UIUC Chapter Wins National Award!

Our UIUC Chapter of ASTA has won an award at the National ASTA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia in March of 2009 for "Outstanding Student Chapter"!

Excerpt from ASTA Press Release:

"The American String Teachers Association (ASTA) is pleased to announce that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the recipient of ASTA’s 2009 Outstanding Student Chapter Award. The winner was revealed at the association’s national conference held last month in Atlanta, Georgia. The student chapter advisor is Louis Bergonzi. He is a former ASTA national president from 1998-2001and is credited for helping lead the association into the 21st century.

This prestigious award is given to a student chapter that is actively involved in promoting strings at the university and community level. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign exceeded criteria by annually participating in meetings, outings, clinics for high school students, fundraising, and mentoring. The chapter also sponsored numerous events with guest speakers including Marvin Rabin, Rodney Mueller, and Jason Heath. Other events were “Volunteer Saturday” at a local food pantry—reaching beyond the school community, concerts, workshops, panel discussions, and strong attendance at the Illinois ASTA luncheon during the IMEA convention. These visible gatherings left a lasting impression not only for music education/string majors, but also nonmember string players and local teachers, amateurs, and citizens.

The chapter is also proud of its effective, goal-oriented, and progressive outlook that will develop future leaders in music education. Under the leadership of its Executive Board, led by President Hamilton Le, the chapter’s current strategic goals are education, expansion, and development. “The success of ASTA student chapters relies heavily on a strong advisor who can be a champion in directing students’ talents and energies to promote strings,” says Donna Hale, ASTA executive director. “We congratulate Illinois and Louis on a job well done in earning this much deserved award.” "

This press release is available on the ASTA website, go to www.astaweb.com