Our Program

What is a String Project?

A String Project is a university-sponsored program which seeks to enrich the cultural life of a community by training the next generation of string players and teachers. In San Marcos, this means inviting students in grades K-5 to visit our campus for classes and optional private lessons taught by Texas State string education majors and supervised by Texas State string faculty members.

Our Program

On Wednesday afternoons, students will have a 75-minute class session that will be broken up into 2 components: an ensemble rehearsal to work on instrument-specific skills, enriched by a segment learning general music skills appropriate to each level. Classes meet for 12 weeks and at the end of each semester, students present a public concert to show off their new skills.

Because our teachers are undergraduate music students, we are able to keep tuition costs low: just $50 per semester for all 12 weeks of classes, plus a semester-end concert.

Students also have the option of signing up for weekly 30-minute private lessons to address their individual needs and learn additional repertoire in a one-on-one setting with a String Project teacher. Tuition for private lessons is $50 for 10 30-minute private lessons.

History

Although it is not common knowledge, Texas State University – then known as Southwest Texas State Teachers College – actually formed one of the nation’s first String Projects in the 1930’s. Unfortunately, it did not remain active after World War II.

The University of Texas at Austin formed a String Project 1948 at to address the shortage of string players and teachers following the war. This successful and imaginative program inspired String Projects in other locations, including The University of South Carolina in 1974. The USC String Project became the model for the 30+ other String Project sites in the National String Project Consortium (NSPC), a national organization which works to obtain funding for String Projects across the country. In December 2010, the Texas State String Project joined the NSPC as a member site.