president’s
message
WILLIAM McDEVITT 856-794-6800 x2539 billnjmea@aol.com Website: http://www.njmea.org
H
appy New Year to All! Even though this message will be read in January, I will dispel a bit of the illusion to let you know that I am writing it on a bus ride to our last marching band competition in November. I have enjoyed this experience for 30 years now (not the bus rides, but the activity). I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I also can’t believe how much I have grown. When I started teaching in 1986 I thought that I knew everything, and that no one could tell me any different. My personal experience became much better when I realized that there were many people out there that know much more than me and that I could learn from them. NJMEA has been a big part of that experience. I have been very lucky to be a part of this organization and hopefully pass on some of my experiences to everyone else. Below, I will share a few of those experiences. NATIONAL CONFERENCE A small contingent of NJMEA members attended the National Conference in Tennessee in October. It was nice to have so many sessions available that you had to TEMPO
make choices. I had the opportunity to listen to several of the All National Honor Ensembles. It’s great to see that the quality has improved immensely over the last few years. The official NJMEA contingent included Conference Chair Marie Malara, Executive Secretary/Treasurer Debbie Sfraga, President-Elect Jeff Santoro, and myself. While it rained most of the time that we were there, you wouldn’t have known it inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. This immense facility seemed to be the size of 3 Disney Resorts. Everyone that I spoke to said that you have to go there once just to experience it – and they were right. NOVEMBER CONFERENCE As always, the planning for the music portion of the NJEA Convention brought about great success. Nancy Clasen has been planning the sessions for years and has been our liaison to NJEA. The variety of sessions offered and the depth of information that was presented was what we have come to expect. The highlights of the conventions, in my opinion, were the concerts presented by our New Jersey students. 2
ALL-STATE JAZZ BAND AND HONORS JAZZ CHOIR On the Thursday evening of our NJMEA Convention, the NJ All-State Jazz Band and Honors Jazz Choir performed for a rather large crowd. The Jazz Band was under the direction of Conrad Herwig and the Jazz Choir was under the direction of Kerry Marsh. These ensembles both did a spectacular job, and then repeated it at NJPAC on the following Friday. Special thanks go out to NJAJE President Mike Anzuini and his staff, including Jazz Band Manager Doug Barber and Jazz Choir Manager Steve Bishop. ALL-STATE CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA Another part of our annual November festivities is our All-State Chorus and Orchestra. It takes a huge staff to pull together this type of activity. Leading the pack was our COJ Coordinator Joe Cantaffa. Joe puts an immense amount of time into the planning of these events and NJMEA is indebted to him for his efforts and the knowledge that he brings to the table. The familiar face of Jack Rowland was there to coordinate the housing of our students. Orchestra Performance JANUARY 2016
