[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1653]]
                     IN MEMORY OF ANN RITTLE MONACO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 24, 2002

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Ann Rittle Monaco, a woman of strength, elegance, integrity and a 
passion for music. Ann, the Artistic Director at the Merit School of 
Music, died suddenly on July 30, 2002 after being hit from behind by a 
van while she was out on a run.
  Born in Pittsburgh, she earned her bachelor's degree in music from 
Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio, and her master's from the 
New England Conservatory in Boston. While studying at Western, she met 
Richard A. Monaco, an accomplished composer on the faculty. The two 
married and in 1974 moved to Oak Park, Illinois.
  Over the years, Ann Monaco taught at Chicago State University, and 
UIC and spent nearly three decades teaching piano to students in her 
home. In 1982, she joined Merit as a piano teacher, ten years later she 
became the artistic director. She also was running the school's 
Tuition-Free Conservatory at the time of her death.
  Merit offers a full continuum of instruction in music, both classical 
and jazz. More than 30,000 youths have studied at Merit since it was 
founded in 1979. Merit's primary goals are to serve the economically 
disadvantaged, to help young people achieve their full musical 
potential, and to give young people a sense of purpose by stimulating 
personal and educational growth through music.
  Ann was a major influence on thousands of Merit students. Known for 
wearing ``a velvet glove over an iron hand'' Ann was in charge of 
keeping high overall artistic standards at Merit, but she also was 
known for her fierce dedication to her students. She paid close 
individual attention to her students, doing everything from helping 
them find appropriate apparel for performances, to teaching them how to 
bow properly, and to fighting to secure scholarships for them to attend 
college.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with profound sadness that we remember the life of 
Ann Monaco. Her death creates a void not only at Merit, but also 
throughout the music education community and the world of music. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in expressing our condolences to her family 
and colleagues.

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