Welcome!!!

Dear String Major,

As the summer comes to a close, we would like to welcome you back (or for the first time!) to the University of Illinois’ School of Music. We hope that you are as excited about the new school year as we are! During the year, you will be given wonderful opportunities to expand your knowledge, excel in your performing, and try many new things. In the School of Music, you are surrounded by musicians of the highest caliber and will also be given chances to see world class musicians (for very low prices!) perform at our neighbor across the street: The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. We encourage you to take advantage of all the great opportunities that the School of Music has to offer in the years.

Who/What are we?
We are the U of I chapter of ASTA – American String Teachers’ Association. ASTA is the largest national organization for string teachers and strives to promote excellence in string and orchestra teaching and playing.

What are the benefits of joining ASTA?

• Making new friends and meeting other string players in the School of Music
• Become part of a professional organization (if you are a Music Ed major, you will need to do this at some point)
• Have access to all ASTA activities and guest speakers/guest artists
• Discount for Suzuki Teacher Training at the Chicago Suzuki Institute
• Great for networking/building your resume
• Discount for attending the national ASTA conference (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Meet older students – you can learn a lot from listening to others experiences, from teaching ideas to picking which classes to take next semester, we are here for you!

I’m not a Music Education major, so why should I join ASTA?

• Our chapter of ASTA is made up of all string majors
• Even if you are not going into education, there is usually always a time in your career when you will have a private studio and students
• Our guest lecturers and presentations deal with a wide variety of subjects, from performing to teaching to injury prevention and beyond. They apply to all of us string players!

We hope that you learned some new things about ASTA and will consider attending one of our upcoming events. The first general meeting will be held in the first coming weeks, so please be sure to keep an eye out for announcements! If you have any questions, feel free to ask anyone on the ASTA Board, or look at our bulletin board in the hallway across from the elevators. Have a great year!

Sincerely,

The 2008-2009 ASTA Board:
Hamilton Le, President (Music Education)
Rachel Witting, Vice President (Violin Performance)
Pascal Youakim, Treasurer (Music Education)
Aaron Kaplan, Secretary (Cello Performance and Music Education)
Sara Goodman, Public Relations (Music Education)
Dr. Louis Bergonzi, Faculty Advisor (Music Education and Conducting), ASTA National President, 1998-2000