Dorothy Straub

Adjunct Instructor of Music
Music Education

Dorothy Straub served as president of MENC and president of MENC’s Eastern Division, chaired the MENC committee for string and orchestra education, and has co-authored a number of publications in the area of string education, such as TIPS: Establishing a String and Orchestra Program, published by MENC. Straub long served as Music Coordinator for the Fairfield public schools in Connecticut and as Orchestra Director at Fairfield High School. She was also a string and orchestra teacher in the West Port, Connecticut, public schools for eight years, and music coordinator for the West Port and Fairfield public schools. She is a graduate of Indiana University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education, specializing in strings.

Straub has been the conductor of the concert orchestra of the Bridgeport Symphony Youth Orchestra, and has served as guest conductor for string festivals in numerous states. She also has been a violinist in the Greenwich Symphony and in greater Bridgeport symphony orchestras. She is a distinguished member of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), and has been editor of the “School Teachers Forum” in ASTA’s American String Teacher magazine. She also holds memberships in the National School Orchestra Association, the American Federation of Musicians, and the American Orff-Schulwerk Society.

During her presidency, Dorothy Straub distinguished herself through her positive influence on people by building coalitions and working closely and harmoniously with MENC staff. She exhibited excellence in teaching, a commitment to string and orchestra education, and a strong vision for the place of music education in the life of children.

“Nurturing and enabling the capacity for each child to experience the excitement of music is what we are all about.”
Dorothy Straub, “The Gift of Giving: Holiday Reflections,” Music Educators Journal 79, no. 4 (December 1992): 4.

“Our overriding agenda, however, is the survival of music and the other arts for our children’s sake. The commonalities we share as music educators are far greater than the factors that separate us. In these commonalities we have great strength.”
Dorothy Straub, “Synthesis,” Music Educators Journal 79, no. 1 (September 1992): 4.

“The emerging standards are a part of real education reform. They will have an impact on current practitioners, textbooks authors and publishers, and teacher-training institutions, all of which will result in higher expectations and greater educational opportunity for all students in our nation’s schools, from pre-kindergarten through grade 12.”
Dorothy Straub, “The Impact of National Standards,” Music Educators Journal, 79, no. 5 (January 1993): 51.

Contact: straubd@wcsu.edu