Workshop: July 27 - 31, 2009, Kittitas
Status Update: Confirmations have been emailed for all workshop applications received through May 17th. If you have not received a confirmation email yet, please contact Laura Farr (wlzfarr@msn.com). It's possible we misread your email address. Also, please check your junk mail folders as well, since we forgot to put a subject on the email! If you do find your confirmation, please hit "reply" so that we will know you got it. Thank you.
It’s hard to believe it’s time to be thinking about the WOTFA Workshop in Kittitas already, but it will be here before we know it. The dates for the 2009 WORKSHOP are: Monday, July 27 through Friday, July 31, 2009. Once again, we will be at the Kittitas Elementary School facilities in Kittitas, Washington.
This year, we are offering both the workshop list and the enrollment form in two formats - Word and pdf. There is also a printer ready version of the contents of this page, entitled "Workshop Information" for you to pass out to friends who don't have access to the Internet. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the pdf files. Download Adobe Acrobat here.
- 2009 Workshop Enrollment Form - PDF | Word
- 2009 Workshop Classes - PDF | Word
- 2009 Workshop Information - PDF | Word
Enrollment this year began the first Monday of April. To be eligible to participate in the Workshop, follow these two steps:
- Make sure you have renewed your WOTFA membership. No application can be accepted without including a valid 2009 WOTFA membership number. You can take care of this by completing the WOTFA membership form (found in the December/January newsletter on the inside of the back cover, or on the WOTFA website: http://wotfa.org/membership.html) and mail it with your check to John Grundstrom (address is on form).
- Workshop Applications MUST be postmarked ON OR AFTER the first Monday in April (that will be April 6 this year)! Enrollment applications postmarked before this date will be returned and must be resubmitted to be considered for enrollment. The workshop is very popular and this rule has been established to make enrollment fair and accessible to all. There will be a limit on class size and on total attendance to insure the classrooms and facilities are not overcrowded. When classes are filled up, a wait list will be generated from which registration cancellations will be filled.
New This Year
We have two new instructors on our staff this year. Sarah Comer will teach Lower Intermediate Fiddle (along with Leslie Beck). Also, Shawn Hughes will teach Beginning and Advanced Beginning Mandolin. We are happy to welcome these two to our staff, and hope you will enjoy their classes.
Also new this year: Steve Mueller from The Peninsula Violin Company will be on hand with an array of instruments, strings, and other items that you may need. Our friends from Blazing Impressions will be there from Monday through Friday with a wide selection of gift items pertinent to musicians.
Special Message from the Workshop Chair
You will notice on your enrollment form that there is a place to indicate whether or not you had the class last year that you are enrolling for this year. This information will be used only in the case of an overbooked class. Preference will be given to those who are applying for a class for the first time, over those who have taken that class before. It is important that you provide a second choice in the event that you do not get into the class of your first choice. Beyond that, the lottery system that Bill has had in place the last couple years will be used when a class is overbooked.
If you are intending to register for either the Beginning Guitar, Advanced Beginning Guitar, Beginning Mandolin, Advanced Beginning Mandolin, Intermediate Mandolin I, or Intermediate Mandolin II, please make a careful assessment of your skill level. The instructor will have the final word on which class you belong in by the first class meeting. I’ve worked with these instructors carefully in order to provide you with the best learning experience, and them with the best teaching experience. We have made every effort to accommodate your feedback from the 2008 evaluation forms in terms of too large a class as well as too wide a range of abilities. For this reason, we have decided to offer each of these classes for a half day only. Many participants have asked for this format so they could have time the other half of the day to practice what they have learned in class while it’s still fresh. I know it’s not possible to make everyone happy, but we are trying to get as close as possible. Your feedback is critical to that end.
Let me just add some thoughts regarding half-day versus full-day classes and cost, since the cost is the same for both. Please remember that the Kittitas Workshop is much more than just the class you attend. Consider all the other opportunities available to you over that entire week. Just to name a few of them: jam sessions at night, square dancing, the camaraderie with other musicians, fellowship in the cafeteria, pie and ice cream, performances, making new friends, seeing old friends, spending time in an environment that caters to your musical growth, camping, not cooking, getting away, etc. I’m sure you can think of many more. So, rather than to think of your $100/$50 (adult/child) as tuition for your class, think of it as the cost of the Kittitas Experience. If you have a half-day class – lucky you! Spend the other half of the day practicing what you learned, or find someone to jam with. Work with someone else from your class that may need a little extra help. Also, consider that the next step up from what your class offers you for a full week, is private lessons at a cost that far exceeds what you pay for a week of instruction from someone you don’t have access to at any other time. This week is a bargain that is offered nowhere else, even with the increased enrollment fee.
A word about e-mail: if you have e-mail, please be sure to include it on your enrollment form. It is by far the fastest and easiest way to communicate with you regarding your enrollment status. This, of course, assumes that you check your e-mail frequently after about the third or fourth week of April to see my message. As in the past, it is also very important that you send me a reply immediately to let me know that you have received it. I will send my message to you via snail mail if you do not have e-mail, and will assume that you received it. I am looking forward to a great 2009 Workshop, and hope to see you all in Kittitas.
Laura Farr ~~ 2009 Workshop Chair
Email: wlzfarr@msn.com
Updated 5/18/2009