Association News

Abstract

The Eclectic Strings Festival to Debut at National Conference

The Eclectic Strings Festival (ESF) is a three-day event that debuts at the 2011 ASTA National Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on March 17–19. ESF provides participants with the opportunity to explore a wide range of musical styles on their string instruments including fiddle and rock under nationally-recognized clinicians. The clinicians for the festival are: Andy Carlson (fiddle), Christian Howes (rock), Martin Norgaard (jazz), and Randy Sabien (jazz). The crowning event will be a featured performance on Saturday afternoon — the last day of the conference.

Students and teachers alike will learn tunes from all three genres of music, assemble arrangements, and perform a full concert. This is a great way for teachers to learn how to incorporate new styles of music into their orchestra and private lesson curriculums. Teachers will “learn by doing” and take knowledge back to their students. Student participants will learn eclectic styles while interacting with fellow string players from across the country. They also have the opportunity to experience ASTA's strings-only merchandise show located in the exhibit hall and be a participant in the finale of the Mark Wood and Friends’ Saturday evening performance. Contact Libby Dietrich for more information at libby@astaweb.com.

National Solo Competition Finals to be Held at ASTA National Conference

The National Solo Competition is an opportunity for student members or students of current members to individually compete for prize money while adding to their music resume and gaining performing experience. The competition begins (where you must first apply) at the state level and, if selected, you will head to the national conference, March 16–19, in Kansas City, Missouri. The instrument categories are violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, and guitar. State competition information should be submitted to Libby Dietrich, and she will post it your state chapter's webpage on www.astaweb.com. Contact Libby with questions at libby@astaweb.com or call her at 703/279-2113 ext. 20. Prize money for the Senior Division is generously sponsored by The Potter Violin Co., and the Junior Division prize money is generously sponsored by Musicansway.com. Grand Prize sponsored by the Matesky Fund.

Volunteer to be a National Conference Session Presider

Do you need some extra visibility at our national conference for your school administrator? Then volunteer to preside at a session or two this March. As a presider, you will introduce the session, sign attendees’ professional development forms, and complete a short evaluation of the session. If you sign up before January 7th, you will be listed in the official conference program book. For additional information, email Deanna Tompkins at deanna@astaweb.com.

ASTA's Partners with a Leading Group Insurance Administrator

As part of our continuing goal to provide members with the best possible benefits, ASTA is proud to announce its partnership with Forrest T. Jones & Company, Inc. (FTJ) — a leading group insurance administrator.

FTJ Insurance Offerings:

Educators Professional Liability Insurance — Protect yourself financially from the high costs of defending or settling a lawsuit that may arise from your duties as an educator. FTJ's policy covers you against a broad range of risks that educators face — even defense costs. Choose from two plans… depending on how much coverage you need.

Life Insurance — This plan offers affordable rates that are guaranteed not to change for the first 10 years of coverage. Up to $1 million of insurance is available for ASTA members and spouses, and coverage can continue up to age 80.

Personal Auto —Receive an 8 percent discount in most states on your automobile insurance. Other benefits include 24-hour claims handling, safety discounts, and more through GEICO.

Health Insurance Plans — Enjoy an affordable plan through Assurant Health. Choose from several plans, including Health Savings Accounts (HAS), Family PPO Plans, and Employee Group Health Plans.

For more detailed information and to see more plans, visit their website at www.ftj.com/ASTA.

Merz-Huber Company:

ASTA continues to offer excellent insurance coverage through Merz-Huber Company (MH) at a discounted rate. Through Merz-Huber, you will find coverage for:

Instrument Insurance — The forerunner of all specialty insurance, MH's insured instruments can be found anywhere you look. Included in this coverage is all risk perils protection throughout the world at competitive rates available exclusively for ASTA members.

Visit their website at http://www.merzhuber.com and learn more about MH instrument insurance.

It's Not Too Late; Register to Vote Electronically

Are you signed up to vote electronically for ASTA national board elections? If not, you should do it now. Enrolling is easy: 1. Send an email to Tami at tami@astaweb.com with your full name, ID number (if available), and email address. (It is helpful to put “eVoting” in the subject line.) or 2. Call the national office at 703/279-2113 ext. 16 for over-the-phone registration.

All active members are eligible to vote electronically in the upcoming member-at-large election if they enroll by December 1, 2010. They will receive a link and instructions on accessing the special voting website at the appropriate time. This site is secure and managed outside of ASTA in order to protect the integrity of the election. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the national office.

Heartfelt Thanks from Recent Potter's Winner

Potter's Violins Instrument Award Winner Isadora Beauvais, with her new violin, and her teacher, ASTA member Marilee Hord.

ASTA recently received this thank you from Isadora Beauvais, “Thank you so much for choosing me to receive a violin… it means the world to me. I have been able to progress so fast with my new instrument, and she is completely flawless. The sound is so good! She doesn't make weird noises like my other one— there is no way I could ever put my thanks into words. It's just too much. Thank you!”

Look for the October round of Potter's winners on ASTA's website. (As of press time, winners were not yet chosen.) The next deadline for this award is April 1.

Buy ASTA Publications from Alfred Music Publishing

ASTA is pleased to announce that Alfred Music Publishing will be distributing a majority of its publications in late fall.

ASTA is confident with this business decision as it is a win-win situation. Members will benefit by having the publications more readily available at retail stores and ASTA and its authors gain increased visibility and sales.

Enter the Merle J. Isaac Composition Contest

Postmark Deadline is January 15, 2011

The purpose of ASTA's Merle J. Isaac Composition contest is to encourage the composition, publication, and performance of music of quality for the benefit of school orchestra programs. The contest accepts compositions in junior and senior divisions.

All entries must be postmarked by January 15, 2011. Applications and complete guidelines are available at astaweb.com under the competition section.

The Junior Division is open to student composers through the age of 18. Students are invited to submit an original, unpublished composition that is suitable for string orchestra at the elementary or middle/ junior high school level.

The Senior Division is open to composers aged 19 and above. Composers are invited to submit an original, unpublished composition that is suitable for a string or full orchestra at the elementary, middle/junior high school or high school level.

The selection process: in the Preliminary Round, all entries are screened (score analysis) by a panel of three judges. Compositions selected for the “final round” are rehearsed and performed by a school orchestra for a panel of five judges.

ASTA reserves the right to declare that a winner does not exist if the entry requirements and the musical standards are not fulfilled. For further details, contact Michael Hopkins, contest chairman, at mhopkins@umich.edu.

The Meeting Place: A New Blog and Forum for ASTA Student Chapters

A new blog and forum called “The Meeting Place” is specifically designed for ASTA Student Chapter members. It can be found at http://astascblog.blogspot.com/.

The Meeting Place is for disseminating current news, events, workshops, or deadlines. Pictures and video may also be posted. This is a great opportunity to share current thoughts and post reactions through commentary.

To find out how to post an entry or for guidelines, please contact kmjviolin@gmail.com. In addition to the blog, the ASTA Student Chapter forum is a means to collect wisdom and knowledge of individual chapters and share it with others.

Apply for the George Bornoff Memorial Scholarship Fund

This scholarship is sponsored by the Foundation for the Advancement of String Education in conjunction with ASTA. Three scholarships will be awarded each year in the amount of $800. For specific requirements and for application form, go to ASTA's homepage. Applications are due December 1, 2010. Special consideration to applicants who teach in underserved areas.