All, as I reflect on this year's conference, I decided to do the legwork for everyone and compile the available handouts for everyone. I may add a few of the handouts I have of sessions I went to when I get permission from the authors.
Here's the link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14tXcAngooBHkMvEpnwI69n-2wgFtSMDr?usp=sharing Here are some stunning pics I got on the plane on the way home! Take care and see you next time!
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Then I received an email from a Facebook contact that I knew I had to see. David Robinson III has a youth orchestra that was rehearsing today not very far away. I knew of David from the School Orchestra and String Teachers Facebook page. He has some wonderful arrangements of a TON of pieces. My students have enjoyed them many times. I dropped in and had a great time sitting in and doing a little conducting: I had so much fun here in Atlanta but it will be good to get home. I'll upload some more highlights of sessions once I'm back in Anchorage. Take care for now!
Well, this has been an incredible 2 days to the conference. I really don't know where to start. Yesterday, the conference started with an amazing opening lecture by Aaron Dworkin, the founder of the Sphinx organization that works to bring to light diverse African-American and Latino classical musicians to light. His speech was awe inspiring making all of us in the room ask our selves how we can cultivate diversity in our classrooms. My favorite quote, 'Strive not to be a success, but to be of value,' Albert Einstein. And isn't that why we do what we do? I next went to a cello workshop on the finger patterns of Christopher Bunting, an English Cellist who lived from 1924 - 2005. I think it is fair to say that the cello is really the hardest of the four string instruments, at least from my perspective. The Bunting exercises are an amazing jewel to rediscover. I will be look at at a good many to see how to put them to use in the classroom. My all time favorite, and one of the reasons I come to ASTA, was to hear Chris Selby talk about how to teach Orchestra. Him and his books are truly a wonderful resource and all of my classes use his Habits of a Successful String Musician. I particularly enjoy hearing his philosophies on teaching and what makes a good approach to teaching orchestra. Among his many points: give your students easier music that they can play musically; we plan with our eyes but don't forget to listen when you are picking new music; and if you want to get your kids to listen: STOP CONDUCTING! I love his workshops! I went to two presentations on Intonation. Whoa! My kids: look out! David Pope gave an amazing presentation on intonation as well as Michael Alexander on 20 ways to get your Orchestra to Play in tune. Some highlights: Pope says DRONES, In Tune, Staff Wars and Tonal Energy! Michael says: tuners, electric tuners, tapes, singing and finger patterns will help. This year, I tried to get to more National Orchestra Festival concerts. The highlight and who I predict will win: Monalua High School, Honolulu, Hawaii! They are unbelievable! And not to be missed was the party thrown by D'addario with Time for Three playing. Check it out!
It's official! ASTA (American String Teacher's Association) has officially started! I spent the day in the ASTA leadership workshop. It was wonderful to get to talk to 50 other ASTA presidents and President-elects from around the country. We all notices the problems we all see to have in keeping our chapters going. We discussed everything to leadership, policies, taxes, what to do and not to do and chapter engagement activities. I have a lot of ideas and resources, but the main thing is to just pick one or two things to try to improve during my time as the Alaska Chapter President and build for the future. I did enjoy the evening's first event that was designed to welcome new members and first timers to the conference. Here's a picture: I did my job and manned the Pacific area to welcome new comers and ran into one of the Board Members from Hawaii! Here's Duane Padilla and I. Signing off and getting ready for A FULL DAY for tomorrow!
I am realizing that there are two different driving phenomenon here in the south: driving in the Atlanta environs and road tripping. You know you are no longer home when the signs start changing on the highways...Here the ones I saw on the way to Augusta that I've never seen before: Today I had to take my mother and son to the airport. Now the first thing you need to know about the Atlanta airport is that this not one but TWO airports!! Make sure to set your GPS to the DOMESTIC terminal of the Atlanta Airport and not the International one! Your phone will probably default to the International one like mine did…of course… But then, make sure you have someone helping you with the map because you also have to strategically plan your lanes! I now have a rule of thumb: if the exit is close, you can risk being in the first or second lane from the left, but if you have 5 miles to go, only go to the THIRD lane from the left because heaven forbid if you are too far over in the SEVEN LANE HIGHWAY to get off your exit!! Then people are seriously aggressive drivers here. Atlanta driving is not for the faint hearted or insecure. You will get eaten up by people cutting you off. I think it’s because the distances are so great and there are so many people on the road that if you want to get where you want to go in any descent amount of time you have to make sure to guard your lane and guard it well. This is why... I marvel at the folks who live here. It’s an amazing city with endless things to do, but for me, WAAAAAY too many people. And that’s coming from a New Yorker by birth! Alaska is where my heart is now! And where my nose is happiest…let’s not even talk about the pollen all over everything…Spring is here! I left my expensive tissues with the lotion in it in the car. I am going to get them right now….
Again, permit me to expound on a topic that is near and dear to my heart and the reason I came to Atlanta... My grandmother grew up in Augusta, Georgia, just 2.5 hours east of Atlanta. She left in 1936 at a time that has been called the Great Migration when enormous numbers of African-Americans were leaving the South in search of better lives and work opportunities. My grandmother and her 3 siblings were no different. She ended up moving and settling in Harlem right across the street from the Savoie Night club, but that's a story for another day... For my entire life, our family consisted of myself, my mother and my grandmother. I longed to reconnect with my grandmother's people which most of were back in Augusta. I started doing our family research because my grandmother always said we came from the Geechie-Gullah people of the coastal islands of Georgia and South Carolina. These were slaves that retained their culture because they were isolated on the outer islands off of South Carolina and Georgia. They were even given land of their white owners by General Sherman. They are still in existence today. In order to prove this, my search lasted 10 years and led me to the history of this man... James Henry Hammond, US Senator, Governor of South Carolina and US Congressman. He made famous the line 'Cotton is King.' As it turns out, my Great-Great Grandfather was recorded as working for Hammond's ancestors after the end of the Civil war. We know this because here he is... This is a photo of Coleman Williams in 1898. He is holding the Great-Grandson of James Henry Hammond, John Shaw Billings. Billings would go on to donate all of the Hammond property to the State of South Carlolina in 1975. It is now Historic State Site of Redcliffe Plantation. I decided to make sure on this trip, I got to visit the place where I know my people were. Here is the house: We know that slaves built this house as well as drained the surrounding malaria ridden swamps to make Redcliffe and his 3 other plantations the productive machines they would grow to be in the years before the war between the states, as it's called down here in the South (also called the Northern Aggression). Hammond owned over 300 slaves during his life time and the good news for their descendants is that he took meticulous notes on everything and everyone in his life. Billings donated all of Hammond's papers to the State....unedited. It is a treasure trove for people trying to rebuild the history that was denied to many African-Americans. Walking the grounds that the ancestors walked was life changing. The slave quarters are also still standing. Here are some photos. The 2.5 hour drive from Atlanta gained me, not only a visit to Redcliffe, but I got to see my many cousins that still live in and around Beech Island, SC and Augusta Georgia. The older lady on the left is the matriarch of the family, Hattie Mae Williams. The far right picture Hattie is with my mother and son. She is my Grandmother's niece. We are all descendant from my grandmother and her 3 siblings. Here are 5 generations of us: I love history! And I love bringing people together to make a family! Now on to the ASTA family tomorrow! Stay tuned...
First of all, if you are reading this, I have to send a big thank you out to anyone who's been following me along on my journeys. This is my first foray into blogging and I must say, I get an enormous boost from my stats after a long day to know you all are reading my musings! Day 1 was really epic. I arrived yesterday to the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta and this is what I saw: The first thing that came to mind was the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, where my mother I stayed years ago. I have to say, I do not really like these types of elevators...but I will endure the motion sickness just for the coolness of it all. My son and mother arrived before me. My son Brendan managed to sweet talk a manager and now I have an executive suite for the entire week! The kid is doing well. I am cramming in a mini-vacation with this conference so until Wednesday, I hope you won't mind my indulging in the sights and sounds of Atlanta. I must say, this hotel is the best and the staff bring the word 'service' to a whole new level of the word. ASTA peeps, get ready for an amazing stay! We decided to cram in as much as we could today since tomorrow is our big road trip...more on that tomorrow! So we started out at the Atlanta Zoo. This is a very cute and well thought out zoo that you can do in a day. Here are some photos... We saw everything from Pandas, Kangaroos, Tamarins, Otters, Orangutans, Komodo Dragons and Bush Dogs. My son and I even got to climb a rock wall and my son got to climb the tree trail in the air. We are definitely going to come back here because in 2019, they are opening an African safari section that is just massive! No visit to Atlanta would be complete without a trip to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s grave and historic center. We were also able to enter the Ebenezer Baptist Church where King preached. We sat in the church's sanctuary while listening to King give one of his speeches. It was surreal. He was speaking on the topic that I swore could apply to the state of things today. I will be listening to more of his sermons when I get home... As if this all wasn't enough, we finished out the day at the Georgia Aquarium. Let me just say one word...EPIC! WHERE ELSE CAN YOU SEE 4 WHALE SHARKS IN ONE TANK??? This is truly an amazing place. We got to see the dolphin show which was remarkable. Of course my son wanted to sit in the first 10 rows so we could get soaked...and we did. But we also got to touch sea enmities, watch Belugas swim and see fish from around the world. My favorite was the moving sidewalk through the big tank under the whale sharks!
Here are some Aquariam pics and be sure to see tomorrow's post! We have a great road trip that will be a dream come true after 9 years of study and searching. It's 4:09am at SEA-TAC airport as I wait for my flight to Atlanta. I am fortunate to have another fellow traveller going to the same place as I am from East High, so the trip is starting out great! This is my blog on my trip to the American String Teacher's Conference in Atlanta, GA. There are some exciting things happening this year at the conference and some personal side trips that will be fun for my family and I. This year, ASTA has created their own app for the conference. Before, they used Guidebook, but this year, they have created their own native app in the app store. See a screen shot below... Follow along as I make my way to the bustling city of Atlanta and hear all about this year's ASTA conference! I have quite a few fun things planned. Now...off to find an open shop for breakfast.... |