©2026 Ohio Music Education Association
Allied Organizations
Ohio String Teachers Association Winter Update
Ohio String Teachers Association Winter Update
David Pope, OSTA President
2025 OSTA Fall Workshop - Dr. Angela Ammerman
Welcome back to school! Okay, welcome back to school after Winter Break. If you are like me, Winter Break was a welcomed time off and re-energized me for the rest of the school year. I know teaching is both rewarding and busy, and I am hopeful you found a few moments to relax and spend time with family and friends.
I want to take a moment to address an important issue in music education, and that is the PK-12 string teacher shortage in the United States. Each year, many PK-12 string teaching positions go unfilled. I know this because my string music education colleagues and I routinely received emails about string teacher openings throughout the school year. To help address this shortage, I encourage you to talk with your middle and high school students about becoming a string teacher, the positive impact they can have on others, and the other rewarding aspects of our profession. You can also give your students teaching, conducting, and leadership opportunities within your program. From conversations with many music education students, I know those opportunities are some of the most impactful when it comes to their decision to pursue a career in music education. Our profession needs the next generation of string teachers, and encouragement from you can inspire a student to take the leap.
As we approach the 2026 OMEA Professional Development Conference, I also want to encourage you to attend this wonderful event. As someone who has presented at countless MEA conferences across the country, I can honestly say the OMEA Professional Development Conference is one of the best. We are fortunate to host wonderful string presenters from both Ohio and across the country. That includes Dr. Charles Laux who is serving as the OMEA Headline String Presenter and Kelsey Dewar, Abby Miles, Kathleen Stebal, and Abigail Wimbiscus Black who are presenting OSTA sponsored sessions. Those are in addition to the many other outstanding string sessions and performances.
2025 OSTA Fall Workshop - Dr. Ann Gilbert and Audrey John Melzer
In addition, I want to invite you to join us at the annual OSTA Meeting & Reception on Thursday evening at the OMEA Professional Development Conference. This is our opportunity as a string community to catch up with each other, make new connections, and welcome new string teachers to Ohio. It is also our chance to celebrate colleagues from across Ohio with the Young Teacher of the Year, School Orchestra Teacher of the Year, Collegiate Teacher of the Year, Studio Teacher of the Year, and Administrator of the Year awards. I am also hopeful you will participate in OSTA’s New Music Reading Session on Friday morning. The Baroque Violin Shop will provide instruments to those who need to borrow one, and all of the music will be given away at the conclusion of the reading session.
I also want to take a moment to thank all of you who attended or presented at the 2025 OSTA Fall Workshop. Presenters included Dr. Angela Ammerman, Dr. Ann Gilbert, Audrey John Melzer, Jordan Koogler, Tanner Otto, Brian Siekmann, and Lauren Spavelko. I left the workshop inspired by each of you. Please also help me thank Gretchen Zunic and Chris Lape for hosting the workshop at Upper Arlington High School.
OSTA members are also encouraged to apply for an OSTA Mini-Grant. These grants, up to $300.00, are available to support projects led by public school or private studio teachers that enrich string education in Ohio. To apply, please visit the OSTA website. The next deadline is March 15th.
Last, please reach out if OSTA can do anything to support your work as a string educator. It does not matter if you are a novice teacher, veteran educator, string player, or non-string player who teaches strings. OSTA wants you and your students to succeed. I hope I will see you at the 2026 OMEA Professional Development Conference in Columbus and the 2026 ASTA National Conference in San Francisco.
David Pope serves as a Professor of Music Education at Baldwin Wallace University, the current President of the Ohio String Teachers Association, and a string clinician for Alfred Music. He has guest conducted numerous all states orchestras and regularly presents string pedagogy clinics at the European String Teachers Congress, the ASTA National Conference, The Midwest Clinic, and numerous regional/state conferences.