Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • November 2, 2011 Ramsey Chen Sisters featured in international magazine by John Koster The Chen Sisters, three teenaged traditional Chinese musicians from Ramsey, are now featured in an article in Skipping Stones, an international magazine that highlights the achievements of teens in the arts and the environment and fosters bilingual education around the world, especially in the United States and Canada. Melinda Chen, 15, twin sister of Melanie Chen, is an internationally-ranked performer on the yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer. She is rated a Level Nine player, making Melinda one of the few Americans to rank one step below the maximum. Her performances have to be graded by tapes recorded under supervision in the United States and mailed to Beijing. Jacqueline, Melanie, and Melinda Chen. Melanie plays the liuquin, or moon lute, at the soloist level, and senior sister Jacqueline, 16, plays the erhu, or one-stringed fiddle, at the soloist level. The sisters performed at the Ridgewood Library with the Music from China Youth Orchestra last year, and have performed with a smaller group at the Smithsonian Institution, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and at a number of colleges. This year, they performed at the Lincoln Center Library and at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. They also performed in the state-honored Ramsey High School Band: Jacqueline and Melinda on the alto saxophone and Melanie on the flute. They will also be hosting an exchange student from Germany this year. Skipping Stones, edited by Arun Narayan Toke in Eugene, Oregon, has been published for the past 23 years. The magazine is offered in the libraries of more than 1,000 schools in the United States and about schools 40 in Canada. The award-winning magazine is also available at international schools in Britain, China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and Thailand. Through gifts from indi- vidual donors and from foundations, about 200 schools also receive free copies. “Skipping Stones encourages cooperation, creativity and a celebrating of cultural and ecological richness,” Toke said. “It features original art and writing by youth all over the world.” Some of the selections are offered in a bilingual format, in the original languages and in English translation, and are sent in by youngsters from all over the world. “Gentle and positive in its outlook, Skipping Stones does not shy away from addressing difficult issues. It strives to nurture diverse perspectives and welcome student contributions,” Toke added. “Skipping Stones helps readers broaden their ecological, multicultural and international horizons.” Toke was honored in 2011 with the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Leadership Award. He won the Writer Award from Writer Magazine in 2003. The magazine won the NAME Award of the National Association for Multicultural Education and the Newsstand Resources Gold Award in 2007, and the Parents Guide to Children’s Media Award in 2003.