It's hard to believe, but many of the schools in metro Atlanta reopen on Monday, which means it is audition season. I will be posting several videos in the upcoming weeks, but I wanted to start with requirements for an audition that a very large number of students will be taking in a couple months: GMEA All-State, first round. The requirements for this year are the same as when I recorded these videos three years ago. I left the videos on YouTube after the auditions had concluded, and have been amazed to see some of them take on a life of their own.

If you are a string player looking for extra help preparing for All-State or any other local student orchestra auditions, consider attending the Labor Day String Festival at Franklin Pond Chamber Music on September 1. I will be on hand along with faculty members from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to give audition masterclasses and read chamber music with students.

I recently reviewed Ivo-Jan van der Werff's A Notebook for Viola Players for the November 2013 issue of American String Teacher (p. 71). Ivo is Professor of Viola at Rice University, and it happens that the Shepherd School Viola Studios are hosting this year's American Viola Society Pedagogy Blog. I encourage you to check out the blog for inspiration and ideas, including several excerpts from A Notebook for Viola Players. In the meantime you can read my review of the Notebook here:

A NOTEBOOK FOR VIOLA PLAYERS. Ivo-Jan van der Werff. http://www.ivo-janvanderwerff.com, 2011, $30 with DVD.

Van der Werff, Professor of Viola at Rice University, offers a personal take on the mechanics of viola playing. Though not as comprehensive as Simon Fisher’s Basics for violin, the Notebook is similarly designed as technical exercises from which to draw for daily warm-ups and to improve specific skills. The first section addresses using the body to support the instrument and bow, with photographs of incorrect approaches contrasted with balanced use. The bow control section offers exercises to develop control of the fingers as well as refined whole-arm movements. The left hand section offers one-position exercises similar to Sevcik and Dounis, as well as shifting, double stops, and scale-pattern exercises. Blank pages of staff paper between each section allow notes and variations of the exercises. The DVD is very helpful, as some material is more easily demonstrated than explained; it shows van der Werff demonstrating many of the exercises as in a student’s lesson, putting concepts in context as movements rather than static positions. Future editions could offer DVD content via mobile and/or tablet apps. The ideas apply universally to good string playing; I recommended Notebook to teachers and players of all bowed instruments.

Jacob Strasberg's recording of his own solo viola composition Aulder was awarded first place in fourth grade music composition in the Reflections Art Contest at Vanderlyn Elementary School. His recording now moves on to compete at the DeKalb County level.

Congratulations, Jacob!

Here are my videos of this year's GMEA All-State First Round Audition Etudes. As always, please pass them on to students, teachers, and colleagues. Enjoy!

American String Teacher (AST), the quarterly journal of the American String Teachers Association, publishes a column of reviews of new publications in each issue. I wrote three reviews for the most recent issue (May 2013, pages 67-68); they are reprinted below. These reviews are my first contribution to AST, and I look forward to writing much more in the future.

SONATA FOR PIANO AND VIOLA IN E-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 5, NO. 3. Johann Nepomuk Hummel. G. Henle, 2012, $29.95.

Hummel, a pianist and composer steeped in the Viennese classical tradition, was a somewhat younger contemporary of Beethoven, student of Mozart, and successor to Haydn in service to the Esterhazy family. This sonata was composed and published alongside two violin sonatas in 1798, and, though lighter and far less inventive, is a fine counterpart for violists, both in style and in difficulty, to the early Beethoven sonatas for cello or violin. Like Beethoven, Hummel worked in the tradition of the accompanied keyboard sonata, and the instrumentation is for piano first and viola second. The new Henle edition contains the clean engraving, legible spacing, and critical report expected of urtext editions. In addition to the unmarked viola part, a special bonus is a second copy with fingerings and bowings by Tabea Zimmerman (pianists are not given the same choice, as the score is fingered by Klaus Schilde). This edition is a welcome addition to Henle’s growing catalog of standard viola repertoire.

EASY CLASSICS FOR VIOLA WITH PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT. Arr. Peter Spitzer. Mel Bay, 2012, $19.99.

This collection includes sixteen short arrangements of themes from well-known classical pieces. The pieces are in easy-to-read keys ranging from a maximum of three sharps to one flat, and are appropriate as supplemental pieces for students in late Suzuki Book 3 or above. Most of the pieces can be played entirely in first position, although several, such as the “Toreador Song” from Carmen and the Adagio from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto require the use of third position. While the collection is not necessarily arranged in order of difficulty, the final three pieces are the most challenging, in terms of rhythmic freedom (“Toreador Song” and “O Sole Mio”) and articulation (“William Tell Overture”). In addition to the piano accompaniments, each piece is provided with an optional duet part, making this collection useful for ensemble playing in lessons and group classes.

INSIGHTS AND ESSAYS ON THE MUSIC PERFORMANCE LIBRARY. Ed. Russ Girsberger and Laurie Lake. Meredith Music Publications, 2012, $29.95

Girsberger (Librarian, United States Navy and Marine Corps School of Music) and Lake (Reference Librarian, Cleveland Institute of Music) offer a concise yet comprehensive overview of the important, yet often-misunderstood work of the performance librarian. In this volume, leading figures in the profession contribute articles covering all aspects of the performance librarian’s work, ranging from types of work (symphonic, band, opera, ballet, festival, publisher, choral, film, etc.), to skills needed (score reading, desktop publishing, archiving, budgeting, etc.), to librarian interactions with various constituencies (musicians, conductors, managers, composers, publishers, dealers). This book is required reading for any musician considering a career as a performance librarian. Several of the articles deal with how to become a performance librarian. There is no such thing as a degree in performance librarianship; aspiring librarians must find a mentor and serve an apprenticeship, learning every aspect of their trade through hands-on immersion. The most insightful contribution to the volume is the final article, “The Art of the Retouche (Does Beethoven Know What We’re doing?)” by Boston Symphony Orchestra Principal Librarian Marshall Burlingame. The article highlights numerous passages in the standard orchestral literature that are often rewritten or reorchestrated, and how the librarian must possess the knowledge and agility to anticipate the wishes of different conductors. Burlingame’s sample of the artistic decisions made by performance librarians on a daily basis exemplifies just how much more there is to working in the library than passing out parts and marking bowings. 

The Atlanta Suzuki Institute has posted information for this summer's program. The institute draws many of the best Suzuki teachers in the country, including my own teacher trainer from Cleveland, Kimberly Meier-Sims. If you are a Suzuki student in the Atlanta area, you cannot afford to miss this institute. The ASI runs June 22-28 at Roswell Presbyterian Church.

Allyson Fleck and Cathy Lynn of Kennesaw State University School of Music are holding their annual Viola Day on February 16. The event includes performances by KSU faculty and participants, and classes in technique, eurhythmics, and fiddling.

Visit the website for complete information and registration.

Here are my recordings of the first round audition etudes for the 2013 GMEA All-State Orchestras. It was a great learning experience for me to tackle the challenges posed in each etude - lyricism and sound quality for middle school, rhythm and dexterity for 9/10, and articulation and intonation for 11/12. Please pass the videos on to your students, teachers, and colleagues, and be sure to "Like" them on YouTube. Thanks for watching, and best of luck on October 20.

September is looking like a great month for violists around the South. On September 21, Lauren Burns at Valdosta State University is hosting Viola Day, which includes a masterclasses, a viola choir reading, and a recital by Daniel Sweaney of the University of Alabama. The entire day is free, and this brochure has all the details.

The following weekend, September 29-30, the UT Viola Celebration is taking place at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Hillary Herndon hosts this event featuring a guest faculty lineup of George Taylor, Christine Rutledge, Rudolf Hakan, Melinda Daetsch and Dominic DeStefano. The Viola Celebration is also free, and complete information, including registration, is available at the website.