In this rehearsal lab, Mr. Fowkes will demonstrate rehearsal strategies and concepts with an emphasis on practical pedagogy that you can implement in your ensemble rehearsals as early as tomorrow. The shared strategies are as equally applicable to a group “firing on all pistons” as they are to an ensemble in a rebuilding situation, and while some ideas are “tried and true,” others may open new avenues on ways to help your students better understand their role in music making.
Gerald Fowkes
- Biographical Information
Gerald Fowkes, cellist and conductor, serves as Director of Orchestras at Fairfax High School, Fairfax, VA, where his ensembles consistently earn Superior ratings at state concert assessment. In addition to his duties at Fairfax, he is on the artist faculty as the Orchestra Director of the Greater Washington Suzuki Institute. Mr. Fowkes has had the distinct honor of guest conducting numerous All-County, District and Regional Honor Orchestras throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and Maryland and is a frequent guest conductor at the annual JMU Spring String Thing. In addition to guest conducting, he has presented at various music conferences including the 2016 ASTA Conference. Mr. Fowkes is currently a faculty member of the George Mason University Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, teaching applied cello, as well as courses in cello pedagogy, class strings, and chamber music. A frequent chamber music collaborator, he performs as a freelance cellist throughout the Baltimore/Washington metro area. Mr. Fowkes earned a BM in cello performance from Louisiana State University as well as an MMEd from Brigham Young University where he studied string pedagogy with Andrew Dabczynski and Samuel Tsugawa.
Amy Lestina Tonaki is in her 21st year of teaching orchestra in the Sycamore(IL) Community School District. Alongside her husband and colleague, Ken Tonaki, they collectively teach students grades 4 to 12. Mrs. Tonaki assumes the role as the middle school orchestra director, while Mr. Tonaki directs the high school orchestras. At the elementary level, they teach their specialty instruments with Amy providing cello and bass lessons and Ken providing violin and viola lessons across all five elementary schools. Their dedication has helped triple the number of students in the Sycamore Orchestra program. Upon student request, extracurricular Sycamore Jazz Strings was started in 2006. This innovative ensemble, combining middle school and high school orchestra students, provides students the opportunity to explore and perform alternative styles of music. Members of the Sycamore Middle School Orchestras served as a clinic/demonstration orchestra at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in 2016. In January of 2025, Mrs. Tonaki joined the award-winning Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra as conductor of its Prelude Orchestra. As part of the artistic team, she helps provide a comprehensive music education to nearly 400 students and families each year. Mrs.Tonaki holds a bachelor degree in music education from Augustana College and a masters in music from Northern Illinois University. Amy has served as a guest conductor for district events and regional ILMEA festivals. She was a finalist for the DeKalb County Excellence in Education award and the recipient of the Outstanding Chicgoland Music Educator award. Amy Lestina Tonaki enjoys playing the cello in the local community orchestra, Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, yoga, traveling and playing music with her family: husband Ken (violinist), son Evan (cellist), daughter Mia (violinist).