ASTA 2020 Sessions
Attending the ASTA conference is always one of my favorites mostly because of the amazing people I get to interact with. I am able to catch up with friends who I haven’t seen in a long time and have meaningful conversations with them. In addition, I always meet new people and make new connections. The string teaching profession is absolutely awesome!!
For about the last two years I have had the good fortune to serve as chair of the National K-12 committee for ASTA. This position has allowed me the opportunity to meet new people, but also see some of the inner-workings of ASTA. One of the larger responsibilities is being able to help with the review and selection of K-12 sessions for two national conferences. There are always so many incredible sessions to choose from and there are definitely some difficult decisions that are made.
At the conference this year I have been able to take part in two sessions. First, on Friday, March 6 at 4:15 PM I will moderate the K-12 Round Table Session entitled:
Strategies for retaining students from elementary thru high school
Session Description: You have successfully recruited students for your orchestra, but how do you keep them? A panel of veteran string teachers will share time-tested strategies for retaining students in an orchestra program from a beginner all the way through high school. Educational trends and potential roadblocks will be discussed along with a variety of scenarios that may help teachers better understand and address this important topic. Time will be allotted for discussion.
Panelists:
- Dr. LaSaundra Booth, Wake Forest Community Youth Orchestra
- Ms. Jennifer Floyd, Educator
- Mr. David E. Robinson III, Meadowview Elementary (retired)
Please see the notes/handouts for this session, provided by each of the panelists. (Google Doc)
Next, I presented a session of my own:
How PURE is your orchestra’s intonation?
Description: This session will discuss pure tuning in the orchestra classroom and how an ensemble’s intonation can be refined by transforming the way students listen. Students must understand their role within the harmonic structures of the music and be able to adjust pitch in order to purely tune chords. The teacher facilitates the teaching of intonation via critical listening rather than symbols, words, or gestures. A variety of teaching strategies will be demonstrated using traditional and technological tools. Specific examples from a variety of string and full orchestra literature will be shown. Bring your instruments!
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