I hope that all of you have had a wonderful and rejuvenating summer vacation. Being the son of an architect, I get pleasure and relaxation in executing small building projects that make available space more efficient. Th is summer’s projects included new percussion shelves in the instrumental hall and a new redwood planter box at home.

Aspirations

Each of us charts different goals from year to year. I intend to complete the fourth bundle of orchestra sight-reading material this year, finishing the rotation. Having four year’s worth of different music for sight-reading at festival, as with All-State audition materials, will save us the bother of preparing a new set each year. I would also like to update our database of orchestra directors to help improve communication. It would be terrific if each of you fiddlemeisters could take a moment to email me your contact information, your school and the classes you teach. This will make it possible for me, Sharon Calonico, Sofia Fojas and others to pass along information to you about such things as workshops and performances. My address is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

CODA and All-State

This year’s CODA Orchestra Festival will be held at the University of Redlands on December 7 and 8, with conductors Louis Bergonzi and Neal Stulberg. Application forms and excerpts can be downloaded from the CMEA website, calmusiced.com, and are due on October 5. The same website has materials for the All-State orchestra application due December 1. It’s not too soon to get excited about the fact that this year’s All-State Orchestra conductor will be Mallory Thompson from Northwestern University. One of my very favorite conductors, Mallory has received rave reviews from musicians and critics alike wherever she has guest conducted, including her two stints with our own Silicon Valley Symphony.

Large Group Festivals

I need hardly remind you that CMEA festivals fill up fast! Don’t be shut out or forced to take a long, expensive bus trip to another county. Go on line September 1 or soon after to solochair.com to apply, then reserve buses for the day, and request release time and substitutes before your school’s quota is used up. With limited resources and tight bus schedules I know this is diffi cult to do, but try to schedule the day of the festival so that your students can observe another ensemble or two. That’s when our students can best appreciate all the hard work they put in to making great music. Last year it seemed that more directors had their groups fill out ratings sheets as they listened to other ensembles, a wonderful way of engaging them in the evaluation process.

Winter Conference

One of our goals for the Winter Conference ensembles has been to alternate between local conductors and those from out of the area. This provides us the chance to celebrate our local talent as well as to touch base with what’s going on in other parts of the country. I am very pleased to announce that this year’s Junior High Orchestra Director will be Michele Winters from Lowell High School in San Francisco. Michele has developed a model program at her school, has provided great service to CMEA Bay Section and is a pleasure to work with. This will mark Michele’s second appearance as guest conductor at our conference. As always, we hope to attract our fi nest string students. High school orchestra directors: please encourage your 9th graders to apply. Th is is a wonderful opportunity for them to begin honing the leadership skills they will use in your ensemble when they are older. I am also excited to announce that string expert Bob Phillips will be joining us from Michigan. A renowned teacher of “fiddle” music, veteran clinician and respected composer, Bob will conduct a reading session of new orchestra music for all levels, teach us how to incorporate fi ddle techniques in the classroom and present a general session about how to motivate students in all of our ensembles. One more preview about the Winter Conference: building on the great success of our roundtable discussion last year, we will have another panel of experts to talk about ways to incorporate more chamber music into the curriculum. Th e session will be introduced and informed by a performance by the Cypress String Quartet, resident artists at San José State University! Don’t think of missing this year’s conference — January 11 and 12.

Have an enjoyable, fulfi lling year.