AMERICAN STRING TEACHER February 2008 | Volume 58 | Number 1 February 2008 In this Issue: Return to Matsumoto A Lesson in Playing It Forward Plus: Institutional Membership Directory Summer Camps and Conferences American String Teachers Association 1 www.astaweb.com Joshua Bell, featured above, and Jeremy Denk will perform at the ASTA National Conference. AMERICAN STRING TEACHER CONTENTS February 2008 | Volume 58 | Number 1 Features and Forums 22 Return to Matsumoto I traveled to Matsumoto, Japan to see if there had been any changes at the Talent Education Institute since Shinichi Suzuki’s death in 1998. by Marianne Murray Perkins On Mentorship: Sharing the Gift of Music – A 32 Perspective from a Teenage Strings Teacher I looked up to her as a teacher, and her words made me feel like I could do it. I told her, “I’ll give it a try.” by Asia Echard 42 A Lesson in Playing It Forward It feels good to help other people feel the wonder you feel when expressing a musical phrase or playing a fast passage with fellow musicians. by Erika Boras Tesi The Art of String Teaching and Performance: 44 Thoughts on Zen in the Art of Archery From the primeval centuries came the sound of a string instrument resonating in the air. The similarities between the archer with the bow and the string player with instrument and bow are striking. by Michael Fanelli www.astaweb.com | 5 AMERICAN STRING TEACHER CONTENTS February 2008 | Volume 58 | Number 1 Columns Special Inspirations Sections 10 by Donna Sizemore Hale 50 National Conference Member2Member Final Preview 20 Memory and Violin Days 59 Summer Conferences: by John C. Jarboe 2008 Preview 62 2008 Institutional Membership Teaching Tips Directory with Summer Camps 76 Teaching Master Classes: Taking a Lesson from 70 National Orchestra Festival the Performers by Jennifer Mishra 72 2009 Call for Session Proposals and Performances My Turn Mission Statement The American String Teachers Association 99 What Your Adjudicator Really Thinks: Solo and promotes excellence in string and orchestra Ensemble Contests from a Judge’s Perspective teaching and playing. ASTA pursues its mis- by David Littrell sion through: • an open sharing of ideas; • beneÀ ts, services, and activities responsive to the needs of all members; • development of strong state leadership and chapters; Departments • enhancing the image and visibility of string teaching and study; • advocacy for string education; and Association News • an inclusive community of string teachers 14 Message from the President, award and grant and players. announcements, new publications, and other American String Teacher (ISSN: 0003-1313) association-related information is published quarterly by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA). American String Teacher (AST) is available exclusively to Notes ASTA members; the annual subscription price is included in membership dues ($96). Known 78 News of people, places, and events of interest to ofÀ ce of publication is: American String string teachers and players Teachers Association, 4153 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030. Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax, Virginia 22030 and additional Showcase mailing ofÀ ces. 88 The latest news from members of the String POLICY: As the primary means of profes- Industry Council sional communication of ASTA, the American String Teacher represents and reÁ ects the mission of the association. It is not the Reviews intention of AST to promote or endorse any 92 Of books, music, software, and videos particular person or commercial product. The ideas and opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily those of ASTA or AST. ASTA reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason. No article or Every Issue editorial matter in AST may be photocopied or reprinted without written permission from ASTA. Visit www.copyright.com for more 84 ASTA Publications Library information. 86 Membership Application POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Leadership Directory American String Teacher Journal, 4153 Chain 90 Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030. © 2008 by 100 Advertisers Index American String Teachers Association. 6 | American String Teacher | February 2008 Inspirations by Donna Sizemore Hale ASTA Board of Directors President • Mary Wagner Understanding Conference 5833 Cove Landing Rd., #204 Burke, VA 22015 Costs [email protected] President-Elect • Jeffrey Solow During the course of the past few years, many members have asked about 7914 Park Ave. Elkins Park, PA 19027-2629 the process for locating conference sites, setting registrations fees, and [email protected] managing overall logistics. Th ere is great truth in the adage, “it is not as Past President • Robert Gillespie School of Music, Ohio State University easy as it seems.” 110 Weigel Hall, 1866 College Rd. Columbus, OH 43010 When ASTA decided to hold national conferences, one of the im- [email protected] portant goals the Board wanted to achieve was to be sure we rotated the Secretary • Denese Odegaard 3033 38 1/2 Ave. S, Fargo, ND 58104 conference throughout various sections of the country. As any of you who [email protected] have attended an ASTA conference knows our space and meeting needs Member-at-Large • Judy W. Bossuat 2913 Hempstead Way, Stockton, CA 95207 are very intensive. Th e national conference is more than just a meeting. It [email protected] encompasses the National Orchestra Festival as well as in varying years, the Member-at-Large • Beth Gilbert 1928 E Calle De Caballos, Tempe, AZ 85284-2507 National Solo Competition, the National High School Honors Orchestra, [email protected] and the Alternative Styles Awards. Just as an example, in Kansas City the Member-at-Large • Lynn Harrell 1615 Hermann Drive Unit 1208, Houston, TX 77004 association utilized more than 2,100 room-nights. Last year in Detroit, it [email protected] was about 2,400. In reserving room blocks, in some cities it is possible to Member-at-Large • Kristin Turner 1708 N Morrison Rd., Muncie, IN 47304 put everyone in the same hotel. In other locations, like Albuquerque and [email protected] Columbus, we use a number of hotels. What many people do not realize Publications Chair • Barbara F. Eads 9509 Rustic Gate Rd., La Porte, TX 77571-3997 is that when you sign a contract with a hotel you have to agree to use so [email protected] many room-nights. If you ask for more than you need, you have to pay for String Industry Council President • Neil Lilien the unsold rooms. Th is is called attrition. Room rates vary greatly from Meisel Stringed Instruments 32 Commerce St., P.O. Box 90, SpringÀ eld, NJ 07081 one city to the next and from one part of the country to the next. It is [email protected] truly a challenge to negotiate rates that members can aff ord in places that Executive Director • Donna Sizemore Hale ASTA National OfÀ ce have enough space to meet our very intense needs. Rates in top tier cities 4153 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030 [email protected] like San Diego, Phoenix, and New York exceed $225 a night. American String Teacher Because of the way the industry works, to get aff ordable meeting space, Editor • Mary Jane Dye you not only have to take huge blocks of rooms but you must spend money Articles Editor • Kristin Mortenson Reviews Editor • Marg Schmidt on catering, as well. Th e meetings industry has this down to a science and Design and Layout • Sky Henderson Production • Corporate Press in some places there is truly little negotiation. As many of you already Advertising Representative • Steve DiLauro know, hotel food is expensive, and there are service charges attached to ev- • Correspondence Subscriptions, change of address (send mailing label), individual issues, ery meal. Hotels prohibit conferences from bringing in and serving outside billing, membership, and other business matters should be directed to the ASTA National OfÀ ce, food and drink. And you can’t compare a hotel’s restaurant prices to their 4153 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030; tel. 703-279-2113; FAX 703-279-2114; Email: catering prices, catering is always higher. So if you ever wonder why there is [email protected]. • Advertising Deadlines are: August issue—June no orange juice, remember that in some places it costs us $3 a glass plus the 5; November issue—September 5; February issue—December 5; May issue—March 5. Inqui- services fees! But also remember that if we had no catering, the room rates ries should be directed to ASTA National OfÀ ce, 4153 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030; tel. 703-279-2113; FAX 703-279-2114; would be higher—as would the meeting expenses. Email: [email protected]. In areas where we have to use a convention center and/or a perform- • Editorial AST welcomes letters and articles from its readers. Query letters are preferred over ing hall, the costs of running the conference are even more expensive. unsolicited manuscripts. For a copy of the AST Au- thor Guidelines, visit www.astaweb.com. Inquiries and articles should be submitted to ASTarticles@ Many cities are union so the labor costs are non-negotiable. Running a astaweb.com. national conference with the magnitude of ours is also staff intensive. Two • Reviews Review materials should be sent to Marg Schmidt, School of Music, ASU, 40 Gammage of our staff members work year-round exclusively on the conferences, Parkway, PO Box 870405, Tempe, AZ 85287- 0405. Requests to become a reviewer should be addressed to Marg Schmidt, tel. 480-965-8277; competitions, and meetings and a third person spends a large portion Email: [email protected]. of her time on this. Of course, all of the staff works on some aspect of • Submission Deadlines For material to be considered for publication in the Departments the conferences.