Professor John Schimek, director of Oklahoma City University’s string program, has been named 2007 Teacher of the Year by the Oklahoma chapter of the American String Teachers Association.He is professor of double bass and music education at OCU’s Wanda L. Bass School of Music and a member of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

ASTA presented the award "in recognition of outstanding service to string music education and performance” to Schimek at the annual Oklahoma Music Educators Association conference in Tulsa. Selection was made from hundreds of string teachers and performers in the state, including private instructors, orchestra directors, and higher education professors.

An active music educator, Schimek has presented clinics and performances in 31 states and three continents and serves on education boards at the state and national levels. He has written for state music education magazines and is published in journals such as “Bass World,” “American String Teachers Association, and “Teaching Music.”

An advocate of presenting music to children, he has composed several successful programs featuring the double bass in chamber music. He is a member of the board of directors of the International Society of Bassists. Through his efforts, Oklahoma City University will host hundreds of bass players, teachers and composers from around the world for the bi-annual ISB convention on June 4-9. This will be the first international music conference on the campus of Oklahoma City University.