OBERLIN CONSERVATORY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR 1999-2000 STRING PREPARATORY PROGRAM Program Introduces Elementary-Age School Children To String Playing Story by Linda Shockley Photos by Steven Manheim
	RELATED SITES String Preparatory Program		Joanne Erwin, Professor of Music Education and director of the Music Education program, leads a weekly String Prep Class. Applications are being accepted for the 1999-2000 Oberlin String Preparatory Program, an outreach program of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. The program is designed for students entering the fourth or fifth grades who are interested in beginning study on a stringed instrument (violin, viola, cello, bass). Students who plan to participate in public school string programs are strongly encouraged to join the Oberlin String Preparatory Program. Approximately 130 students in the Oberlin area have participated in this program, which celebrates its seventh year in 1999. Many of these students have gone on to play with youth orchestras, and middle school and high school bands; one student is a professional musician who often plays jazz with a Cleveland-based band. left to right: Adrianna Hickman, Rene Fannin, Emily Erwin, Emily Evans, Kelly Larson (assistant) Dr. Joanne Erwin, founder and director of the Oberlin String Preparatory Program, is Associate Professor of Music Education at the Oberlin College Conservatory. She said of the program, "The program emphasizes a wide diversity of musical styles not usually covered in traditional programs. We explore classical, jazz, folk and country. And as I want students to understand 'how' music comes together, there's a heavy emphasis on composition. As educators, we find such joy in nurturing a new audience for music, not simply in fostering a love for music in the young students who join the program, but also in their parents." Students in the program receive private instruction from accomplished Conservatory string players who have completed teaching training. Participants also study in group string classes taught by Dr. Erwin. Sarah Zaharako '99, a fifth-year violin performance student who completed an interdisciplinary degree (music education/ visual arts), taught five years with the string prep program, and also spent a few weeks teaching music to children in Panama. Zaharko said of her experience in the string prep program, "When I signed up for the pedagogy classes as a freshman so I could teach in this Yasmin Saaka program, I really just did it so that I could learn new skills, have a job and make some money. But this experience changed my entire career plan. I still love to perform, but now I see myself as an educator. I can't foresee a time in my life when I won't be teaching. Every student is different. Each has different skills and needs and I love those differences. As a bonus, teaching others has taught me a lot about myself." Briana Knull, a senior cello performance major, described her teaching experience this way: "I think working with kids in their own environment can be difficult for teachers. For example, at Lowell Elementary, I didn't have a classroom where I could set the rules, and I never had a guaranteed group to work with. I had to be flexible and spontaneous. Teaching through Oberlin has helped me clarify what I want to do with my life, and it has provided the skills so that I can begin to accomplish those goals." The cost for the program is $200 per semester; scholarships are available. A limited number of instruments are also available. For additional information or to apply, contact the Oberlin Conservatory Office of Outreach at (440) 775-8044.
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