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MUSC 55: Violin-Intermediate

Music • Technology to Reinforce Learning • Guest Teachers for New Perspectives

Reflection on Instructional Change:

To help my students gain a growth mindset I invited two guest artists to offer summer workshops for my students, graduates of our program, and community members. Every participant, whether novice or highly skilled, learned and improved during these six days of classes.

The immersive all-day workshops speeded their learning and growth to a remarkable degree. During the ordinary school year, we never have the opportunity to work in such a sustained, uninterrupted, undistracted environment. The guest artists, Chase Spruill and Cenovia Cummins, generously spent the lunch hour between morning and afternoon sessions with the students, engaging them in informal conversations about their lives and career plans. Chase and Cenovia's diverse backgrounds, varied career choices, kindness, and brilliance inspired my students. Participant comments included the following: “It was one of the best experiences I have had! This was an incredible demonstration of masterful teaching, valuable for anyone who wants to learn the art but also for the rest of us who ultimately have to teach ourselves.” “Learning about improvisation helps me with all types of performance, not just improv.” “The presenter helped me prepare my solo repertoire.” “Thank you for making me feel less shy in my playing!” “You met me where I was and provided sound, practical, foundational guidance that will help me improve. Awesome!” “Professionals bring a different approach to playing their instrument than what you typically find in an educational setting.” “I am a music composer who scores quite a few films through out the year. Watching this workshop greatly helps me understand the violin in a way that gave me a better understanding how to write for the instrument in a way that the player can play with ease.”

My favorite parts of the ACUE course were the extensive implementation resources and the "Practice and Reflect" written assignments. Although I didn't have enough time to go down every single interesting path offered by these resources, the ones I followed were rewarding. Reading about other teachers' ideas, experiments, and insights helped open my eyes to new possibilities. Then, having to narrow down those possibilities and choose one or two to apply in my own work helped me understand the concepts much more clearly.

Working with my university colleagues in the "Observe and Analyze Session" was a delight. For example, getting to explore the syllabus Professor Cheng Hong shared and discuss it provided many fresh and useful ideas. (I also just find connecting with faculty from other departments enriching and interesting; the requirements of the FLC provide a perfect excuse to escape from all our other work and hang around together and talk about teaching and learning.)

**Evidence of Instructional Change**
From a video demonstrating use of technology to reinforce learning	Response from student Alla Chistyakova to a new assignment designed to help with interpretation and memorization.	Photo from Summer Workshop: Guest artist Cenovia Cummins working with CSUS Student Kathleen Gallagher

Practice and Reflect: Fostering a Growth Mindset and Embracing Diversity

Course Syllabus

Faculty Bio - Anna Presler

This is a photograph of Anna Presler

My first job at Sacramento State was as a member of the resident faculty quartet in 1994, and I started teaching courses here soon after. Now I'm an Associate Professor focused on violin and chamber music in the School of Music. Working with the incredible students at this university over the past 25 years is a great joy of my life, and a continuous learning experience for me. I'm also a longtime member of the San Francisco-based Left Coast Chamber Ensemble and serve as its artistic co-director. Our flexible 15-member ensemble offers a subscription series of old and new chamber music in the San Francisco Bay Area, often featuring commissioned works from composers from all over the world.

My high school diploma is from the North Carolina School of the Arts, a fantastic public institution with both a high school and college. When I graduated from there at 18 I wasn't sure that I wanted to be a professional musician, so I decided to branch out. I studied history (and some poetry) in college. I had lots of interesting musical opportunities there too, especially in chamber music, my favorite area. After graduation I took a little time and then I made up my mind to study more and get a master’s degree in music. Before I began teaching full-time at CSUS in 2014, I was a member of the Grammy-nominated New Century Chamber Orchestra for two decades, and I have been a fellow at the Banff Art Center, the International Music Seminar at Cornwall, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

My violin teachers were Jerrie Luctenberg, Elaine Richey, Syoko Aki, Sidney Harth, and Ian Swensen. Some of my most important chamber music coaches were Eugene Lehner, Gil Kalish, Julius Levine, Mark Sokol, and members of the Tokyo String Quartet. These wonderful teachers, some of whom were alive during the very early 20th century, connected me to old traditions of music-making. I've also learned so much from the colleagues I've played with for the past three decades. I want to pass on what I've learned about new and old music during my studies and career to the next generation of musicians. I'm looking forward to working with you.

Acknowledgements
	This work was supported by: National Science Foundation Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM Zone DUE 1832335 CSU Office of the Chancellor Academic Affairs grant for Faculty Professional Development US Department of Education Hispanic Serving Institution Project STEM4Equity P031C210012 *Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the US Department of Education.