KASTA SUMMER CONFERENCE
The KASTA Summer Conference provides string teachers of all levels and genres with professional development. The Conference is held annually at Wichita State University and features presentations from nationally renowned pedagogues.
NEW!
2024 Kansas ASTA Summer Workshop
featuring David Pope
Friday, July 19 and Saturday, July 20
at Wichita State University
Dr. David Pope is associate professor of music education and chair of the professional studies department at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. In addition, he serves as an education clinician for Alfred Music and as the American String Teachers Association’s national conference chair.
Prior to joining the faculty of Baldwin Wallace, Pope taught middle- and high-school orchestra for 11 years in Tennessee, Florida and Ohio. He also conducted the Camerata Orchestra at Case Western Reserve University, taught string pedagogy courses at the VanderCook College of Music and served as conductor and executive director of multiple youth orchestra programs.
As an active adjudicator and clinician, Pope has conducted numerous all-state orchestras, regional honor orchestras and university summer camps throughout the United States. He has presented string pedagogy clinics and his research at state, regional, national and international conferences.
Pope's work has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, String Research Journal, Research Perspectives in Music Education, Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, American String Teacher and Florida Music Director. He currently serves on the review committees for Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, String Research Journal and Research Perspectives in Music Education.
He received the Distinguished Music Educator Award from the Yale Symposium for Music in Schools and is recipient of the Outstanding Young Music Educator Award for the state of Tennessee. Pope was the recipient of the String Researcher Award from the American String Teachers Association at their national conference in March 2020.
A huge thank you to all of our Summer Conference hosts, sponsors, and presenters
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To register, complete the form below and select your registration type. You do not need to be an ASTA member to register for this event. Spread the word and bring your friends!
Registration fee options include:
Two Day ASTA Member Rate: $140.00
Two Day Non-ASTA Member Rate: $170.00
Single Day Rate: $85.00
Student Rate (High School and Collegiate): $30.00 -
Two hours of graduate credit are available through Wichita State University. With questions, to enroll and/or submit payment, contact:
Dr. Mark Laycock, Director of Orchestras
Wichita State University
316-978-6202
mark.laycock@wichita.edu -
8:30-9:00
Registration, coffee and bagels, meet and greet.9:00-9:50
Rhythmic Success: Improving Students’ Precision and ConfidenceThis session will provide strategies string teachers can immediately incorporate into their daily rehearsals to improve students’ rhythm. Participants will learn practical exercises, strategies, and activities to develop students’ internal pulse and ability to count, read, and recall rhythmic patterns. The session will also focus on improving rhythmic accuracy, both with and without the bow, so that students can play with increased confidence. Covered techniques can be used with beginning, intermediate, or advanced orchestra musicians. Additional topics will also include how bow distribution, clear articulations, and tone quality can impact rhythmic accuracy on a string instrument.
10:00-10:50
Solving Intonation Issues: Teaching Students How to Listen and Play in TuneThis session will provide strategies string teachers can immediately incorporate into their daily rehearsals to improve students’ intonation. Participants will learn how to include practical classroom exercises that will teach their students to become self-sufficient musicians who can self-identify and self-correct pitch errors. Topics will include teaching and refining listening skills, fixing out-of-tune notes, learning to balance the ensemble, isolating and fixing intonation issues, performing repertoire, tuning the inner lines, and playing with expressive intonation. Covered strategies can be used with musicians in beginning, intermediate, or advanced ensembles.
11:00-11:50
Targeted and Effective Warm-Ups for the String ClassroomThis session will provide various techniques and warm-up exercises that isolate and address common issues found in string orchestra performances. String teachers will leave the session with strategies and materials they can immediately incorporate into their curriculum and daily rehearsals. Topics will include fostering rhythmic confidence, performing clear articulations, improving intonation, increasing student leadership, and developing other musical components commonly found in high-level performances. Covered strategies can be used with musicians in beginning, intermediate, or advanced ensembles.
12:00-1:30
Lunch (on your own)1:30-2:20
Developing Musicality in Every Orchestra ClassroomTeaching developing musicians to go beyond notes and rhythms to play with expressivity is one of the most difficult aspects of a music teacher’s job. In this session, participants will learn a step-by-step process that teaches string students at all levels: (1) the unwritten rules for phrasing, (2) how to identify and interpret the composer’s clues within the musical context, (3) the specific musical attributes that can be altered to create music phrases, and (4) how to implement small changes in performances to create expressive musical phrases. All musicians can learn to play with musicality and expressivity, and the strategies covered in this session can be used with those in beginning, intermediate, or advanced ensembles.
2:30-3:20
Kansas ASTA General Meeting: Updates from KMEA President Jamie Minneman3:30-4:00: MS Summer Orchestra Rehearsal with Dr. Laycock
4:00
Concert for Parents (WSU Music, room C104) -
9:00-10:30 AM
Boot Camp for Secondary Instruments*10:45-11:40 AM
Programming Outside of the Box: Non-Traditional Repertoire for School OrchestrasThis session will introduce participants to non-traditional repertoire for school orchestra programs. Covered literature will include newly published works and popular favorites from the past. Repertoire will be divided into various genres to help teachers program a variety of non-classical music that will excite students about playing, aid in the retention of current students, help directors recruit new students, and boost audience enjoyment.
11:40 AM – 12:00 PM
Pack up and travel to:
Palen Music, Inc.
2300 E Lincoln St
Wichita, KS 6721112:00 – 1:00 PM
Lunch provided by:
Palen Music and D’Addario (with door prizes!)
1:00 – 1:50 PM
Session with D’Addario2:00 – 3:30 PM
*Reading Session sponsored by Alfred Music*David Pope, Presenter
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Hyatt Place at Wichita State University
4703 E. 19th Street North
Wichita, Kansas, 67208
United States
+1 316 364 4700
2024 KASTA Summer Teacher Conference
Registration Form
Please complete the form below.
Payments may be submitted using the PayPal button below.
Past Summer Conference Clinicians
2023 - Dr. Rebecca MacLeod: Professor of Music Education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, author of Teaching Strings in Today’s Classroom, Director of the Lillian Rauch Beginning Strings Program and the Peck Alumni Leadership Program, President of National ASTA.
2022 - Jim Palmer: editor, arranger, and clinician for Alfred Music; Orchestra Director and Fine Arts Department Chairman at Allatoona High School in Acworth, Georgia; Music Director for the Youth Orchestras of Greater Columbus in Columbus, Georgia.
2021 - Dr. Brenda Brenner: Associate Professor of Music (Music Education), Jacobs School of Music, University of Indiana, Bloomington.
2020 - Cancelled (COVID Pandemic)
2019 - Bob Phillips: co-author of the Sound Innovation method book series; renowned string pedagogue, composer, authors, teacher trainer, and conductor.
2018 - Dr. Christopher Selby: author of Habits of a Successful Orchestra Director, Music Theory for the Successful String Musician, and co-author of the Habits of a Successful String Musician series; Director of Orchestras, School for the Arts in Charleston, South Carolina.
2017 - Dr. Robert Gillespie: co-author of the Essential Elements 2000 for Strings method book series; Professor Emeritus of Music Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.