Birch Bay String Teachers’ Workshop

The W-ASTA Birch Bay String Teachers’ Workshop is presented annually in Ferndale, Washington: a pleasant small town located fifteen minutes north of Bellingham, fifteen minutes from the beach at Birch Bay, and fifteen minutes from the Canadian border.

Now in its 66th year, the workshop is designed specifically for school string orchestra teachers of all levels, grades 4-12. Participants range from first-year teachers to seasoned veteran teachers to retired teachers, many returning year-after-year. It is a supportive and inclusive community honoring the best practices in school string teaching. The goal of the workshop is to offer continuous, up-to-date, relevant in-service for teachers who are committed to self-improvement. The relaxed yet rigorous week allows teachers to interact with others who understand the challenges and rewards of the school orchestra setting.

This year's workshop will be held from August 4-7, 2025

Location: Ferndale High School: 5830 Golden Eagle Drive - Ferndale, WA 98248
click here for link to Google Maps

We hope to see you here!
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Note from the Director

I am so excited for the 2025 Birch Bay Workshop! Our guest clinician will be Dr. Kathleen Horvath, Professor of String Education/Pedagogy and Director of Orchestras at Case Western Reserve University and Instructor of Double Bass and Conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Kathleen and I attended The Ohio State University together and worked under Dr. Bob Gillespie. Dr. Horvath is an incredibly inspiring educator, conductor and speaker, and is the joint author of New Directions for Strings (a popular method book) and A Scale in Time, a full collection of scales, chorales, etudes, and an expanded alternative styles section all in one book. Dr. Horvath will also serve as our conducting clinician. On the Alternative Styles and Improvisation front, we will learn about Mariachi from Ramon Rivera, recipient of the 2023 Washington State Teacher of the Year award, Mariachi Educator and Teacher, and leader of Latinos in Action. Jerilynn Harris will again lead us in exciting ways to encourage creativity in the classroom. Finally, we have shortened the workshop to 4 days in response to many requests: You’ll still get plenty of time for reading sessions, lessons on 2 secondary instruments, and experience the joy of working with your colleagues while saving money on hotels and avoiding Friday afternoon traffic. I hope you will spread the word about this incredible event with your friends and colleagues. See you in August!

2025 Guest Clinician:
Dr. Kathleen A. Horvath

Dr. Kathleen A. Horvath serves as Professor of String Education/Pedagogy, Director of Orchestras at Case Western Reserve University and Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. She also holds an additional appointment as Instructor of Double Bass and Conducting at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her work on campus includes serving as Director of the Case University Circle Symphony Orchestra, teaching courses in Music Education including String Methods, Conducting, Assessment and supervising student teachers. Her work in the Provost’s Office centers are accreditation and student retention. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music (Double Bass), a Master of Arts in Performance and String Pedagogy, and Doctor of Philosophy in Music Education from The Ohio State University.

In demand as a clinician, conductor, performer and adjudicator, she has presented at many National, State, and International conferences and has Guest Conducted Festivals in 36 states. Her research is primarily focused on the prevention of performance related injuries through correct positioning of the body and the accompanying teaching methodology that facilitates accurate muscle development. She is also an author of several string publications including the two volume method book series New Directions for Strings, A Scale in Time and String Premiere a with co-authors Robert McCashin, Joanne Erwin and Brenda Mitchell. Additionally, she continues to actively teach and perform as a bassist. For fun and adventure she enjoys spending time outside camping, cycling, kayaking, and hiking.

Conducting Masterclass

The Art of Conducting is more than just keeping time and running rehearsal: It is the study of gesture, meaning, and leadership. This year, we are excited invite 2 participants to conduct and receive feedback from Dr. Horvath for 15 minutes on each of two consecutive days (Total of 30 minutes). The application is available on the registration page, and if you are accepted, you must choose a grade 2-4 level string orchestra work from your own library and bring two scores and a set of parts to the workshop. (8.8.6.6.4 or larger if possible). The remainder of the time will be devoted to exploring the fundamentals of conducting and score preparation to successfully inspire student orchestras from beginners to advanced players.

Dr. Kathleen Horvath

Dr. Kathleen Horvath will be our guest teacher, sharing the secrets learned through years of conducting college orchestras and State Festivals in North Carolina, Arkansas, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Ohio, Georgia, and Montana.

Instrument Class Information

Our schedule includes four Daily Instrument Classes, designed to reinforce or enhance your skills. On the registration page, you are asked to indicate your instrument preference and your skill level. We offer “No Previous Experience” classes for those wishing to get started on a new instrument as well as classes for Suzuki Book 1 level or Suzuki Book 2-4 level. The staff will make assignments based on space availability and will honor your first choice whenever possible.

We will also be offering two additional class sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. You should choose a different instrument than for the daily classes.

Ferndale High School is happy to share its 13 cellos and 8 basses, violins and violas for these classes. However, we frequently run out of instruments to loan, so we appreciate if you can bring your own secondary instrument. Instrument class assignments will be emailed to you prior to the workshop. Change requests will be honored insofar as possible once everyone has arrived on site.

2025 Workshop Schedule

Accommodations

Registration & Fees

REGISTRATION: We highly recommend workshop pre-registration! This may be done in two ways:
ON-LINE REGISTRATION FORM (click here) which has a link for payment after the form is completed.
PRINTABLE REGISTRATION FORM (in pdf format) will be here online soon. You can mail with your check or credit card information as directed.
You may also register onsite for an additional fee, provided space is available.

Sponsors