Colorado ASTA Earns National Membership Recruitment Award

Congratulations, Colorado ASTA! Colorado tied with New Mexico for National ASTA's Membership Recruitment award, with the highest total number of members gained since September 2018. Colorado and New Mexico have both gained 20 members. This award will be presented at the upcoming national ASTA conference. 

Register Now for CCAP 2019

Just a reminder that the deadline for Certificate Advancement Program registration is coming up next month! This program is a member benefit, and has been valuable to our students. Questions?  Please contact Margaret Miller, CAP chair, at violaco@comcast.net. The dates for CCAP 2019 are as follows:

Saturday, April 13: Parker Performing Arts School

Saturday, April 13: Ft. Lewis College, Durango

Saturday, May 4: Front Range Community College, Ft. Collins

Registration for CCAP 2019 is now open!

Click Here to Register

Getting Deeper: Private Teacher Interview with Hudson Maness

Background: Hudson Maness is an aspiring young violist who is currently going through college auditions. He and I both teach at Music At Mainstreet in Parker, Colorado, the town where he has lived most of his life. He’s an engaging, entertaining young man and I had the great pleasure of speaking with him. I’m sure you’ll enjoy his fresh insights on teaching, music and performance.

From the violists I know, choosing the instrument was always a matter of sound rather than melody or popularity. Hudson’s case is no different. When he was younger he had always been fascinated with the idea of playing viola. Eventually, in elementary school, he had the chance to try both violin and viola as part of a try-out session, of sorts. He had to be sure viola was the right choice. “[The violin] was just way too screechy” he says to me with a laugh. “And I loved the dark viola timbre. In hindsight, the violin I tried was probably terrible, but I can’t deny its screams aided my decision.”

When I asked him of his early tutelage on the instrument, he related the following humorously unfortunate story: “In truth, I began playing in third grade as part of the elementary school orchestra, but I normally don’t include that year when I think of how long I’ve been playing. The orchestra only consisted of the instruments that the shop the school was renting from could manage to get at the time: violin and viola. Everyone (except me) wanted to play violin, so when they ran out of violins, some unfortunate souls ended up having to sit with me. One of the few actual memories I have of that year is when I asked the teacher how to hold the bow (because I had observed how advanced and professional players held their bows) and demonstrated my ‘fist grip’ on the bow. He said my hold was fine and went on to something else. I don’t think anyone learned anything that year. Needless to say, not many were inspired to stick around. The next year everyone quit except for me — including the teacher! That left me in a now one-person orchestra.

And then my life changed forever: the new teacher arrived, Caroline Paetsch, an alumnus of The Juilliard School. She was incredible, a light in the dark. Since I was the only one in the class, I basically received daily 45-minute private lessons from her for two years, jump-starting my playing ability. After the first year she invited me to be part of her private studio, and she’s been my primary teacher ever since.”

Join Us at the National ASTA Conference

The National ASTA Conference is coming up this Wednesday, March 6th - Saturday, March 9th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It's not to late to register! Visit the National ASTA website for more information. 

If you are attending the conference, please join your fellow Colorado ASTA members for dinner in Albuquerque on Friday, March 8th. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Colorado Cello Summit To Take Place March 16th

Come meet and play with fellow Colorado based cellists at the Colorado Cello Summit on March 16th, 2019! Designed to strengthen the cello community in the Colorado area there will be hands on presentations about improvisation and cello technique, a masterclass and a large ensemble reading with famed cello ensemble arranger Doug Moore. We are also honored to have renowned cello maker Christopher Dungey who is going to a presentation about how to maintain and setup your instrument for optimal sound! For more information and to sign up please visit www.coloradocellosummit.com.

Student Summer Camp Scholarship Application Now Available

The application for scholarships is now available. Click the link below to access the application. All applications will be due April 15th. Submissions will be electronic only, and will not be accepted by mail.

Job Postings

Job application season is quickly approaching. Visit Colorado ASTA's job posting page to learn about current openings. If there's a job you would like us to add to the page, please contact us. 

DJC Youth All-Stars To Hold Auditions for High School Bass, Tuba, Piano, and Drum Set Players

The DJC Youth All-Stars are looking for high school musicians with intermediate to advanced jazz experience to join their high-performing group. The audition music and recording can be accessed here: http://bandresourcesunlimited.com/downloads/. Auditions will take place Sundays, March 10th & 31st (6:30-9pm), at Denver Percussion 

Weekly rehearsals take place at Denver Percussion, from 6:15 until 9:00 pm, each Sunday. Some rehearsals will take place earlier on Sundays, when necessary. The band performs at Denver Jazz Club sessions, professional jazz festivals, and other gigs throughout the area. The Youth All-Stars will be performing at the 2019 Evergreen, Denver Vintage, and Sacramento, California Hot Jazz Jubilee Festivals! We will also be performing on a concert tour to New Orleans during next summer!

Questions can be directed to Ed Cannava at ecan11@msn.com or 303-328-7277. Please complete the Pre-Audition Contract and Audition Registration Form in advance. Additional details can be found at: http://youthallstars.denverjazzclub.com/.

Upcoming Events and Important Dates

March 2-5, 2019: Colorado ASTA Large Group Orchestra Festival (Regionals)

March 6-9, 2019: National ASTA Conference (Albuquerque, NM)

April 13, 2019: CCAP Festival (Denver and Durango Sites)

April 23, 2019: Colorado ASTA Large Group Orchestra Festival (State Level)

May 4, 2019: CCAP Festival (Northern Site)

Thank you to the following businesses for supporting Colorado ASTA!

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.