WB Hosts Sight Reading Workshop

Matt Strauser speaks to sight reading students.

Finding the proper musical pitch in a "do-re-me" drill. Naming and drawing key signatures. And if there are no sharps or flats, the key of C is "do".

For 205 high school music students from seven cities, the two-day WB Sight Reading Workshop, Oct. 8-9, was a rewarding and busy time of learning and refining. Music professor Matt Strauser, director of WB's choral activities, led the sessions and gave the younger students a small taste of urgency for learning at a college level.

"These are talented young people so, we push them to learn and they respond with improved skills and some wonderfully melodic sounds," Matt said. "They're a hard working group of young musicians."

A well known music adjudicator and educator in Oregon, Matt has hosted the event at WB for three years. He considers it an educational service for choirs and instructors and an outreach for the music department.

Among the schools attending was Grant Union High School from John Day. The group arrived late in the evening on Oct. 7 after waiting on their volleyball team members to complete a game.