Eastport Strings
 |  |  Alice St. Clair instructing a student |  Gregory Biss conducting |
Join the fun of Eastport Strings!
Mission statement To provide professional performance opportunities for our more experienced players and to foster an appreciation and understanding of a wide range of music among students who are members of our orchestra and among all residents of Washington County attending our performances.
Goals To expand our outreach program with continued performances in Washington County schools and other venues. To eliminate all barriers to membership in Eastport Strings, by providing exposure to classical music, instrument rental, private instruction, and transportation to rehearsals and performances.
Eastport Strings asks for only one requirement when a student joins the group. They ask that the individual wants to play to please themselves, not to join because of parents or peers, but to join for a true personal desire to learn. In return for a students dedication to the learning process, they will learn a multi-faceted discipline including...
- Problem Solving - If a student encounters difficulty in a piece of music or technique and perhaps watns to quit, they are taught to work it thorugh.
- Striving for Excellence - Not settling for second best within that individual's capabilities.
- Learning About Self - How do you as an individual cope; that attitude and trying to imporve can over-ride skill levels.
- Teamwork - Learning to carry your part in working with a group, not slacking off.
- The Instrument - After the above situations have been met and the student is beginning to handle themselves successfully, mastery of the instrument becomes the focal point.
As a team, Greg and Alice have a great rapport with their young performers while demanding and receiving excellence from them.
About the Directors
Alice St. Clair
Alice St. Clair moved to Eastport from Boston, Massachusetts in 1997. As a graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, she came to Washington County to follow a challenge presented by Virgil Thompson to Conservatory graduates. As a key note speaker, Thompson challenged graduates, nearly a decade earlier, to take their education to the countryside. For Alice, the first year in Eastport proved to be a welcome sabbatical from 11 years teaching 30-50 students in Boston. Soon a handful of students from pre-school to adult began private study. Alice also began volunteering to teach violin at a local public school, where her knowledge and expertise were greatly appreciated.
Gregory Biss
Greg Biss had been living in Eastport since the 1970's serving the community both as a performer and teacher of piano. His compositions continue to be performed both locally and internationally. He has conducted his own work with orchestras such as the Denver Symphony.