when they recently played together on a noontime Advent concert, he surprised her by saying he wanted to pay his Mu Phi dues and handed her cash. She will consider it next year’s dues since this year is almost half over. But we will welcome him in our local chapter plans for the remainder of this year. He would also like to host a meeting at Custer Road UMC again next fall. Yay!
Get his contact information from Mary Williams – txtrael@flash.net.
Mary Williams has been honored by Friendship Force Dallas with a Wayne Smith Award for her tireless volunteer work. For a club to honor one of their members, they are required to donate $500 to the Carter Peace Center, and they did. But Mary also got a very nice memorial pendant of founder Wayne Smith and is very pleased to be a recipient. In 2026 she will be a 50-year member of FFD and a 70-year member of MPE.
concert series
We had an excellent fall series with wonderful performers, despite having two last-minute cancellations that could not be filled. We thank these excellent musicians for their time and talent.
We are still listed as co-sponsors of the series along with the Library.
We are contributing: publicity (emailing list, posters at the Dallas libraries, Facebook notices) and a presence at the desk at concerts - greeting the performers, managing entrances and exits to the auditorium, keeping a list of those wishing to be on a mailing list …. And more. Contact Mary Williams to volunteer to be at the desk for a concert. This Desk Person position is a Mu Phi CHAPTER volunteer opportunity. Please consider volunteering to do this at least one Sunday afternoon this coming year.
Concerts start at 2 pm on Sundays at the downtown Library 1515 Young St. and are FREE. Parking in the garage under the Library is also free – enter from Wood St, behind the Library. Whether you are at the desk or not, please support these talented musicians who are volunteering their time and talent to help us achieve our goal of bringing music to Dallas, especially under-served populations. Bring friends.
Our website has our new season posted; as it progresses, more performer biographies and photos will be added as we receive them and their programs listed as we receive them.
CONVENTION
Call for Proposals - Mu Phi Epsilon International Convention
Your International Executive Board is looking for presenters, performers and composers to be part of the 2026 International Convention in Fort Wayne, Indiana (July 23-25)! This year’s theme, “Imagine, Innovate, Inspire,” celebrates creativity, leadership, and the amazing contributions our members bring to music.
Whether you want to share your research, lead a workshop, perform, or showcase your latest composition, this is your chance to inspire others and shine on the Mu Phi Epsilon stage.
All proposals are due January 1, 2026
More Information at: https://mpe.memberclicks.net/call-for-presenters-performers-composers
Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of an unforgettable convention experience. Submit your proposal today!
Musically yours,
Marshal Pugh
musicadvisor@muphiepsilon.org
See Triangle article and website for more information and application details: www.muphiepsilon.org/apply
international
Deadlines for some of grant opportunities are fast approaching. See full details at: