The ASTA Certification Advancement Program will be offered again May 29th at Rice University. This is a non-competitive exam program that offers students an opportunity to play scales, arpeggios, an etude and literature as well as sight-read for a qualified teacher/examiner and receive feedback. These progressive exams give both teacher and student a way to track progress, and provide documentation for your students' when applying for colleges and scholarships, summer programs, and so forth. The process provides great motivation in preparation.

If this is of interest to you, visit the ASTA website. This will provide you with a complete listings of the repertoire by instrument, as well as the complete CAP handbook with rules, guidelines, and so forth. You do not need to be a member of ASTA to download these documents, though you would need to join or renew your membership to have your students participate in the program.

• The exams are on - Saturday, May 29 2010 at Shepherd School of Music, Rice University
• Intent to Participate - March 15^th, 2010 (In order to hire judges, reserve rooms, a preliminary count is needed) See attachment
• Application deadline - April 20^th, 2010 (See attached application document)

Attached below are some documents that should be helpful:

• Sample letter to help introduce the program to your students and their parents (feel free to adapt)
• An “Intent to Participate” form. Applications will be sent after receiving your intent information.

More information about the program:

1. The student can take his/her first exam at any level you deem appropriate.
2. The repertoire list is flexible, and you are free to substitute pieces for the ones listed, as long as they are an "even trade" or an "upgrade". If you do choose to substitute we would need to get advance approval, so try not to wait for the deadline to make a request.
3. You needn't have all of your students participate--in fact it may be ideal for some, and much less so for others.