Designate a Foundation Fellow: a great way to honor a teacher. (MTNA Foundation News).

When Brian Chung proposed his idea for initiating MTNA FOUNDATION Fellows, I immediately began thinking of my thirty-year relationship with Anna McGrosso. Brian's plan would make it possible for former students and colleagues to honor someone who had been important, influential and inspirational in the lives of other musicians. The required paperwork was minimal and the potential for the financial growth of the FOUNDATION was enormous. What I could not anticipate was the deep personal sense of gratitude that was generated.

I contacted several people who, like me, were fortunate to have worked with Anna. They, in turn, made other contacts. With each e-mail or phone call, memories surfaced. It became an opportunity to reflect on the impact one teacher had made on so many.

Everyone had a story to tell. We quickly exceeded the amount of donations needed to name Anna the third FOUNDATION Fellow. The MTNA national headquarters kept the family and donors informed of the progress of the fund and acknowledged all gifts. The procedure was simple. For Anna's family and friends, it has been much more.

I read the December 2000 AMT article describing Anna McGrosso and was reminded that one of her guiding principles was to aim high. "Anna demanded from all of us exactly what she demanded of herself, and that was no less than the best. She encouraged us to take flight musically and in our own lives."

Her teaching took place in her studio, surrounded by her paintings, her two grand pianos and her comfy tub chairs. The room, like her teaching, was filled with imagination and practicality. Not only did Anna relate music to paintings, literature and everyday life, she also painstakingly observed details of fingerings, pedalings and practice techniques. She loaned recordings, drove us two hours to Chicago to hear great pianists and gave double the amount of lesson time with no extra charge. Years later, after I had completed degrees and was raising my own family, Anna continued to be the one person whose counsel I completely trusted. Her quick mind was so flexible in seeking solutions to career and musical issues and was always tempered with the understanding of the importance of family relationships and the need for individual growth. She could be impatient--but only if you were not using all your resources. Once, she became really angry with Rudolph Serkin for playing the same recital program in Chicago that we had heard the last time he visited the city. She just felt that he could have branched out a little.

In the past four years, Alzheimer's disease has changed life for Anna and for all of us who know her. She is now a resident in a beautifully designed facility filled with light and based on simple geometric patterns. When I visited her last, I did not immediately recognize my friend of thirty years. As I entered the room, I did notice a beautiful, slender women with soft white hair. The lovely smile and graceful manners were the same. Although Anna did not recognize me either, we talked easily about music, practicing, setting goals and wisely using all the time that God has given us. A few days later I received a call from Anna's husband, John. He had taken the AMT article to her. With the staff, they celebrated Anna's honor of being named the third FOUNDATION Fellow. John felt she did remember me and was aware that her work and achievements had been singled out for their special qualities.

Anna's son and husband have decorated a small showcase outside of Anna's room that displays the MTNA plaque and article and several programs and mementos of Anna's musical life. It is a reminder to all of us that what we do every day, on a one-to-one basis, does matter. Anna's abilities to inspire so many to work consistently, to try to realize their potential and to keep it all in balance have been recognized by MTNA. And that makes all who know Anna smile a bit.