The IUP String Project, a community music education outreach program for children ages 5–18 in Indiana and the surrounding area, is now accepting applications for private lesson instruction on violin, viola, cello, and bass. Applications are due on September 1.
An IUP String Project Open House will kick off the season on Saturday, September 10, at 11:30 a.m. in Cogswell Hall, Room 126. Lessons will begin the week of September 12. For more information and an application, please visit the String Project website. For further information or to register for the Open House on September 10, contact Linda Jennings at ljenning@iup.edu or 724-357-2649.
To accommodate the safety needs of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are some changes and new policies this fall. The main change is that lessons are now available either in-person or online, dependent on student and teacher preferences. Students can provide preferences on the IUP String Project application form.
The IUP String Project curriculum consists of weekly private lessons and ensemble classes. Lessons are 30 minutes to one hour in length. At the end of each semester, students also have the opportunity to perform solo and ensemble pieces on recitals. Lessons, group classes, and recitals take place on the IUP campus and are taught by IUP music students.
The IUP String Project is designed to support string programs in public schools. Therefore, all students enrolled in the IUP String Project must also be enrolled in their school orchestra program, if one is available.
The IUP String Project also provides a teacher-training program for IUP music students who are the teachers in the program. The program provides hands-on practical experience teaching one-on-one lessons, as well as, teaching groups in a classroom setting and conducting a string orchestra. In addition, teachers gain invaluable experience participating in recruiting programs in public and private schools, gaining teaching ideas and guidance at regular pedagogy meetings, and receiving feedback on their teaching. The teachers are supervised by the IUP string faculty members and by IUP String Project Master Teacher Swana Chepaitis.
The IUP String Project is one of 43 similar programs joined under the auspices of the National String Project Consortium, dedicated to promoting string music education in the United States. As a member of the NSPC, the IUP String Project joins in addressing the two main issues facing string education today: 1) the low numbers of public schools that offer string music education programs to children, and 2) the critical shortage of string teachers in the US. The program is directed by IUP music faculty member Linda Jennings.
For more information, visit the IUP String Project website.