ASSOCIATION & CHAPTER NEWS
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Win a Bookstore Gift Certificate
Take Action Now for Music Education
As everyone knows, the Presidential election is just
around the corner. The stakes are especially high as educational
policy reform will be on the agenda for the next President as well
as other national, state, and local leaders. Join us in helping to
ensure that arts education remains at the forefront of education
policy.
Now is the perfect time to contact your Congressmen and Senators
regarding their support of music education. ASTA would like to
request your help in recruiting our Congressional leaders for our
Congressional Associates membership program. Through this program,
we hope to educate our political leaders about the importance of
strings and music education. As teachers and educators, you are in
the best position to influence our political leaders. If we launch
this campaign at a grassroots level, we are more likely to get a
favorable response. This is excellent public relations for those
running for office.
Please take a moment to contact the political leaders in your area
by using our Capwiz program. To access this program, go to
www.astaweb.com and click on Advocacy. Once you reach the
advocacy page, click on Capwiz, then click on Congressional
Associates for Music Education. When you arrive at this page, you
will need to enter your zip code. By doing this, the system will
locate email addresses for relevant politicians in your area. You
will notice a sample letter encouraging them to join. The system
will allow you to personalize your emails and then send them
directly. It is better to include your own personal appeal as this
will help keep the emails out of the spam filter and get them on the
desks of decision makers.The entire process only takes about five
minutes. Please copy John at
john@astaweb.com
on your emails. On October 6, we will hold a random drawing for all
members who participated and sent copies to John. One participating
member will receive a $100 gift certificate to the ASTA bookstore.
Thanks for your support.
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ASTA's National Conference Brochure Is in the Mail
Watch your mailbox for your copy of the
conference registration brochure! The brochure outlines many reasons
why you should come and experience Southern hospitality in Atlanta,
Georgia on March 18 - 21 at the 2009 ASTA National Conference.
Register early to get the 2008 registration rates and the best
prices on hotel accommodations and air fares. ASTA's preferred hotel
rates are in effect several days before and after the conference so
you may want to stay and enjoy the city's rich, artistic, and
cultural offerings. Additionally, the August American String
Teacher includes general information about the conference in
the Special Features section. You can also go to
www.astaweb.com and click on Conferences to view selected
sessions, presenter bios and photos, master classes, performances
and much more.
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Call for
Conference Session Presiders
Do you need some extra
visibility at our national conference to provide to your school
administrator? If so, why not volunteer to be a session presider at the
2009 national conference. As a presider, you will introduce the
presenter(s) of the session, sign attendees' professional development
forms, and complete a short evaluation of the sessions. Presiders
confirmed by January 9, 2009 will be listed in the conference program
book. For more information about being a presider or to volunteer,
please contact Deanna Tompkins at
deanna@astaweb.com.
Sessions will be assigned to presiders randomly. If you have specific
presenters that you would like to preside for, please include names or
sessions in your email so that we can match you up accordingly. We will
attempt to accommodate all requests if possible. Sessions fill up
quickly, so contact Deanna early!
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Turn Up the Volume!
We Are Waiting to Hear from You on Your Silent Auction Donation
Don't be shy! Now is the time to donate an instrument,
accessory, music book, vacation package, state basket, or other item
to the 2009 Silent Auction. All proceeds benefit ASTA's National
Foundation to Promote String Teaching and Playing. To make a
donation, contact John Golden at
john@astaweb.com. For
those who have already donated, the foundation thanks you, and we look
forward to featuring your item at the kick off to the Gala Benefit
evening on Saturday, March 21 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.
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Call for Panelists- Using Teen Strings in Your
Classroom
Teen Strings magazine will be hosting an informative
clinic/session for teachers at the 2009 ASTA National Conference in
Atlanta this coming March and is looking for panelists. The clinic
will focus on ways teachers can use Teen Strings and other
Strings products as educational tools in the classroom. The
clinic will be split up into three segments. First, David Lusterman
(publisher of Strings) will introduce the Strings
brand and show how Teen Strings can help educators with
recruiting, motivating, retaining, and teaching string students.
Second, a panel of teachers who currently use Teen Strings
will share how the magazine has enhanced their lesson plans and their
students' learning experience. Last, a quartet will do a reading of
Strings Charts along with other selections featured in
Teen Strings. If you have interest in either serving on the panel
or performing at this clinic, please contact Kara Reagan at
kara@stringletter.com or Cindi Kazarian at cindi@stringletter.com
for more information.
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Shop and
Support the National Foundation
Visit any of the prominent retailers in our affiliate shopping
program and a portion of the sale will be donated to ASTA and
support the National Foundation programs. Participating companies
include Amazon.com, Sephora, Audubon Strings, Macy's, Apple, Target,
and many more! For a complete list of our partners
click here. The National Foundation only gets a percentage if
you access the retailer's website from ASTA's website. Please note
that no additional costs are incurred by you for using the affiliate
shopping program on our website. It is a win, win for ASTA and you!
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Be a Champion
Launch an ASTA Student Chapter
Now that another school year has begun, it's
time to get students active in ASTA activities. One of the best ways
to encourage participation is to start a student chapter. Membership
in a student chapter adds strength through unity in order to become a
stronger voice for string music education. Student chapters can be
started on either a collegiate level or a K-12 level. Please
click here for more information on starting a student chapter. If
you have any questions about student chapters, contact Kari Hahn at
kari@astaweb.com
or 703/ 279-2113 ext. 14.
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Now Available
ASTA New Music Reading Folders
The
ASTA national office is now taking requests for use of the 2008-2009
New Music Reading Folders. This member benefit makes available new
music folders for use at conferences, clinics, and any meeting of
state chapter members who would like to hold a reading
session. Reading sessions are often held during state conferences and
in-service days in particular school districts. This year, we also
have two sets of folders made up exclusively of Alternative Styles
music. These are available by special request.
The ASTA New Music Reading Folders service is free, although the state
chapter using the folders must agree to pay the postage of sending the
boxes to the next site (this typically ranges from $50 to $150
depending on the destination and how quickly they are needed). To
reserve the folders, please contact Kari Hahn at
kari@astaweb.com
or 703/279-2113 ext. 14.
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Withdraw Art from ASTA's Ad Bank
The
ASTA ad bank will be updated soon so keep checking our site for free
advertisements of many different sizes that can be used for chapter
newsletters and other promotions by members. Please feel free to use
any of these advertisements and logos for ASTA products or services as
needed. All ads are grayscale (black and white), 300 dpi and
print-ready. For access to ad bank, click
here. If you have the budget for color art, please contact Sky
Henderson at
sky@astaweb.com to see about getting a color ad created.
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20% Off
Back-to-School Publications
Don't delay. Purchase an ASTA publication at 20 percent off during our
back-to-school sale. The sale is currently underway and ends October
17. View our extensive online Publications Catalog
here.
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Honey Bee's Song
Honey Bee's Song is a charming children's book
that makes a perfect gift for your young students, family, or friends.
If you want to save 20 percent, you need to order by October 17 to take
advantage of ASTA's Back -to-School publications sale. The sale
price is just $7.95! Purchase multiple
copies and save them for the upcoming holiday season. To order
click here. |
The Last Lecture (USA
Weekend)
Joshua Bell
touched by the last lecture of Randy Pausch. Click
here.
Plucked (Wall Street
Journal Magazine, Fall)
Owned by
the same American family for more than a century, it has been played
sporadically in recent years. Click
here.
Mozart Music Discovery
(News Yahoo.com)
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ASTA Announces Guest Conductor for 2010 National High School Honors
Orchestra
ASTA announces that Scott Speck will be the guest conductor for the 2010
National High School Honors Orchestra (NHSHO). For more information
about Speck, please
click here. |
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ASTA National Solo Competition
The 2009 National Solo Competition finals will be held from March 18
- 21, in Atlanta, Georgia at the national conference. The competition
is open to ASTA student members or students of a current ASTA member
with instrument categories of violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp,
and classical guitar. Interested students must first apply at the
state level. To find your state contact information, click
here. For a detailed promotional flyer about the competition,
click here. You can also contact Libby Dietrich at
libby@astaweb.com
or call her at 703/279-2113 ext. 28.
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ASTA Alternative Styles Awards
Applications are now being accepted for the Alternative Styles Awards.
This biennial event is held in conjunction with the national conference,
March 18- 21, 2009. This event seeks to identify, celebrate, and
encourage young practitioners of alternative string styles, such as (but
not limited to) all folk music traditions, jazz, fusion, and rock
music. ASTA members, or students whose primary teacher is an ASTA
member, who are players of violin, viola, cello and bass (upright) are
invited to apply. To be selected as a winner, the performer must be able
to perform at the national conference and meet the age requirements on
the entry form.
For more detailed
information, please
click here to download application or contact Libby Dietrich at
libby@astaweb.com
or call 703/279-2113 ext. 28.
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Potter's Violin Instrument Award
Do you know a
student deserving of a new instrument? The Potter Violin Company
annually donates six Rudolf Doetsch instruments (violins, violas, or
cellos) to students in need through Potter's Violin Instrument
Awards. For more information on the award, or to download an
application, visit
www.astaweb.com.
The deadline for the 2008 awards is October 1.
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