ASTA AZ: American String Teachers Association

Arizona ASTA will host three ASTA CAP sites in Arizona this spring at the following Az Sites:

•     Flagstaff: Saturday, April 30th at NAU School of Music:   

               Registration Deadline: March 25. 

•    Tucson:  Sunday, May 6th at University of Arizona School of Music:   

              Registration Deadline: March 30·       

•    Phoenix: Saturday, May 12th at Dobson High School

              Registration Deadline:  April 15

To reserve your spot complete both the "on line" registration and the "pay pal" below. The on line registration button is at the top right hand corner of this page.   The pay pal is below.   Registration requires payment.

ASTA CAP Registration fees

Option 1: level 1-3 $20.00 Option 2: level 4-6 $25.00 Option 3: level 7-8 $30.00 Option 4: level 9-10 $35.00

All string teachers are invited to take the initiative to involve their students in this fantastic program that encourages musical growth and achievement.  Teachers have the flexibility of choosing any solo piece appropriate for the corresponding evaluation level (including solos of commensurate level that are not listed in the handbook.) In addition, participating teachers are offered access to the ASTA CAP Handbook, an extremely comprehensive and valuable resource for repertoire, scale books, and etude books for eleven different levels per instrument!

High standards of excellence are set for students by requiring specific technique that is appropriate for the repertoire of that level.  The evaluation requirements have built-in flexibility and are inclusive of all approaches. (Suzuki, traditional, etc.) Students are asked to demonstrate skills in memorization, scales, and sight-reading. Each student who participates will receive a Certificate of Acknowledgement from the internationally recognized American String Teachers Association.

ASTA CAP was designed to help raise national standards of string playing and create a nationally recognized system of evaluation.   Wide participation in ASTA CAP programs around the country will create a more universal understanding of student progress for string teachers in every venue- private instruction, school orchestra programs, youth orchestra programs, and higher learning institution music programs.


This is how you can get your students involved in ASTA CAP:

     Research:  ASTA Members** have access to the ASTA CAP Handbook and all information related to ASTA CAP on the national website: astaweb.com.  After you are prompted to enter a password, click ASTA MEMBERS ENTER HERE FOR HANDBOOK AND REPERTOIRE.  Research repertoire for your instrument to determine level requirements for your students to work toward.
    Distribute:  Download the Arizona ASTA CAP Registration Form here or from the home page.  Print this 2-page pdf document: one form for each student. Fill out the teacher information questions and be sure to indicate to your student which level of exam they are eligible to enter.  Hand out the registration forms to your students (or parents) to complete.
    Register:   Teacher must determine level for each student.  This enables your parent indicate appropriate level and information to register on line go to our on line website to register their student.   Payment will be made by choosing and submitting with pay pal button on our website. 

**All participating teachers must be ASTA members.  If you need to join, go to the national ASTA website: astaweb.com  (Click on “membership”)

The ASTA CAP site coordinator will organize all of the student performance times and notify the students directly from that point on.  After the event, student evaluation forms will be mailed directly to you to read and discuss with your students. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that your students had the opportunity to participate in a high quality performance/ adjudication experience.  In addition, you will know that your participation in ASTA CAP  helped acknowledge student achievement and raise string playing standards across the nation.

Thank you for your attention to this important program.  I sincerely hope you will have the opportunity to get involved!  Please feel free to contact me or the site coordinators with any questions or concerns.

Musically Yours,

Shelley Rich
Arizona ASTA President
Instructor of Violin, Northern Arizona University
Shelley.rich@nau.edu or 928-213-9024

ASTA CAP Site Coordinators:

Flagstaff:         Dr. Jacquelyn Schwandt, Associate Professor of Viola
                        NAU School of Music
                        P. O. Box 6040
                        Flagstaff, AZ  86011
                        Jacquelyn.Schwandt@nau.edu or (928) 523-0230

Phoenix:         Patricia Cosand
                       117 E. Ellis Dr.
                       Tempe, AZ  85282
                       pcosand@hotmail.com or (480) 688-7499

Tucson:           Laura Tagawa
                       4745 E. Waverly St.
                       Tucson, AZ  85712
                       lauratagawa@gmail.com or (520) 461-4535