ASTA MD/DC Chapter

Body Mapping with Ron Mutchnik
2022-05-01 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Virtual Event
May 1, May 8 and May 15
7-9pm on Zoom

Register Here
Body Mapping is the method founded by William Conable, and developed by Barbara Conable, to help musicians consciously correct and refine their body maps so they can produce graceful, efficient, and coordinated movement and avoid pain, injury, or limitation in the playing of their instruments.
The body map is your representation of your body in your brain, and as with many maps, it can be inaccurate and missing important details, so developing an accurate and adequate map that allows you to play more musically with ease is essential to enjoying your music-making for a lifetime.
In the sessions being offered, upper string players will learn how to access accurate information about their upper bodies (including the head, neck, arms, and spine) and their lower body (including the hips, knees, ankles, and feet) as well as understanding how we breathe and its importance to upper string players, and apply this knowledge directly and with insight into playing and teaching the violin and viola.
The sessions will be divided into three two-hour online sessions on Zoom.
Introduction to Body Mapping
Balance
Arms
Breathing
Legs
Three 20 minute Body Mapping lessons for participants who wish to have one-on-one experience.
What to have to observe and participate:
You will want to be in a space where you have room to walk around some without obstacles in your way. Also, you will need your instruments to be able to experience the benefits of body mapping first hand and wear comfortable shoes and be able to take them off wearing socks or some other kind of foot covering as you wish when we do certain exercises that involve feeling the feet on the floor. Have a rug, mat or carpet to lie down on for a few of the exercises and have rolled up socks, or a towel (possibly with a band/string around to keep them in their rolled up shape) and have a glass or cup handy.
You’ll also need a few large pieces of paper for drawing (but none of your drawings have to be shown to anyone), and a regular pad or stack of papers and pencil/pen to write any notes you wish to take- especially so you can refer back to them and refresh your memory as the sessions will be a week apart. Recording is not allowed but a recording will be made available to any participant after the course ends who has paid for a session that they were unable to attend.
I encourage everyone to be present for all six sessions as the information and knowledge is cumulative and will give you a much better and comprehensive understanding of Body Mapping and how to apply it in your teaching and playing than if you only attend a session or two.
It is my pleasure to present these sessions to our local chapter and I hope it will spur greater interest and a desire to learn more and more about playing with the greatest ease and freedom and expressivity by using Body Mapping in your playing and teaching.

Violinist Ronald Mutchnik graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County summa cum laude, where he studied with Robert Gerle. While there, he won the Baltimore Music Club and Baltimore Musicians’ competitions. He earned his Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, studying with Joseph Gingold and continued post-graduate studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel with Yair Kless.
He is active as an orchestral violinist, chamber musician, recitalist, and soloist and has served as Concertmaster of the Columbia Pro Cantare for over 30 years and with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra for 36 years. He has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras in Maryland, including the Columbia Orchestra and the Frederick Symphony and appeared in the film Washington Square, performing his own composition, and in concerts with Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, and was the concertmaster at Pat Sajack’s wedding in Annapolis. As a chamber musician he has appeared on many local series including Music in the Great Hall and An Die Musik.
As a teacher he has taught privately in Howard County for 40 years and taught at Towson University. He was a past president of the American String Teachers Association’s MD/DC Chapter, produced a music education video, “Posture and Balance: The Dynamic Duo” toured Korea coaching and performing chamber music, and is a founder of and performer with the Sundays At Three” Chamber Music Series and the founder and music director of the HCCO, the professional chamber orchestra of Howard County, Maryland. He is the 2009 winner of the MD/DC Chapter of ASTA’s String Teacher of the Year Award and the Outstanding Artist Award, the “Howie” for Howard County, Maryland. His recent performance of the Bach Chaconne at the
Baltimore Bach Concert Series was described by Michael Lawrence, creator and director of the critically acclaimed movie Bach & Friends, as a “nuanced and expressive” interpretation that “holds up with the best performances I have heard.”

Spring 2022 ASTA Certificate Advancement Program (ASTACAP)
2022-04-24
Spring 2022 ASTACAP Exams
Registration Opens March 2022

The Spring ASTACAP Exams will be held in person on Sunday, April 24th at Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, MD.
Final Safety protocols related to the pandemic will be shared by April 1st.
All participants must be symptom-free and should expect to wear masks for the entirety of their time inside the venue.
Registration Deadline April 8
ASTA Certificate Advancement Program
The ASTA Certificate Advancement Program (ASTACAP) seeks to establish definite goals and awards for students of all levels through non-competitive examinations. Students are judged on technical and musical preparedness at specific levels (foundation – level 10) by an ASTA examiner of musical and pedagogical stature. A certificate of achievement is awarded for each level successfully completed. For more information and to download the ASTACAP Handbook from the National Office click HERE

Looping in Classrooms & Studios: Changing Lives With Harmonic Grooves, Andy Reiner and Rob Flax
2022-02-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual Event
Want to level up your playing, and stay relevant for your students????
Throw out your dusty backing tracks and robot bands!
Teach more effectively and HAVE MORE FUN by harnessing the power of a looper pedal!
Teachers! Explore harmonic exploration, ear training, and groove practice.
Students! Explore compositional ideas, improvisation, and get instant feedback.
In this ninety-minute workshop, dynamic duo Ändërs ünd Fläxx will guide participants through the basic functions of a looper pedal and demonstrate how they can be used to take the harmony off the page.

Andy Reiner, an award-winning fiddler, singer, actor and composer, began playing at age five with the Reiner Family Band. He has since developed his own style featuring creative, rhythmic melodies and thoughtful fusing of world styles. Earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from Berklee College of Music in Boston, launched Andy into a flurry of touring and teaching around the globe. This included Heavy Metal with Devil in the Kitchen, Folk/Hip-Hop with FiddleFoxx, Swedish/Appalachian with Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, Electronic/Celtic with Firecloud, and Bluegrass with The Earth Stringband, which toured Southeast Asia on the 2011 American Music Abroad tour for the US Department of State.

Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator from Evanston, IL with a playful heart and an openmind. He has performed nationally and internationally with groups of many different styles, including opening for B.B. King and Tower of Power, playing viola and violin with the Trans Siberian Orchestra and YouTube star Jacob Collier, upright bass in an Argentine tango ensemble, mandolin and fiddle in various bluegrass bands, electric violin in several rock bands, collaborations with modern dancers, and more. As a composer Rob has written music for choreographers, film (including work on the soundtrack of James Franco’s film As I Lay Dying), and several original projects. Rob is a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory (M.M. 2012 – Contemporary Improvisation, Music In Education), and he currently lives in Boston, MA.
Register HERE
Workshop Details
For String teachers, string players and students (intermediate-advanced students ages 12 and up)
Time: 7:00-8:30 pm Sunday February 13, 2022
Location: Virtual via zoom

Free for ASTA Members! $25 for Non-Members and students
**Paypal link http://paypal.me/astamddc for Payments and/or Donations to support ASTA MD/DC events***

Access
Zoom Links will be sent the morning of the session to the email entered on this form.
Non-members will be sent links once payment has been received.

Care & Repairs for String Educators
2022-01-23 12:30 - 14:30
Join us for an afternoon of Care & Repairs for string teachers and stringed instruments.
Yoga for Music Educators with Baxter Bell and Kitchen Table Repairs with Dalton Potter
For classroom and studio teachers of stringed instruments
12:30-2:30 pm Sunday January 23, 2021 (Two sixty minute sessions)
Location: Potter Violins, Takoma Park (And Virtual Option)
Free for ASTA Members $25 for Non-Members
Register HERE

Yoga for Music Educators with Baxter Bell
This session will be an accessible yoga practice designed for the unique challenges faced by today’s music educators. It will include yoga poses, breath exercises and simple meditation practices to get you feeling better in your body and more vibrant in your mind! You will need to be able to get up and down from the floor to participate.

What you need: an open space, a yoga mat (optional), a strap of some sort (a belt could work), a firm blanket or large towel and a firm chair with a back (no wheels!)

Baxter Bell, MD, has been playing violin since age 5 and teaching yoga for over 20 years (Baxter Bell Yoga @ www.baxterbell.com). He combines his love of music, his understanding of health, and his experience with yoga to create powerful experiences for your well-being. Baxter is also co-author of the book Yoga for Healthy Aging.

Kitchen Table Repairs with Dalton Potter
This lecture provides an overview of the history and care of stringed instruments. Included in the discussion is an analysis of how violins, violas, cellos and bases are constructed including the materials used as well as varying styles of construction, history, countries of origin, and how these variables affect the need for regular maintenance. The presentation will cover what common products are most effective for the control of humidity, keeping the tuning pegs working smoothly, and the basics of soundpost adjustments, bridges, and the various different kinds of strings. There will also be a review of bows, bow maintenance, and differing styles and materials involved in bow construction. Finally, there will be a 10 minute question and answer period that is open to audience discussion of repair topics. The presentation also will include insider tips on shopping for instruments and an overview of the effect of the internet on the music business.

Dalton Potter, owner and president of The Potter Violin Company in Bethesda, Maryland, has been building and
repairing stringed instruments for more than 30 years. The Potter Violin Company is the largest purveyor of bows and bowed stringed instruments in the Mid-Atlantic region and among the largest shops of its kind in the country. Dalton has written and spoken extensively on the importance of quality instruments in early string music education and maintains a close relationship with many institutions nationwide, including the American String Teachers Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He is the author of Kitchen Table Violin Repairs, an emergency manual for string players and teachers. In addition, he takes great pride in being an active and supportive member of the strings community by sponsoring local orchestras and speaking at workshops, camps, and universities around the country

Education for Happiness Part 2: The Practice Wheel Experience
2022-01-16 16:00 - 17:00 | Virtual Event
Education for Happiness Part 2: The Practice Wheel Experience- Gabe Bolkosky. This session is for string teachers of all levels (Classroom and Studio).
Bring your instruments and experience the Practice Wheel in action during this 60 minute guided practice session with violinist and creator of Education for Happiness, Gabe Bolkosky.
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Free of charge for ASTA Members

Education for Happiness, a Survey of the Practice Process with Gabe Bolkosky
2021-12-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual Event
Free for ASTA Members, $15 for Non-Members. Register HERE. Pay/Donate Here
Via Zoom – Link will be shared with registered participants on the day of the event.
Education For Happiness is a think tank dedicated to making learning smoother for the 99% by pioneering new ways of empowering musicians to delight in their own practice. At the core of the philosophy is Gabe’s Practice Wheel, a diagram for smooth approaches to practice and learning in general. The organization is pioneering new ways of empowering musicians to delight in their own practice through daily guided practice courses, PhoenixPhest Chamber music immersives, and live chamber music workshops for all ages and levels.
This session is for teachers of all instruments in a classroom and/or studio setting, and parents of student musicians who are interested helping their children be more productive in practice. In this ninety minute workshop, participants will:

Learn Gabe’s multi-layered approach to the process for creating a musical performance
Identify basic priorities within that process,
Be guided through how to intentionally apply the Practice Wheel with intention

Gabe Bolkosky, Violinist, is the owner and founder of Education For Happiness, an education think tank dedicated to making learning smoother for the 99%.
Gabe has released seven CDs that show his breadth as a musician. His debut solo album, This and That, features classical and jazz music. Other albums include The Shape of Klez to Come with the klezmer group Into the Freylakh; The Orchestra Is Here to Play, a live recording teaming the Gemini children’s-music group with a full orchestra; The Oblivion Project Live, showcasing the music of Astor Piazzolla; Non Sequitur, contemporary and experimental music, including one of his own compositions; Home from Work, an eclectic mix of jazz, folk and blues in collaboration with San Slomovits, and as sideman on John Lindberg’s recording Two by Five. His most recent CD is Bonne Nuit, which includes the Debussy Sonata and other small works for violin and piano with Michele Cooker, and can be found here.
Gabe currently collaborates with two main ensembles, The Bayberry String Quartet and The Oblivion Project. He was a guest artist at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor teaching violin and chamber music for six years. He has worked with all ages of young musicians in most of the 50 states and parts of Asia. He maintains a private violin studio with his wife, Steffani Kitayama.

Shifting Our Focus
2021-09-19 19:00 - 21:00
SHIFTING OUR FOCUS
From Well-DOing to Well-BEing as Classical Musicians
Sunday, September 19th at 7:00pm, via Zoom
Free for Members and College Students
$10 for Non-Members

This 75-minute coaching workshop will not be a lecture, or a teaching, nor the giving of advice. A life coach knows that people have their own best answers when given space and time to listen to their own voice. Musicians know that a room full of educators has the potential to create a powerful, collective shift of learning.
Materials: Something to write on, to write with, a quiet location without distractions, and a willingness to consider sharing your thoughts.
Results: will take away new ideas, a sense of being in community with others, and a clearer understanding of ways they might like to make changes in their own lives and in their teaching. What is it, that’s in you – that I can hold the space for – that could empower you to live the way you want to live?

REGISTER HERE
Violinist Eva Cappelletti Chao’s orchestral career has included performances at the most prestigious concert halls throughout the U.S., Europe, Central and South America and the Middle East. When not stopped by a world-wide pandemic, Eva performs regularly with the Baltimore Symphony, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and leads many of the freelance ensembles in the Washington, DC area. Ms. Cappelletti Chao has a thriving private life coaching practice specifically for classical musicians, theMusicofYou.com, which is particularly gratifying during these unprecedented times of change for the performing arts.

Beginner String Technique Made Easy
2021-09-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Virtual Event
Beginner String Technique Made Easy
Do you spend every Fall ever-so-slowly setting up your students to play properly?
Need a step-by-step method that works quickly, consistently and successfully?
Do you worry as your students wait in boredom as you correct and then ……… the bell rings?
There is a better and easier way! Join us for this VIRTUAL and hands-on session!
A VIRTUAL hands-on workshop for teachers of beginning string instruments!
Presenter: Grace Law
Monday September 6th, 7:00pm
Free for Members! $10 for Non-Members
Register HERE
Participants will learn to:
• Teach the bow hold and left hand positioning faster
• Achieve more correct left and right hand positioning results
• Waste less time and fix less incorrect posture
• Establish bowing technique with effective bow hold exercises

Grace Law’s passion is training string teachers for success. Grace’s unique approach offers simple, quick and effective strategies for teaching beginning technique. Teachers can find her blog and learn more about teacher-training courses and workshops at SmartStringsteacher.com. Through Grace’s training, teachers discover how much they can accomplish with students, and can’t wait to get back to the classroom and put easy, new, and effective strategies to work. Grace has a music and a teaching degree from the University of Toronto, 30 years of private and classroom teaching experience and currently teaches high school string orchestra.
