Supercharge Your String Teaching: Strings for the Non-String Specialist
From the basics of teaching strings to refining your pedagogical string knowledge, this 4-hour immersive session will provide non-string specialists with the information, tools, and resources needed to teach any string player. This informational and practical session will focus on the foundational principles of string playing and teaching. Instrument position, tone production, articulation, bowings, and fingerings will be presented. Participants will select a primary string instrument to learn during this hands-on workshop. The Midwest Clinic and American String Teachers Association have come together to sponsor this exciting opportunity.
This Pre-conference event will take place at McCormick Place West in Chicago, IL on Sunday, December 18 from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM CT.
Attendees will be able to add registration for this event at the end of their Midwest Clinic Conference Registration. Due to limited seating, only Professional and College Student registrants are eligible to attend.
Registration Fees:
- Directors $100
- College Students $50
Tentative Schedule
1:00 OPENING/WELCOME
1:15 FUNDAMENTALS OF STRING INSTRUMENTS: Position, Posture, Bow Hold, Left-hand Frame
2:00 PRINCIPLES OF TONE PRODUCTION: Point of Contact, Angle, Speed, and Weight
2:45 BREAK
3:00 ARTICULATIONS: Sequencing and Musical Applications
3:45 BOWINGS: Basic Bowing Rules
4:15 GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING FINGERINGS: Understanding Finger Patterns and Positions
4:45 CLOSING & QUESTIONS
Clinicians:
John Clinton retired as the Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Design at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2015. A graduate of East Central OSU, he earned an MME from the University of Oklahoma and completed a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of North Texas with emphases in orchestral conducting, string pedagogy and sociology. He has conducted state and regional orchestras in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. He has presented papers and in-service workshops for NAfME, ASTA National Conference, Texas Music Educators' Association, the University of Oklahoma "Symposium '95: The Sociology of Music Education”, Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic, as well as presentations on a variety of arts topics throughout the United States and Vancouver, British Columbia. Additionally, Dr. Clinton was the conductor of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestra (OYO) for 23 years leading tours in Australia, New Zealand, throughout Europe, and the Zoltán Kodály Memorial Festival in Budapest, Hungary. His professional honors include the Oklahoma Educators Association Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Music Educators (OMEA) Hall of Fame, OMEA Administrator of the Year, University of Oklahoma School of Music Distinguished Alumni Fellow, Oklahoma String Teacher of the Year, Governor’s Arts Award for Arts and Education, and the National Federation of State High School Associations Outstanding Music Educator. He currently serves on the board of directors for The Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic and the Children's Arts Network. Published works include “Embracing Administrative Leadership in Music Education.”
David F. Eccles is a native of Norfolk, Virginia. He currently serves as Orchestra Program and Upper School Orchestra Director at The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia. For over a decade, he was the Director of String Music Education and Orchestral Activities at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois. He has held string education positions in Georgia, Virginia, and Florida. An active clinician, adjudicator, conductor, and cellist, Eccles has served as music director and principal conductor for numerous youth orchestras. He has also served as a guest conductor for many state, county, regional, and community orchestras.
Mr. Eccles has presented education sessions at several local, state, and international conferences, including The Midwest Conference, American String Teachers Association Conference, Georgia, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida Music Educators Conferences. Mr. Eccles is a clinician and consulting author for the Hal Leonard Corporation. Additionally, he is a featured string educator in the book, Rehearsing the High School Orchestra.
He holds advanced degrees in Music Education from Florida State University and University of Miami (Florida) and a Bachelor of Music and Media from Norfolk State University. His principal teachers include Elizabeth Eccles, Laurien Laufman, Ross Harbaugh, and Dr. Michael Allen.
David is a member of the Georgia Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Kappa Lambda, and the Georgia Chapter of American String Teachers Association.
Rebecca MacLeod is Professor of Music Education at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she directs the string education program and conducts the UNCG Sinfonia. She is the author of Teaching Strings in Today’s Classroom and co-author of The Contributions of Clifford K. Madsen to the Field of Music Education and Music Therapy: Love of Learning. She has also contributed chapters to Teaching Instrumental Music: Perspectives and Pedagogies for the 21st Century and Rehearsing the Middle School Orchestra, and is a contributing author for Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra, Volumes 3 and 4.
A passionate advocate for increasing access to string education to all students, Dr. MacLeod directs two community partnership programs that provide string instruction to underserved students: the Lillian Rauch Beginning Strings Program and the Peck Alumni Leadership Program. She continues to teach elementary string students in two Title I public schools. Dr. MacLeod is the recipient of the North Carolina Board of Governors Teaching Excellence Award; the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance Outstanding Teaching Award; the UNCG Junior Research Excellence Award; and the American String Teacher Association National Researcher Award.
Prior to joining the UNCG faculty, Dr. MacLeod taught elementary, middle, and high school orchestra in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania and was orchestra director and chair of music activities in Beaver, Pennsylvania. Dr. MacLeod received her undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and her MME and PhD from Florida State University.
She currently serves as President for the American String Teachers Association.
David Pope serves as an Associate Professor of Music Education and Chair of Professional Studies at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Music. In addition, he is the senior conductor and camp director for the Baldwin Wallace University String Orchestra Camp and also serves as a string clinician for Alfred Music. Prior to Baldwin Wallace University, Dr. Pope taught middle and high orchestra in Tennessee, Florida, and Ohio. As an active adjudicator and clinician, he has conducted all-state orchestras, regional honor orchestras, and served as a guest clinician for orchestra programs, university summer camps, and university music education programs across the United States.
Dr. Pope recently served as a co-editor for volume 4 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra and as a co-author for Sound Orchestra. He currently serves as the chair for the American String Teachers Association’s national conference. Dr. Pope was named the 2022 Ohio ASTA Collegiate Educator of the Year and was previously recognized by the Yale Symposium for Music in Schools with the Distinguished Music Educator Award. Dr. Pope was also awarded the 2021 Presidential Service Award and the 2020 Emerging String Researcher Award from the American String Teachers Association. He is a current member of the American String Teachers Association, National Association for Music Education, and the Ohio Music Educators Association.
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