Colorado ASTA Newsletter January 2017 |
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From President Rebecca Jonas As we come off of our well deserved Winter Breaks, some of us are excited to get back to work. Excited to start new projects, new repertoire, maybe work with new students. But some of us are dragging our feet, just trying to enjoy every last minute of break, before heading back to a less than ideal work situation. This school year, I’ve realized more than ever, the importance of community. Many of you know that I moved away from the PERFECT Orchestra job, away from inspiring colleagues that were also (and still are) close friends, away from a supportive administration, amazing parents, and community, to a very challenging situation. In my position, I am not just the eccentric Orchestra teacher, but the entire music department, a reality for too many string educators across the state. I didn’t realize, until it was gone, how much I missed having colleagues to bounce ideas off of, to laugh with, to shake my head with, to cry with, and to get help from. Many of us are isolated, to some extent. Even if we teach in buildings or studios where we’re not the only music teacher, we are often the only string specialists. Collaborating with each other is often limited to emails, texts, or Facebook. Balancing work and personal lives often means that it’s rare that we get to spend meaningful, non-rushed face time with our colleagues and friends. I encourage everyone, as we start the New Year, to seek out opportunities for community throughout your life--not just in the music, or the String Education world. Whether it’s participating in a new hobby with others, or becoming active in a religious organization, volunteering for a charity or cause you believe in, or picking up a sign to join in a march or a rally, it’s important, for even the most introverted among us, to spend time with others and realize that we’re not alone. And, I encourage everyone to come to the CMEA Conference at the end of this month. We’re excited to have wonderful performing groups to listen to and great sessions by fresh voices and experienced veterans of string teaching. If you can’t make the entire conference, please plan on attending the CASTA meeting. We will make sure that everybody's up to date on all the goings-on in our organization, and more importantly, spend time together, listen to each other, and enjoy each other’s company. Thank you, CASTA members, for all that you’re doing teaching and growing the next generations of string players and teachers in Colorado! Happy New Year! |
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Registration for Colorado ASTA Large Group Festival Now Open The 2017 CASTA Large Group Festival is scheduled for: March 8, 2017 (Northern Colorado - Longmont High School) March 9, 2017 (Denver - Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy) REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO REGISTER. We’re getting excited about our third annual CASTA Large Group Orchestra Festival, and REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!! Thanks to our hardworking orchestra directors, this event has grown over the past several years, becoming a premier festival that showcases the talents of our teachers and students. We are excited to offer you two locations this year, to make it easier to travel with your students during this busy spring time. We are finalizing contracts and other logistics with our adjudicators for the festival, but are happy to be able to announce that Dr. Katherine Jetter will be one of our four judges. Please keep checking the Colorado ASTA website to see the complete judging line-up and to access more details about the festival. Also, performance slots fill up quickly, so please register ASAP. |
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Register for CMEA: "Early Bird" Pricing Ends Tomorrow The Colorado ASTA board is gearing up for a great 2017 CMEA Clinic/Conference! The conference will take place January 25-28, 2017 at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. "Early bird" registration/pricing ends at noon tomorrow, January 2nd! An outline of string-related sessions can be found below, and a more specific schedule can be found on the Colorado ASTA website. For registration instructions and further information, please visit the CMEA website. |
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2017 CMEA Schedule Thursday (January 26, 2017) 8:30-9:30 Opening Session (Broadmoor Hall A) 10:00-10:45 Performance: Coronado High School - Chamber Orchestra (Main Ballroom) 11:00-11:45 "Quick Fixes: Diagnosing and Solving Students' Most Common Bowing Problems Using the Essential Elements Series and Beyond"--Bob Gillespie (Jones Room) 12:00-12:45 Performance: Lesher Middle School - Advanced Orchestra (Main Ballroom) 1:00-1:45 “Amplified Strings, Looping and Effects in the Classroom, Practice Room and Stage”--Christian Howes (Ross Room) 2:00-2:45 “Feeding Frenzy - How to Grow an Orchestra Program”--David Saccardi and Daniel Smith (Ross Room) 2:00-2:45 “Intonation: Not 'Just' for Advanced Musicians”--Bryan Koerner and Julie Nelson (Theater) 3:00-3:45 “Composition Games and Free Improvisation”--Christian Howes (Ross Room) 4:00-4:45 “Ugh, Do We Have To?: Warm-ups to Invigorate Your String Students and Escape the Doldrums"--Alison Mayes (Jones Room) 7:30-10:00 Opening Concert: Karrin Allyson (International Center) Friday (January 27, 2017) 8:00-8:50 “Keys to Self Evaluation: How Can I Help Myself Become a Better String Teacher?”--Bob Gillespie (Jones Room) 9:00-9:45 Colorado ASTA General Membership Meeting (Jones Room) 10:00-10:45 “String Players As Athletes”--Jessica Chen and Codi Ng (Jones Room) 1:00-1:45 Performance: Silver Creek High School - Orchestra (International Center North) 2:00-3:30 Orchestra New Music Reading Session (Ross Room) 4:30-5:15 Performance: University of Northern Colorado - Symphony Orchestra (International Center North) Saturday (January 28, 2017) 7:30-8:30 All State Orchestra Governors' Meeting (Lake Terrace Dining Room) 8:30-9:00 Performance: Bell Middle School - Orchestra (International Center North) 10:15-11:00 Performance: Highlands Ranch High School - Full Orchestra (International Center North) 11:00-11:45 Performance: Colorado Christian University - Orchestra (Main Ballroom) |
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Colorado ASTA Needs a New Secretary Colorado ASTA is seeking a new secretary, as Lindsay Hayes is coming to the end of her term. This is a great opportunity to get involved with the CASTA board. Responsibilities include attending monthly(ish) board meetings, general meetings, and assisting at Summer Conference and CMEA. We have extended the nomination deadline to THIS Friday, January 6th. Please email Rebecca (rebajonas@gmail.com) or Hannah (hsmith26@cherrycreekschools.org) with a bio and headshot by the end of the week if you'd like to be considered for this position. Voting will open at the beginning of next week and will conclude at the CMEA conference. |
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Fundraising Opportunities Colorado ASTA now has two EASY fundraisers available for us to use! Amazon Smile is a great place to make your Amazon purchases while earning a rebate back to our organization. You can also send our own shopping link (copy and paste: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/84-6049603) to your friends and family and ask them to use it as well. Are you planning on purchasing a gift card for a friend or family member? Or do you have a store that you shop at frequently? You should consider using Shop With Scrip! With the Scrip program, Colorado ASTA will earn a rebate on purchases from HUNDREDS of retailers! Many of their gift cards are reloadable, so you can use them for recurring expenses like gas, groceries, back-to-school shopping, and more! Here are the retailers to shop from: https://www.shopwithscrip.com/featured-scrip-retailers. Follow this link to purchase, https://shop.shopwithscrip.com/ and use our enrollment number: 54585C635446L |
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A huge goal that Rebecca and I both share for Colorado ASTA is to start a scholarship fund for our state's collegiate chapters and also for string teachers within their first several years on the job. These are precisely the Colorado ASTA members that should be taking up these kinds of professionally developmental opportunities like the National ASTA Conference. Please join us in this effort, as we begin to accumulate funds for the interest of our members. Thank you! Alison Mayes, President-Elect |
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Improvisation! & Cello Band!: A Workshop Day for Teachers With over 20 years of cello band experience, including 10 years leading the Salty City Cello Band camp and performing group, Margaret Watts Romney is excited to share with her Colorado music colleagues. We will talk about how to get kids of any ability level to create their own music, how to run a cello ensemble driven by student creativity, and of course have open time to hear and play your favorite cello ensembles as well. When: Sunday, January 22, 2017 Where: Holy Comforter Episcopal
1700 W 10th Ave,
Broomfield, CO Times: 1:30-3:00—Teach improv to any group. Really.
3:30-5:30—Cello Band time! Fee: $45.00 (space is limited, register now) Download this flyer for more information, and follow this link to register. Please contact Margaret Watts Romney (margaretwattsromney@gmail.com) with any questions. |
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National ASTA Conference: March 1-4, 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA The 2017 National ASTA Conference will take place March 1-4 in Pittsburgh, PA. Please visit the National ASTA website for more information. We hope to see a large number of string teachers from Colorado in attendance. The Cherokee Trail High School orchestra, under the direction of Kyle Rupley, will be performing at the National Orchestra Festival, and Colorado ASTA President Rebecca Jonas will be presenting a session, just to name a few highlights. |
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Do you have an article, announcement, or other information you'd like to share with the Colorado ASTA membership? If so, we'd love to include it in our monthly newsletter! Please send your newsletter submissions to hsmith26@cherrycreekschools.org by the 20th of each month, and we will be sure to add them the next newsletter, which is published at the beginning of each month. Contact Hannah Smith (hsmith26@cherrycreekschools.org), Colorado ASTA webmaster and newsletter editor, with any questions. |
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