JAVS Fall 1997

59

examples, (2) securing copyright clearance without having to pay a large sum of money to reprint, (3) having time to format, adapt, or recopy viola music to suit our publication. Perhaps ]AVS needs a larger staff-either a volunteer from our membership, or a paid assistant to be responsible for this particular category. Related to this are unpublished viola pieces that I believe would be welcomed by performers, such as some viola ensembles, that could be printed by Docutech techno logy and sold through the AVS. I have several in my files but have not had time to pull them out, edit, and publish them. Some have suggested a more lively letters section. A letters section will be only as lively as the number of letters received, which have been few. The Forum column in]AVS is pre cisely designed for letters, comments, and questions. But readers have to send them in these are welcome! Also, if sufficient questions are submitted to merit a ]AVS Q&A column, there will be one. Where do articles and other general material published in JAVS come from? Sometimes these are solicited by the editor or by those assisting with certain departments mentioned in the second paragraph of this article. Gen erally, articles are contributed. I am happy to say that it has been a few years since I have felt desperate because there were no articles to print. Professionals and graduate students doing research for various degrees apparently see an opportunity for publication in our peer-reviewed journal. Occasionally, on the advice of our ]AVS reviewers, some material is not endorsed for publication and I have to reject a submission or persuade my reviewers why a piece, with some improvements, should be published. Additional information of interest to violists is sought from other periodicals that are aimed at the larger family of string players and instruments. When worthy viola news slips by me, I am always

chagrined. Most "tidbits" are published, but more is happening "out there" of interest to violists than makes it into our issues, and this material should be submitted. ]AVS should have a "reporter" in every large, American cultural center. So far, the only regular install ments of regional news comes from the Los Angeles area. Ideally, as local chapters grow, we w:ill enjoy correspondence from cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. According to the ]AVS survey, respondents see the journal as a secondary and more spe cialized source of information concerning the string world. For instance, The Strad and Strings, with far larger and paid publication staffs, offer auction news and market evalua tions on instruments and products that ]AVS would not try to duplicate. They also have the wherewithal to remunerate their authors. I don't foresee dramatic changes in our jour nal, either in format or frequency of issues, unless we see a new editor with different ideas, a soaring count in our membership, or a large endowment greatly expanding our monetary resources. I do however foresee improvements in more feature articles along the lines respondents have suggested. What about the violist in a chamber music setting? Or, preparation for and playing an orchestra audition? The amateur violist, for instance, apparently feels neglected in our publication. I invite such AVS members who see them selves in that classification to submit their views and articles to help fill this lacuna. Finally, the perception of what the impor tance of the journal should be, according to the ]AVS survey, is namely to inform, stimu late, enlighten, communicate, and strengthen the sense of unity in the viola community. I believe this is an effective and appropriate articulation of how most perceive the journal ofthe American Viola Society to be, or should be, and it is my and others' opportunity and obligation to fulfill that expectation.

Heights: Atch of the front

Ribo

Atch of the back