WVU music education org receives national award

The American String Teachers Association has had a presence on West Virginia University’s campus for decades, though it was only a small chapter associated with the national organization. That changed two years ago when a new generation of future strings educators decided to put in the work to make WVU’s ASTA chapter an official university-affiliated student organization, with all the associated benefits and opportunities.

This February, WVU’s ASTA chapter saw its hard work pay off when it received “Most Improved Student Chapter” at the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the American String Teachers Association Collocated Conferences in San Francisco.

Andrea Houde, an Associate Professor of Viola in the School of Music, has been a faculty advisor for ASTA at WVU for many years.

“I am so proud of and excited for these current students. They have been so proactive, driven and professional in their goals, activities and accomplishments. They absolutely deserve this prestigious award and the recognition they have received,” Houde said.

Larryn Betts first joined ASTA her freshman year. A Music Education major and violinist, she was looking for a strings community in a state that shows a lot of support for bands.

“It’s amazing that people care so much about music, but it’s comforting to have a community of people also care so much about strings, and that’s what ASTA is for me,” Betts said.

Her sophomore year, she worked with fellow student member Trixie Calissie, who previously held a position on the chapter’s board, to change that. They wanted to be able to hold more consistent meetings and events and expand membership and outreach.

Now a junior, Betts is the president of WVU’s thriving ASTA chapter, and she and chapter vice president Aria Bousquet traveled to San Francisco last month to accept the “Most Improved Student Chapter” award.

“I was really proud of this achievement, especially because we got it after one year of being a true student organization,” said Betts.

Faculty advisor Mary Grace Johnson, Assistant Professor of Violin, is thrilled with the changes she’s seen in the last couple years.

“Under the current leadership, the chapter is now recognized by WVU’s Student Government Association, meets every month, hosts regular fundraisers and was instrumental in organizing and hosting West Virginia Strings Day last fall. They’ve made the chapter an active participant and leader in the West Virginia musical community,” said Johnson.

Betts believes that their outreach to the West Virginia strings community played a large part in earning the “most improved” award.

Bousquet, a sophomore Music Education major, agreed. She joined WVU’s ASTA chapter her freshman year, just as it was starting to grow. She was looking for kindred spirits and resources to learn more about becoming an orchestra director. As Betts said, there’s a lot of support for music throughout West Virginia and within WVU, but much of that support focuses on bands over orchestras. ASTA’s members have made it their mission to fill in the gaps.

“There aren’t a whole lot of strings programs within the public schools across the state, so hosting West Virginia Strings Day with the state ASTA chapter and helping with the Honors Orchestra here at WVU are things we can do to help make a difference,” said Bousquet.

For Strings Day, students from across the state came to WVU. ASTA members had the opportunity to teach classes and work with small groups. For Honors Orchestra, ASTA members learned more about directing and teaching by observing rehearsals and interacting with students and instructors. At events like these, the benefits are reciprocal: young students are exposed to future opportunities and ASTA members get to share their love of strings with fellow musicians who will hopefully become future students and colleagues.

“We’re hoping to make our student organization something that’s bigger than just WVU and really expand our outreach,” Bousquet added. “Winning this award has started to put us on the map within ASTA as a nationwide organization and validates the work we’re doing. At least for me, it helps me feel like I’m part of something that’s bigger than myself.”

Putting in the effort to make ASTA an official student organization at WVU has opened the door to fundraising opportunities and financial support from WVU’s Student Government Association, which helped send ASTA members to the national conference the last two years.

Betts and Bousquet, along with several other WVU ASTA members, spent several days in San Francisco, attending masterclasses, workshops and performances and bouncing ideas off ASTA members from other universities.

For Betts, highlights included having the opportunity to observe a music educator work with his high school ensemble and the college student mixer.

“I got to see students who were doing similar things or even better things, giving us ideas. Since they were from all across the country, we got to make so many connections, and that is really cool,” Betts said.

Bousquet enjoyed the masterclasses and, like Betts, the chances to watch music educators in their element.

“I feel like I’ve gained so much from these conferences, especially getting a glimpse into the professional world outside the CAC. Obviously, we learn a lot about how to do our job at WVU, but it’s another level to hear from real professionals currently in the field and to see all this groundbreaking stuff in the niche world of strings education. I found a lot of inspiration from it,” said Bousquet.

There are only two requirements to join WVU’s ASTA chapter: Be a WVU student and have an interest in strings and music education.

“If anyone is curious about string education, they should consider joining ASTA—regardless of if they’re a musician, if they’re a teacher, if they sing or play in a band, whatever they do—because we have a lot of information to share. We just need people who want to hear it. We have a great community, and we’re always sharing ideas, helping each other out and giving feedback,” Betts said.

As one of the chapter’s advisors, Johnson can attest to ASTA’s value for students, even those outside music disciplines.

“This organization is the perfect opportunity to get hands-on experience as a music educator, by learning from guest speakers, and by learning how to fundraise, organize events and be a leader in the community. Anyone who is interested in teaching, whether they are music education majors, performance majors or even non-majors, can gain something by being a part of ASTA,” Johnson added.

There are no chapter fees, but anyone interested in attending the ASTA conferences will have to pay member fees to the national organization. But as far as joining ASTA at WVU, all a student needs to do is show up.

“Everyone who has come through our doors at ASTA has gained something from it,” said Bousquet.

“And,” added Betts, “I usually bring fresh baked cookies to the meetings.”

Learn more about WVU’s ASTA chapter and related events and opportunities by following @wvu_asta on Instagram.