PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING AN APPRECIATION OF MUSIC
2023-2024 Officers
President: Elizabeth Kennedy | rappahannockmusicsociety@gmail.com
Vice-President: Karen Flanders | karen@ajoyfulnoiseorange.com
Secretary: Julianne Boyce | julieboyce75@hotmail.com
Treasurer: Janice Raspen | rappmstreasurer@gmail.com
The purpose of the Rappahannock Music Society is “to promote and encourage an appreciation of music, to provide opportunities for musical study and performance, and to aid and encourage musical education.” In 1981, a group of ten teachers formed the “Fredericksburg Teachers Association” for an exchange of professional ideas and problems, to further musical interest in the community, and to provide occasions for student performance. As an outgrowth of this first organization, in the fall of 1984, the group became affiliated with the National Federation of Music Clubs and the Virginia Federation of Music Clubs, and changed the name to the Rappahannock Music Society with membership open to anyone with an interest in music. At this same time, the series “Music at Noon” was inaugurated and since then there have been half-hour programs on the third Monday of every month from September through May, with admission free to the public. The RMS has sponsored recitals by musicians of note, has held workshops, has taken students and adults on trips to the Smithsonian Museum, and has offered a class in music appreciation. It presents four student recitals a year, student performances and music displays at the local library, and participates in the Federation of Music Clubs Festivals. Music scholarships and awards, through audition, are presented to several middle and high school students each year.