ASTA eNews Summer 2009

ASTA extends warm birthday wishes to Dr. Gerald Doty. He turns 100 this October! Doty served as ASTA president from 1958 to 1962. Prior to his presidency, he held the office of treasurer from 1954 to 1957. His illustrious career is filled with accolades from coworkers, students, friends, and family.

A special birthday party is being held in his honor by the Montana State Chapter of ASTA on October 3. According to Pam Hillygus, they anticipate that 100 players will perform the Suzuki tunes that he loved to teach. (He had students until he was 98.) Please contact Hillygus at pjhillygus@mcps.k12.mt.us for more information about the party or if you have any special memories that you'd like to share.

Free Recruiting Posters Available for Orchestra

Having trouble recruiting students for orchestra? As part of the NAMM grant, Increasing Access to Strings, ASTA now has free posters available that target minority students. Place your order today by emailing maryjane@astaweb.com. You will receive 10 posters to display throughout your school community.

What's In Your Backpack? Fill It with ASTA Pubs

In order to ensure that your backpack is filled with essential books for string teaching, ASTA is offering bargain prices for the following "Back-to-School" publications. Click here for online ordering form. This offer is valid through September 15th.

String Syllabus Volume Two for Harp and Guitar - This syllabus is for harp and guitar. Grade one through six harp music is listed along with a list of dealers who sell harp music. The member sale price is $14.96; regular price, $19.95.

String Teaching in America, Strategies for a Diverse Society - In this book, teachers working enthusiastically and successfully in "nontraditional" settings from all levels share what they have learned in working with students, parents, administrators, and their communities. This book is a valuable resource, not only for string teachers, but for any music teacher beginning an assignment in an urban area. The Member sale price is $13.46; regular price, $17.95.

Orchestral Bowings & Routines - A book from Elizabeth A.H. Green that is indispensable for the orchestra teacher. Green discusses the essence of orchestral bowing, the fourteen basic bowings, different styles, and tricks of the trade. The member sale price is $12.37; regular price, $16.50.

String Syllabus, Volume One, 2009 Edition - Studio teachers, this is the only book you'll ever need to find that perfect piece for your students! It lists pieces from grade one to six. Each grade level is defined by skills used in the compositions. Etudes, solo pieces, and collections are all represented, and detailed publisher information is given to aid in acquiring music. This 2009 edition contains a brand new "Alternative Styles" section. The member sale price is $20.96; regular price, $27.95.

The School Symphony Orchestra Experience - This text is written for music educators who wish to add a symphony orchestra component to their string program. There are suggestions for presenting a proposal to administrators, scheduling options, ideas for sharing facilities, as well as recruiting and retaining the wind/percussion players. A graded literature is included. The member sale price is $10.46; regular price, $13.95.

String Teacher's Cookbook

This savory book is a collection of insightful strategies in one easy, quick-to-read source. According to the publisher, contributors to the book were even eager to get a look at each other's ideas. With outstanding records of performance, workshop clinics, recordings, research, composition, leadership, and teaching, the 57 authors provide their favorite "recipes" that range from overviews of successful programs to specific topics intended to inspire all levels and types of ensembles and performers.

The cookbook is published by Meredith Music and distributed by Hal Leonard with royalties generously donated to ASTA. This book can be purchased online at halleonard.com for just $24.95. It is edited by Joanne May.

Buy Fun Stuff from the ASTA Emporium

The ASTA Emporium is our new virtual store at Cafepress.com. This website has helped many organizations raise money by creating quality logo imprinted products for members such as shirts, mugs, key chains etc. ASTA will receive a percentage of each product sold, which helps support our programs and outreach efforts.

ASTA is devoted to enhancing the future of string teaching and playing. By shopping at the ASTA Emporium, you are helping ASTA's mission to advance string education and performance throughout our nation and around the world by sponsoring a variety of programs and projects for students, teachers, performers, and string industry professionals.

The national office does not take orders, invoice, or process returns. Those are all done through Cafepress, and their customer service will help you with ordering and any questions you may have about a particular product. Please contact Cafepress customer service directly at 1/877-809-1659 with any questions regarding an order. There is a 100 percent money back guarantee within 30 days if you are not satisfied with the product. (The only exception to this is a $55 restocking fee for flip mini-camcorders.)

Please note that with dark items you see displayed - the background of the logo is in white only to show the logo online, it will not appear on the final product. Click here to view ASTA's Emporium. Note: We have two product lines - one is the ASTA logo, the other is the "I Heart Strings" logo. Happy shopping!

Council Members: Show Off Your New Products and Services

Would you like to take advantage of showcasing your new product or service in the American String Teacher (AST)? If so, please send all releases, not more than 300 words, to maryjane@astaweb.com. You may also include graphics with a resolution of 300 dpi. This extraordinary benefit is offered to String Industry Council members only. Don't let this opportunity pass you by to advertise for free to a targeted audience of potential buyers. Deadline for submissions for the August AST is September 10. Showcase is also featured on ASTA's webpage. Click here for current AST Showcase.

Become a Free Member of the Arts Action Fund

As many of you know, ASTA has established a new partnership with the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. As a benefit of your ASTA membership, you can also become a free member of the Arts Action Fund which will provide you with:

Timely arts advocacy alerts and news through E-Advocacy Center;
Easy-to-use online tools to instantly contact elected leaders at the federal, state, and local levels as well as the media with customizable messages;
Congressional Arts Report Cards to monitor how members of Congress are voting on the arts and arts education;
Quarterly newsletter that keeps members informed and engaged as stakeholders in arts advocacy;
News from campaign trails to engage, educate, and support political candidates running for federal office; and
Ability to contribute to the only political action committee (PAC) in the country representing the interests of all arts forms.

Please help ASTA work with other arts advocates to build one million advocates for the arts by 2010 and advocate for arts education and arts funding. Join the Arts Action Fund today by clicking here.

EVENTS & COMPETITIONS

2003 Merle Isaac Winning Composition Published by Tempo Press; Dedicated to 9/11 Victims and Rescuers

Jeff Frizzi's winning composition, "Elegy for Remembrance" which won the Merle J. Isaac Composition contest in 2003, is now published by Tempo Press and will be performed at this year's Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

"Elegy for Remembrance" is dedicated to the victims and rescuers of the September 11, 2001 tragedies. He began writing this piece on the evening of September 11, after watching the day's events unfold on the news and speaking with his wife, who was an emergency medical technician and a fire fighter. Each section of the piece represents a different aspect of the tragedies, including a large cluster chord to represent the chaos of the day and a mournful section to represent the sadness that was felt by America.

CodaBows for America Awards

Each year, CodaBow International, Ltd., donates approximately $5,000 worth of full-size CodaBow Aspire bows to deserving schools and studios. Violin, viola, and cello bows are awarded. Applications are accepted from ASTA members on behalf of schools or studios that outline the particular worthiness, promise, and need of their program. ASTA is pleased to announce that bows were awarded to:

The Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, and their Intensive Community Program, will be receiving five PRODIGY violin bows, one PRODIGY viola bow and four PRODIGY cello bows.

ASTA member Erica Lessie, Crete, Illinois, a private teacher with DePaul University, Merit School of Music and Sherwood Conservatory will be receiving two DIAMOND NX cello bows to assist two of her students.

Special thanks to committee chair Anita Pisano, and committee member Matthew Baldwin for their help in judging this ASTA program. And as always, thanks to CodaBows, and their president, Jeff Van Fossen, for support of this outreach effort. The application deadline for next year's award is April 1, 2010, and more information is available on ASTA's website. Click here for information.

Potter's Violin Instrument Award Winners

ASTA is pleased to announce that three young musicians were generously awarded instruments by Dalton Potter, owner of Potter's Violins in Bethesda, Maryland, for the April round of the instrument awards for students in need. The winners are:

Sarah Wolf, 13, Violin
Bay Village, Ohio

Malcolm Dyer, 15, Cello
Aiken, South Carolina

Eunhae Park, 16, Violin
Dilworth, Minnesota

Every spring and fall, Potter's Violins of Bethesda, Maryland donates six Rudolf Doetsch instruments annually to students in need. Three instruments- violins, violas, or cello of any size are awarded each round. Details and application materials are available online here. The postmark deadline is October 1.

ASTA National Solo Competition News

The Board of Directors passed the following motions at its May meeting. Motions are effective for the 2011 National Solo Competition.

Motion: Whereas the National Solo Competition is a biennial event, beginning with the 2011 National Competition cycle (which in some states may begin as early as spring of 2010), state competitions procedures must conform to the national rules/guidelines (including the memory and repertoire requirement) for competitors to be able to participate in the National Competition.

Motion: States are encouraged to hold solo competitions in off-years of the national competition cycle and may establish their own guidelines and procedures for these competitions independent of the national rules. These off-year competitions will not serve as preliminaries for the National Solo Competition.

Alternative Styles Awards Competition

The next Alternative Styles Awards Competition will take place in Kansas City, Missouri, March 17- 19, 2011. This biennial event is held in conjunction with the ASTA National Conference and seeks to identify, celebrate, and encourage young practitioners of alternative string styles, such as (but not limited to) all folk music traditions, jazz, fusion, and rock music. More information on the upcoming competition will be available on the ASTA website in the fall of 2009.

National Youth Orchestra of Iraq

The first-ever National Youth Orchestra of Iraq (NYOI) is in need of experienced string teachers to volunteer for its new distance learning program. Teachers will tutor intermediate to advanced music students in Iraq on a one-on-one basis using YouTube, Skype, email, and other tools. Violin teachers with some internet facility are urgently needed at this time, though other string players may be considered as the need arises. If you are interested in volunteering for this historical undertaking, contact Allegra Klein at allegra@musicians4harmony.org for more information.

To learn more about NYOI or to make a donation online, click here. If you'd like to follow Klein's blog on NYOI's first summer session in Iraq, click here.

ASTA eNEWS is a free service and an official publication of the American String Teachers Association. It is designed to give you quick updates on what's happening within ASTA and in the string music industry.

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