AUSTA National Conference, Melbourne 2022

Vivianne Anthrak, Melissa Dineen, Hamish Paterson, Samantha Raftery, Anita Schleebs

Pre-conference event, Friday 1 July

‘What a great way to start an AUSTA conference!’ enthused AUSTA ACT’s Vivianne Anthrak. ‘Guest presenter from the US, Jeremy Woolstenhulme, took the delegates through his “Steps to Successful Orchestras: Organising, Rehearsing, Performing” by setting up the room as a string orchestra where we had the opportunity to play through Jeremy’s String Basics, Steps to Successful Ensembles, First Performance Ensembles, Intermediate Performance Ensembles and Intonation Basics books. Jeremy provided tips and tricks on how he tutors students of various standards to create successful orchestra programs.’

Samantha Raftery, President of AUSTA SA, noted, ‘I loved some of the learning ideas he brought to the table, such as the concept of peer tutoring I liked that Woolstenhulme emphasised the idea of giving everyone the opportunity to showcase their skills through small solos throughout the lesson, ensuring that every student is supported in this endeavour and not avoiding the students who are not progressing as quickly.’

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C004 William Brade (arr. Connelly) - Suite in G, for string orchestra $77

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C006 Graeme Webster - Get the Red Dress Out, for string orchestra $88

C007 Graeme Webster - Dugongs & Pelican Rock for string orchestra $99

C008 Graeme Webster - The Owl on Crane Street & Gedachten for string orchestra $70

C009 Patrice Connelly - Visiting Day at the Factory, for string orchestra $66

C010 Caroubel/Praetorius (arr. Connelly) - Gavottes from Terpsichore (1612) for string orch $66

C011 Johannes Ghro (arr. Connelly) - Two intradas (1603) for string orchestra $55 https://concertino.saraband.com.au

Vivianne noted that ‘we proudly paraded into the foyer carrying our impressive AUSTA Conference bags put together by the wonderful team at AUSTA Victoria and were grateful for the volunteers who offered their time and services to make the conference such a success with the state organisers.’

Day 1, Saturday 2 July

According to Anita, ‘To tempt like-minded string teachers to meet up in a Melbourne winter may seem like a hard battle but the temptation of three full days of face-to-face music learning was an easy battle won. The National Conference was well attended and each state and territory was represented!’

Anita Schleebs from AUSTA TAS added that there was ‘a room full of familiar faces, string music to warm the soul and we learnt Jeremy’s ways of keeping players in time, in tune and motivated and also a few bad jokes. All of this was washed down later with the welcome drinks in the foyer where we all got to say hello to old friends, meet people face to face for the first time, make new friends and put faces to names.’

Vivianne reported, ‘The conference opened with keynote speaker, Deborah Cheetham AO, Yorta Yorta woman, soprano, composer, educator and performing arts leader who spoke about her life and the nuances she brings to First Nations engagement. Ensemble Dutala, Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chamber ensemble composed of nine professional musicians, formed in 2019. A member of the group, Aaron Wyatt, Noongar man from Perth, violist, conductor and academic, performed Wooroongi Biik for us.’ Samantha reflected, ‘Deborah mentioned several fantastic programs and projects that she has delivered through her company, Short Black Opera. I have since investigated these projects myself and they helped me to learn about the fortitude of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they fought for their rights and protested restrictive laws and living conditions. I will incorporate these works into my teaching programs and ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music is strongly supported and represented in my lessons.’

After the morning tea break, delegates were given a choice of workshops and talks to attend. Vivianne attended ‘The “It” factor in String and Orchestral Literature’. Gail V. Barnes, Director of the University of South Carolina (US) Strings Project, discussed selecting the right literature for string and orchestra groups and what priorities to focus on in string and orchestra classrooms such as teaching posture, pulse, pitch and technique. Teachers must be persistent and give authentic praise and set up string classes to be well organised to promote student success. Students need to answer two questions to enrol in an elective: do like it and am I good at it?

Hamish Paterson, AUSTA VIC President, enjoyed ‘Beyond the Setup’ with Adrian Petrino and Shannon Paul Luk, ‘being a fascinating look at how a luthier finely adjusted a bridge in front of our eyes to improve the sound of a violin, and the steps involved’.

Samantha attended Loreta Fin’s ‘Sing and String’ presentation which offered many wonderful ideas for group lessons. ‘I enjoyed many of the sayings and metaphors she used to assist students in remembering techniques on their instruments. I also thoroughly enjoyed her “staff meetings” where she and the other teachers in the session would demonstrate a tune incorrectly and the students would need to work out what was wrong and how to fix it.’ She then attended Bethany Nottage’s session about 3D resources that could be incorporated into music lessons. Bethany introduced a series of bow grips and small bow sections and demonstrated bow movements and hand postures on a skeleton that she uses to assist with bow hold, which delegates were able to experiment with during the lesson.

AUSTA Q President Melissa Dineen enjoyed Ingrid Martin’s ‘Teach a Kid to Fish’ which provided practical insights into the importance of fostering independent learning, particularly in assisting students to develop constructive practice habits. ‘She encouraged us all to think about the way we phrase questions that assist students to identify problems, find and apply solutions and to evaluate their own progress.’

A large lunch, sponsored by Pirastro strings, was followed by the second keynote speaker, Yvonne Frye, Lecturer of Violin Pedagogy at the Sibelius Academy, Finland. Yvonne discussed how various bowing techniques, as well as vibrato and musical expression can and should be taught right from the beginning. By introducing these concepts early on, students can explore and become more comfortable with them as they continue lessons. Yvonne Frye described each phrase as a rainbow and got the students to ‘direct’ the rainbows in the music. There were some great practising strategies discussed as well, where students are encouraged to be secret agents who uncover what happens during their practice time.

Afternoon sessions included Karen Kyriakou’s ‘Connect & Engage: Inclusive aural activities for the string class’ that highlighted aural-based games and creative activities that could be used in the classroom with a focus on singing and playing ‘off the page’ stimuli to develop students’ musical ability. Samantha was intrigued by Yvonne Frye’s ‘Workshop in Bow-guiding’ where ‘I was able to try this myself. It required a delicate balance to ensure that the student’s hands were in the right shape and direction, without being too forceful and causing the student to tense up.’ Samantha and Hamish valued Sheau-Fang Low’s introduction to Alexander Technique in ‘Coaching Violin/Viola Students to play with more ease’ and musculoskeletal therapist Daniel Carner’s Thumb and Wrist Pain in String Instrument Players (with his session on Shoulder Pain on Day 4).

The day ended with the launch of the AMEB’s Series 10 Violin syllabus and a delicious dinner at the Kooyong Tennis Club with a hilarious night of entertainment sponsored by Andrew Baker of Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin.

Day 2, Sunday 3 July

Ed Le Brocq’s keynote presentation proved to be the emotional roller coaster of the conference, according to Melissa. ‘We certainly all laughed and many cried as we followed Ed’s challenging life journey.’ His tribute to the role of music teachers was ‘centred around the ideas of bravery, resilience, kindness, wisdom, hope and love.’ Samantha was moved that ‘his presentation was filled with supportive messages and made me feel better about myself as a teacher. It has been my personal experience that the teaching profession is regularly undervalued and to hear such strong messages of support and advice to teachers was heart-warming.’

Audrey Luk, 2022’s Paul McDermott Scholarship winner, then performed outstandingly Wieniawski’s Polonaise de Concert, Op. 4.

Vivianne reminds us that ‘it was a thrill to visit the traders, sponsors and exhibitors and support their businesses as they support us too.’ Simply for Strings ‘brought a team of three exceptional and knowledgeable humans. Jacqui, as our little minion, held the fort at our traders stall while doubling as tech lead and support. We set out to help teachers and players build their knowledge and answer every question we could. Jacqui had a little too much fun writing up viola jokes every day and creating a little treasure hunt for attendees that was quite the hit!’

Vivanne particularly enjoyed the research study by Laura Case, PhD in musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, on the impact that the violin has had on Australian people, society and culture throughout history. She also liked the presentation on Norwegian Hardanger fiddles by Tasmania luthier Adam Edwards, who builds them to be suitable for both traditional and classical violinists.

Hamish Paterson attended Rodney Wikstrom’s ‘Using Technology in String Education’ where he demonstrated apps that helps students’ note reading and intonation. Samantha attended Woolstenhulme’s session on ‘rhythmic accuracy in the orchestra where I discovered many wonderful ideas presented through his rhythm dictation books. He highlighted the idea that playing with a metronome and subdividing longer notes and rests is a learned skill that needs to be taught to students, rather than assumed knowledge.’

Gail Barnes delivered the after-lunch keynote address where she described how she has developed the South Carolina Strings Project, where many of her music education students get their first opportunities to teach group string lessons.

Julie Hewison explored the new repertoire from Grade 1–4 in the new Series 10 books. Hamish attended the Community Focus session of ‘Stringlines: Creating music and community in the tropics’ with Ania Tait. ‘There were fascinating stories and insights into how a weekly get-together is a highlight of the week for a number of players on the other side of the country. Conductor Ingrid Martin delved into various strategies for mixed-ability ensemble lessons, including advice on maintaining engagement during the rehearsal and choosing appropriate repertoire.

Violin, viola, cello and bass forums were followed by the launch of Molto AUSTA, a historical overview of AUSTA’s history written by Stringendo editor Susan Pierotti.

Day 3, Monday 4 July

Melissa reported, ‘Yvonne’s genuine and gleeful excitement about meeting one of her own educational idols in Gary McPherson was palpable and had us all eager to hear his keynote session. We were not disappointed. Gary’s presentation on “Creative and Impactful Teaching Strategies” was one of the highlights of my own thirty-year professional development journey.’

The Conference Orchestra rehearsals on Days 2 and 3 culminated with a concert on Day 4 conducted by Ingrid Martin with the premiere of award-winning composer, conductor and arranger Nicholas Buc’s commissioned work, Stringybark Suite.

Morning sessions included Caron Chan, Chief Strings Examiner for the AMEB (NSW) presenting ‘Developing Artistry in the Level 2 Repertoire’ and Fintan Murphy on how to approach new repertoire with the skills and confidence required, especially with the more challenging pieces. A highlight for Anita was the Australian String Quartet sharing an open rehearsal and unpacking of a new quartet by Jack Symonds, Quartet No. 2. Samantha reported on ‘their approaches to rehearsing and to note that even the top-notch professional players can get anxious over difficult and challenging works.’

In the afternoon, Yvonne Frye discussed her teaching research about whether gender makes a difference to how to teach, looking at the physiological stressors that affect both genders, how boys and girls learn differently and what teachers have to look out for to engage better learning. Samantha enjoyed Elizabeth Scott’s presentation on how singing in lessons can help students to get a better grasp of the phrasing and expression, achieve a well-blended sound and a better sense of articulation. Melissa was intrigued by Josephine Vain’s ‘Speaking Through Music’ which ‘introduced us to the classical ideas of rhetoric developed by ancient Greeks and Romans and how these concepts can be used to project musical shaping and nuance in performance.’

Post-conference events, Tuesday and Wednesday, 5 and 6 July

Yvonne Frye presented workshops on ‘For the Younger Child’ and ‘The Intermediate/Advanced Student’.

Samantha’s summary: ‘I was very excited to attend the National Conference. This fantastic learning experience provided me with invaluable advice, support and ideas that I’ve adapted into my teaching toolkit.’