The 2008 Winter Conference promises to be a special treat for those of us who teach strings and a treat as well for the junior high school students we recommend for the Conference Orchestra. We are delighted that Michele Winter, Director of Strings at Lowell High School in San Francisco will be this year’s Orchestra Director. Michele has one of the finest string programs in California, has given many years of service to CMEA and has graced our podium once before as Director of the Winter Conference Junior High Orchestra. She has conducted festival orchestras in Northern California and presented sessions at regional and state CMEA conferences and at OAKE national conferences. Her articles and reviews have appeared in Teaching Music Through Performance, Strings Magazine and the Music Educators Journal.

Please remember that it is easy to recommend your finer students by logging in to SoloChair.com, scrolling down the large festival page to the conference orchestra, and following the prompts. High school directors, don’t neglect to nominate your freshmen musicians. This is a great opportunity for them to obtain early leadership experience that will enhance your program when they become sophomores, juniors and seniors. The conference orchestra will rehearse just across the lawn from the SJSU music building, so I hope you will take the opportunity to drop by and watch Michele rehearse.

Friday morning Mark Wardlaw will lead his award-winning Santa Rosa High School Orchestra in a session entitled, “Achieving Better Rhythmic Accuracy With Your String Orchestra (and observations on rehearsal techniques and philosophies).” Since 1990, Mark has been the director of bands, jazz band and orchestra at Santa Rosa High School. He also plays in several professional jazz groups, directs the Wednesday Night Jazz Band at Santa Rosa Junior College and writes for San Francisco Classical Voice.

We are grateful to JW Pepper and Alfred Publishing for bringing us renowned string educator Bob Phillips for three sessions. Composer, pedagogue, and teacher trainer, Bob brings a wealth of knowledge and a sense of humor to his clinics, drawn from his 27 years as a public school string teacher in Saline, Michigan. Credited as the “father of fiddling in the schools,” he is a leader in the use of alternative styles and an expert in large group pedagogy. One of today’s leading educational composers and arrangers, his pieces are performed by thousands of string students each year. Friday afternoon, Bob will lead the Santa Rosa High School Orchestra in a reading session of new music for string and full orchestra from elementary to advanced levels.

After a short break to catch your breath—and to visit our vendor exhibits—the celebrated and innovative Cypress String Quartet will give a brief performance to lead off a roundtable discussion on the subject, “Incorporating More Chamber Music into the Music Curriculum.” (We expect that choir and band teachers will also gain insights from the discussion.) Since its inception in 1996, the Cypress String Quartet has built a respected body of new music, commissioning and premiering over 25 works from many of America’s leading composers. As Quartet-in-Residence at San José State University, the quartet’s strengths in performance and education combine to serve the University and the greater San Francisco Bay Area community.

Joining members of the quartet in the discussion will be Sandra Lewis, associate director of instrumental music at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, Vivian McNulty, director of instrumental music at Blach Intermediate School in Los Altos and Dr. Tom Tatton who teaches in the Lincoln Unified School District in Stockton. Sandi has built a fine large ensemble and chamber string program at Gunn High School. Vivian has given great service to CMEA Bay Section as conference orchestra manager as well as the special representative and resident guru for Solo and Ensemble Festivals. “Dr. Tom,” as Tom Tatton is affectionately known to his students, is past president of the American Viola Society and currently serves as vice-president of the International Viola Society.

The distinguished panel will provide a forum for instrumental and vocal music teachers to share ideas about how to incorporate more chamber music into the school curriculum. This session is conveniently scheduled to immediately proceed the wine and cheese tasting Friday evening.
Saturday morning Bob Phillips will offer two sessions. In the first, “The How-to’s of Fiddling for Your Strings,” Mr. Phillips will present and illustrate a variety of fiddling techniques that can be used in ensemble class and can become powerful adjuncts to the string curriculum. Fiddling is guaranteed to put a smile on your students’ faces.

Hopefully music teachers of all levels and interests will join us for Bob’s second session entitled, “I Love Band, Orchestra and Choir.” Bob will share secrets of success for recruiting and motivating students that results in high retention rates and large programs. Come find out about the who, what, why, where, when and how for all levels of instruction. Afterwards join us at the CMEA luncheon and afternoon concerts by our wonderful Junior High School musicians.