The American String Teachers Association (ASTA) has awarded Wayne State University's String Project@Wayne its String Project of the Year. Associate Professor of Music and Director of String Project@Wayne, Dr. Laura Roelofs, traveled to Kansas City in March to accept the award. String Project@Wayne is one of 35 national String Projects. Now in its third year, it enrolls more than 140 area children in grades 3-7 who take lessons on violin, viola, cello and bass from Wayne State Music majors. Each semester culminates with a free performance featuring String Project students at Orchestra Hall. The next public performance is Saturday, May 14.

Roelofs reflects on the commitment of the interns and students, "Everyone involved with String Project@Wayne is very excited that ASTA has recognized the fantastic potential of this program. Rather than a reward, I see it as a challenge for us to become even better; we're committed to making WSU a center for excellence in string teaching
and learning."

String Project@Wayne is a member of the National String Project Consortium and supported by grants from the NAMM Foundation, the d'Addario Foundation, the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, and WSU's Office of the Vice President for Research.

Find out more about String Project@Wayne: music.wayne.edu/stringproject/index.html

Founded in 1918, the Department of Music cultivates music as a contemporary and global art,
grounded in a long historical tradition, by combining higher education with professional training
and experience for its undergraduate and graduate/professional students. Building on the
strengths of its geographic and cultural setting, the Department maintains public access to its
performances and degree programs, offers high-level professional and academic standards and
unique creative and scholarly opportunities appropriate to a large research university, and
cultivates a deep aesthetic understanding of music in our students and the larger urban arts
community.