News
ASTA/NJ Reading Session A Success - Read All About It!
On Saturday, March 6th teachers came from all over New Jersey and New York to attend the ASTA/NJ reading party. The morning started with coffee and bagels, etc. and lots of great conversation. There was so much going on. We had a Villanova reunion, people looking for private instructors for their children, people sharing music they were crazy about, teachers just learning about stringed instruments discussing their programs with veteran teachers, college students enthusiastic about starting their careers in music education participating in conversations and soaking it all in, non ASTA members signing up for the first time and long time members renewing their memberships. And, that was just the beginning.
At nine o'clock I took the podium determined to get through as much music as possible. We had donations from approximately 12 publishers. I was like a woman possessed plowing through as much material as possible. There was much enthusiastic playing, joking, and all around camaraderie as we coursed our way through all of the various selections. There was always discussion at the end of every piece. Opinions flew around the room and requests for the next music to be read were shouted out with cheers of approval (or cheerful dissension) echoing throughout the room. Midway through the morning, the school's principal Mr. Larry Hughes arrived to praise all of the participants for dedication to their profession and to hand out lottery tickets to a lucky few! Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. Throughout the process, each teacher was keeping notes on a spread sheet so that they could at the end of the session remember which pieces they would like to order for their programs. A raffle was held and everyone got to take home music of their choice for their program. At 12:30, with smiles on their faces, each teacher took their "goodie bag" filled with method books, music pencils, Cd's, etc. and their newly won music, wished their old and new music friends farewell shouting "Let's do this again!!" as they wended their way towards the parking lot and the rest of their day. All in all, I'd say it was a success and I can't wait to do this again! Thank you to all of the reading sessions participants and publishers. You made this a great event with your whole hearted participation and beautiful music. "Let's do this again!"
