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Pictures at an Exhibit Floor: ASTA/SAA 2026 Conference
One of the most interesting things about last week's ASTA/SAA Conference (for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA)) is the exhibit floor, which this year featured almost 100 exhibitors.
It was a little like a violinist's dream mall, where every store has accessories, books, new inventions and generally cool stuff just for musicians - and particularly for violinists, violists, cellists and bassists and their teachers.
And with some some 4,000 educators, performers, and exhibitors attending the conference, it was a busy mall! Here are some of the highlights:
KorfkerSpring Chin Rest
The German-based Pirastro company - which we know for Evah Pirazzi Strings (the new Neos!) - had brought its newest innovation: the "KorfkerSpring" chin rest. Pirastro's Ed Mingo helped me put this on a violin (borrowed from Southwest Strings booth - many thanks!). I think it's safe to say that it is completely unlike any other chin rest ever invented!
Suzuki Recordings - Available for Streaming?
Alfred teams up with Fons for access to the Suzuki recordings.
Alfred Publishing, which holds the rights on all the Suzuki music and recordings, offered some news at the conference. Responding to Suzuki teachers who have been frustrated that the Suzuki recordings are difficult to obtain and unavailable on basic streaming platforms, they will now be available for streaming on a platform called Fons, a paid studio management online portal. The selling points: access to the music and recordings, adjustable playback tempos, and the portal as a means of managing one's studio. But it's primarily a studio management platform. Suzuki teachers can get a deal that allows a six-month trial, after which there is a monthly payment of $20 (if I understood correctly). Another option: go old school like me and just buy the CDs of the latest recordings by Hilary Hahn (Books 1-3) and Augustin Hadelich (Books 4-6)) - I found those links here.
Walking the Floor
I did not make it to everyone's booth - but I made it to a good number of them! Here are just a few highlights from several of my trips across the exhibit floor:
Here's one of the first things I saw - what is it? A Blooming Bass? What a wonderful creation, by Marguerite Salajko of Southwest Strings! (Don't worry, no basses were hurt!)
Larsen Strings!
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The Week in Reviews, Op. 539: Tracy Silverman, Augustin Hadelich, Veronika Eberle
In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.
Tracy Silverman performed the world premiere of Daniel Bernard Roumain's concerto for six-string electric violin and orchestra, "America, To US," with the Oakland Symphony.
- San Francisco Classical Voice: "Silverman brought all the virtuosity of a romantic showpiece to this new instrument, transforming it into something both wholly new and uncannily familiar. Particularly striking was his off-the-string playing, where the grittiness of his bouncing bow, distorted by the pedals, took on a percussive edge."
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Gateways' Alex Laing at ASTA/SAA 2026: Inviting a Better Future Through Practice
How do you get to the future? Practice, practice, practice!
This is an idea that Alex Laing explored in his opening keynote address to the thousands of teachers, students and string industry professionals gathered for the 2026 joint conference of the American String Teachers Association and the Suzuki Association of the Americas last week at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.
After 22 years as Principal Clarinet of the Phoenix Symphony, Laing has served since 2024 as President and Artistic Director of Gateways Music Festival. Gateways, founded in 1993, connects and supports professional classical musicians of African descent through festivals, residencies, ensembles, broadcasts, and education initiatives.
When Laing was about 11 years old, his clarinet teacher did something that changed his life. He took his mother aside and told her "that I had something special, that if I worked, maybe I could do this professionally."
"He believed something about me that I hadn't yet earned," Laing said. And it changed his life.
And isn't that what practice is, after all? If you boil it down, practice the ability to see a future that isn't here yet, but that is possible. And when you can see that future, then you can work toward it.
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The Week in Reviews, Op. 538: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christian Tetzlaff, Leonidas Kavakos
In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.
Anne-Sophie Mutter performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Karina Canellakis.
- Bach Track: "Mutter asserted complete artistic authority, embodying every hallmark of leadership: commanding stage presence, unshakeable poise and a tonal identity instantly recognisable. Her approach was steeped in a grand tradition, with generous vibrato, a consistently warm and rounded sound, her phrasing less concerned with razor-sharp contour than with saturated lyricism."
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