Past Events

2023 Event Sponsorships

ASTA-OK helps sponsor many events throughout the state of Oklahoma, some for the year of 2023 included the Oklahoma Violin Symposium and ASTACAP Exams. Members interested in holding an event with financial sponsorship from ASTA-OK  should reach out to current board members.

2022 Event Sponsorships

ASTA-OK helps sponsor many events throughout the state of Oklahoma, some for the year of 2022 included the Oklahoma Violin Symposium, Oklahoma Cello Fest, and ASTACAP Exams

October ASTACAP Meeting for Teachers: Monday, October 10, 3:30 - 4:30 PM

Come join this informal session to learn more about ASTACAP in general and hear what your Oklahoma ASTACAP Chair, Meryl Geib,  has planned for our coming state version! This session will help guide you when you assign your student their level as well as answer any logistics and pedagogical questions you may have. To submit your questions in advance, please do so here: https://forms.gle/M7mig1zkSCuhjpaH6


This session will be hosted via Zoom @ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5816333187

Email communications@astaok.com for meeting password.


OkMEA ASTA Luncheon: Thursday, October 13 after Fall OkMEA 

To learn more about fall OkMEA, please visit the conference website: https://okmea.org/conferences/october/


To vote on our restaurant choice (Lee’s Sandwiches versus Lido’s) please go here: https://forms.gle/qDMUzE7pSsSnGWdZA


Collegiate Night! Friday, October 21, doors open at 6 pm with free pizza!

Costumes are encouraged! Event is officially from 7 - 8 pm, but pizza dinner starts as early as 6 pm. Collegiate students are invited to meet their cohorts at other institutions and celebrate the Halloween season! The official session will remain informal and include ASTA-OK members who wish to come and address questions about entering the profession and what to expect ahead. Students are encouraged to come with any questions they may have.


Event will likely be hosted at OCU, pending space approval. More details to follow.



Oklahoma Violin Symposium
March 26 - 27, 2021

ASTA-OK was proud to sponsor a wonderful opportunity for violin students and teachers to work with Mimi Zweig!

Baroque Teacher Training Workshop

with Rachel Barton-Pine

Saturday, March 13th, 2021, 2 - 4:00pm via Zoom

Presented by the UCO Brisch Center for Historical Performance



Virtual Town Hall


Please register below for our upcoming ASTA Oklahoma Virtual Town Hall on Tuesday, August 18th at 7pm!

Dr. Laura Talbott Clark will present information relating to the ASTA "Resuming Instruction during COVID-19 Guidelines for Classroom and Studio" and answer any questions you may have on the topic. 

We will split into breakout rooms divided by teaching area (Middle School Orchestra, High School Orchestra, Private Studio, or Collegiate) to discuss our teaching preparations for the upcoming semester with colleagues. 

This event is open to ALL Oklahoma String Teachers - ASTA Members and Non Members! 

We look forward to seeing you there! 


Free, Virtual Middle School String Summit!

ASTA-OK is hosting an online Middle School String Summit on Friday, August 7th via Zoom! 

Our Virtual Middle School String Summit is free of charge and open to middle school orchestra students as well as students entering 9th grade!

 Participants will learn how to use the Acapella App to create virtual ensemble performances with friends, experiment with musical improvisation, and receive help with preparing for your next audition!  

Private lesson sessions (30 minutes at $15 per lesson) are also available upon request with any of our instructors! 

Register today to receive a zoom link for our sessions! 

ASTA-OK was proud to partner with Chamber Music in Oklahoma  in October 2019 to provide a new string quartet competition for our state! 

Congratulations to the winners of the competition!

Thank you to our participants!

We had a great turn out for the first camp for Adult Students! Very positive reviews of their experience and excellent representation of the quality of string teaching in the state of Oklahoma!

Consider joining us next summer for both teaching and learning opportunities for students of all ages!

Attention Adult Amateurs and Teachers needing time on secondary instruments!

ASTA-OK hosts a string camp for adults!

Classes focus on specific techniques, including, but not limited to:

To achieve this we will have teachers for each instrument and break into sectionals to discuss instrument specific techniques.

One afternoon will be focused on ensemble skills and playing in a string orchestra, creating the perfect opportunity for our local string teachers to gain extra experience on their secondary instruments.

ASTACAP Exams

2/10 & 2/16/2019

Oklahoma City

Congratulations to the 47 students who participated in our first ASTACAP Exam! We are so proud of your hard work!

Thank you to participating teachers, examiners, and volunteers for making the exam possible! And a special thank you to our host site, Crossings Christian School, and their orchestra director Jenn Bounds!

String Conversations

3:00 PM April 14 & May 5, 2019

String Conversations will present different speakers - Oklahoma ASTA members, teachers, musicians - who share their expertise with other teachers, aspiring teachers, college students, and anyone wishing to listen and participate in conversation about string teaching. String Conversations is a means for inspiration, sharing of ideas, furthering the knowledge of string teaching, and an opportunity to network with other musicians and colleagues. 

Curious about how the ASTACAP exam can help your students? Log into your profile at astastrings.org and download the latest handbook to see how the program might help your students in the future. Review our ASTACAP presentation from the Aug. 11, 2019 meeting.

Second Fall Symposium 

with Stacia Spencer

10/15/15

 Join us for the second OK-ASTA Fall Symposium. Each year, we will bring a guest lecturer to Oklahoma to speak to ASTA members. Our ASTA Symposium will follow the OkMEA Conference that takes place in the morning. All events will be held Oklahoma City University.

 

Stacia Spencer is a senior lecturer in string pedagogy at Northwestern University Bienen School of Music and string coordinator for the Northwestern Music Academy. She also has been on the faculty of the Northwestern National High School Music Institute teaching violin, viola and chamber music. Prior to moving to the Chicago area, Ms. Spencer was an assistant professor of music at Indiana University School of Music where she taught classes in violin and viola pedagogy and was the assistant to Mimi Zweig at the IU String Academy. Ms. Spencer has a special interest in contemporary music, working with composers and performing new pieces. An eclectic musican and performer, she has been a vocalist and jazz singer in the Jon Eaton Pocket Opera Company in Chicago and New York.  As a singer and electric violist she has also performed and recorded in the rock genre. She received her bachelors and masters degrees in viola from Indiana University School of Music, where she studied with Mimi Zweig, Kim Kashkashian and George Janzer. Ms. Spencer’s students have won many competitions and have been featured on “From the Top”. They also participate in their school orchestras as well as the Chicago Youth Orchestras and the Midwest Young Artists Orchestras.

First Fall Conference

with Brenda Brenner

10/17/13

Join us for the first year of our annual OK-ASTA Fall Symposium. Each year, we will bring a guest lecturer to Oklahoma to speak to ASTA members.  Our ASTA Symposium will follow the OkMEA Conference that takes place in the morning.  All events will be held Oklahoma City University.  

 

Date: 10/17/13

Time: Lunch, provided for all ASTA members will begin at noon.  The lecture will begin at 1 p.m.  This event is free and open to all teachers. 

 

This year's guest lecturer is Brenda Brenner

Brenda Brenner was assistant professor of music (violin) at Indiana University from 1993 to 2006, when she was named associate professor of music (music education). She specializes in string music education, teaching applied violin, as well as courses in violin and string pedagogy.

 

In addition to her appointment to the Music Education Department, she continues to serve as assistant director of the IU String Academy, a position she has held since 1993. Her String Academy students have been featured in concerts in major venues throughout the United States and have presented tours in France, Japan, Sweden, and Spain.

 

Brenner, an active teacher and performer of chamber music throughout the United States, also teaches and conducts at the IU Summer String Academy and is assistant director of the IU Retreat for Professional Violinists and Violists.

She was previously a member of the faculty at Carleton College and an instructor at Eastman School of Music, where she was a member of the award-winning Augustine Quartet.

Barbara Barber Workshop

9/17/11

 OK-ASTA Master Teacher Workshop featuring Barbara BarberAuthor of Solos for Young ViolinistsAuthor of Scales for Advanced Violinists

 

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE - Seretean Center, Oklahoma State University

10am-12pm          Solo and Small Ensemble Masterclass

Do you have a young string student who would like to perform for Ms. Barber?  Do you coach a small string ensemble that is getting ready for contest?  Ms. Barber will listen to selected Oklahoma pre-college students and offer advice in this masterclass that will be open to the public.

12-2pm          Lunch (on your own)

2-5pm          Developing Artistry: Teaching Style Consciousness from the Beginning

Workshop with Barbara Barber

What makes a student sound like a student and an artist sound like an artist? Getting beyond the printed page is the essence of a musically convincing and emotionally expressive performance. This workshop will be a discussion and demonstration of the use and combinations of various techniques that add style and finesse to a string player’s performance.  Bring your instrument!