STRING TEACHERS CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Laurie Scott is Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning at The University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, she serves as the director of The University of Texas String Project, named “String Project of the Year” in 2008 by the American String Teacher’s Association and the National String Project Consortium. Previous to this appointment, Dr. Scott served as professor of violin and viola and director of music education studies at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Dr. Scott was co-director of the Armadillo Suzuki Organization, the Austin Metropolitan Suzuki School, and the Texas Suzuki Tour Group. She holds a master’s degree in applied violin from the University of Nebraska, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the State University of New York at Fredonia. She received her Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Texas. Before moving to Texas in 1981, Dr. Scott taught in rural string programs in Nebraska and performed with the Omaha and Lincoln Symphonies and the Nebraska Chamber Orchestra. As a music educator in Texas, Dr. Scott has served as an officer of the Texas chapter of the American String Teacher’s Association, taught for eight years for the Austin ISD at Lamar Middle School and Travis and McCallum High Schools, was co-conductor of the Austin Youth Symphony, and served as Region XVIII College Division Chair for the Texas Music Educator’s Association. Professor Scott was co-editor of the public school column in the American Suzuki Journal and was named chairman of the Suzuki in the Schools division of the 1998 International Teacher’s Conference. She has performed with the Austin Symphony, Austin Lyric Opera and Ballet Austin Orchestras. Dr. Scott has been the recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award from the School of Music as well as the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. She is one of only two registered “Suzuki in the Schools” teacher trainers for the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and is on the editorial board for the American String Teacher. She is a guest clinician and conductor at state and national conventions speaking on string pedagogy, inclusive school music programs, and character development through the arts. Her articles have appeared in The American String Teacher, The American Suzuki Journal, and The Journal of Research in Music Education.
She is co-author with William Dick of the textbooks, Mastery for Strings, Level One and Two, and Learning Together: Sequential Repertoire for Solo Strings or String Ensembles, co-authored with William Dick and Winfred Crock. Her latest publication, From the Stage to the Studio: How Fine Performers become Great Teachers, is co-authored with Cornelia Watkins and was published by Oxford University Press in April of 2012.
| TIME | SESSION | CLINICIAN |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, January 24 | ||
| 7:00 – 9:00 PM | Hearing Up Down and Sideways: Aural Skills for the Ensemble Musician | Laurie Scott |
| Saturday, January 25 | ||
| 9:00 – 10:00 AM | Setting the Stage for Artistry via Beginning and Intermediate Level Repertoire | Laurie Scott |
| 10:00 – 10:15 AM | Break | |
| 10:15 – 11:45 AM | All About the Sound: Developing Beautiful Tone and Articulation | Laurie Scott |
| 12:00 – 1:00 PM | Lunch (on your own) | |
| 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Conducting Your Way Out of a Paper Bag | Doug Droste |
| 2:00 – 2:30 PM | Break (optional rehearsal observation) | |
| 2:30 – 3:30 PM | Classroom Content as Concert Stage Repertoire | Laurie Scott |
| 3:45 – 4:45 PM | All Children Doing Many Good Things: Creating a Can’t Fail Environment | Laurie Scott |
| 5:00 – 7:30 PM | Dinner (on your own) | |
| 7:30 – 9:00 PM | String Area Concert (Tew Recital Hall) | |
| Sunday, January 26 | ||
| 9:00 – 11:00 AM | My Favorite Orchestra Piece Reading Session | Rebecca MacLeod |
| Bring your instrument and your favorite orchestra piece! |
Friday, January 24, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
Hearing Up Down and Sideways: Aural Skills for the Ensemble Musician
Laurie Scott (Hands on – bring instruments)
Aural and interactive performance skills are crucial to the young ensemble musician and should be introduced and developed during the early ensemble experiences. If they are not introduced early in the developing process, some students will never learn to hear, process and react to music beyond their own ensemble part. Aural comprehension begins with an understanding of perfect unison and linear melody and then progresses to comprehension of harmonic and polyphonic function. A beautifully established primary aural foundation is necessary however training must continue to produce a complete ensemble musician. Skills to develop aural awareness will be presented in a possible teaching sequence. Aural skills established with technical and musical development within the structure of the lesson or ensemble will be presented as the goal.
Saturday, January 25, 9:00 – 5:00 PM
All About the Sound: Developing Beautiful Tone and Articulation
Laurie Scott (Hands on – bring instruments)
Helping students produce a beautiful tone is one of the most important, most fundamental and most gratifying teaching processes. This discussion will center upon creating clear, strong, and beautiful sounds from the first and shortly thereafter building a vocabulary of bow strokes that will enable the student to develop variety of colors and dynamics quickly. The sequential discussion of teaching and developing articulation will also be discussed.
Setting the Stage for Artistry via Beginning and Intermediate Level Repertoire
Laurie Scott
Beautiful technique and expression at the highest level are fundamentally connected to the beginning and intermediate stages of instruction. It’s important to understand how these pedagogical threads connect the formative student to high levels of artistry so that we may assume the responsibility of cultivating consistent progress void of remedial backtracking. Teachers can preview, forecast and cultivate future fully-realized skills, monitoring for potential technical roadblocks to advanced achievement early in the learning process. Using accessible repertoire and exercises that are directed related to and demonstrate a framework for advanced techniques creates a pedagogical safeguard for beginning and intermediate students. This session will present strategies toward utilizing literature to connect the formative levels of instruction with the highest levels of artistry and expression.
Classroom Content as Concert Stage Repertoire
Laurie Scott
Concert preparation can be perceived as the focus of orchestra class and the pressure to present concerts as well as prepare music for contest can interfere with a thoughtful pedagogical sequence. With well-chosen repertoire however, the time spent in instruction can be as exciting and motivating as the concert itself. A sequential curriculum of repertoire can develop advancing skills while fostering literacy, ensemble skills, and musical sensitivity. Choosing repertoire to both engage students and develop technical and musical skills is one of the most vital components of a well-designed curriculum. A sequential process of skill development facilitated by and through well-chosen repertoire propels the momentum of learning and success of concert presentation.
All Children Doing Many Good Things: Creating a Can’t Fail Environment
Laurie Scott
How do we do create successful learning situations? How do we create conditions where learning is easy and natural? How do we consistently lead a child to success and how do we assist an entire class of children in similar accomplishment? Part of the answer lies in the following teaching concepts: preparation of new skills, preview of difficult or new technical material and consistent review of repertoire, which prepares those skills. Rarely do students resist preview activities because a logical well-planned sequence prompts cognizance of momentum, supports self-efficacy, and provides a sense of progress toward a goal. This session addresses the importance of preparation activities in studio and classroom settings. Examples will be provided as a prompt for teachers to design a variety of their own activities that speak to the different types of learners in their unique teaching setting, allowing ALL children to enjoy success in the learning process.
Sunday, January 26
My Favorite Orchestra Piece Reading Session
Teachers will bring their favorite string orchestra piece to read as an ensemble. Bring your instrument to play! The goal is to share with others music that you have found effective in your classroom, and leave with some new ideas for programming in the future.