CJMEA
Central Jersey Music Educators Association cjmea.org
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anuary was an incredibly busy month for CJMEA with seven incredible ensembles performing at four different concerts. The region symphonic band, wind ensemble, orchestra, percussion ensemble, mixed choir, treble choir, and high school honor band all performed beautifully. Our students were very fortunate to work with some amazing conductors who helped them grow musically with fantastic repertoire. Our high school conductors this year were: Professor Timothy Schwartz, Rowan University – region orchestra Professor Greg Giannascoli, New Jersey City University – region percussion ensemble Professor Heidi Sarver, University of Delaware – region symphonic band Professor Scott Jones, The University of Ohio – region wind ensemble Professor Joseph Higgins, Rowan University – high school honor band Lorraine Lynch, Roxbury High School – region mixed choir Professor Nicholas McBride, The College of New Jersey – region treble choir Of course we cannot go without thanking our division chairs and all of the managers who volunteered their time to make these events a success for the students. The time they give is significant and we are all grateful. If you are interested in becoming involved with any of these ensembles, please get in touch! We would love to grow the number of teachers in our region that take a leadership role in the region and honors ensemble experiences.
TEMPO
I’d also like to make everyone aware that CJMEA houses instrumental music repertoire libraries. All of the music we purchase for our region ensembles is housed in various locations. Thanks to the hard work of a few individuals we are almost done cataloguing the music and will make it available once we do. We are working diligently to post all of our library listings on the CJMEA website. CJMEA teachers are welcome to borrow a piece from this library if needed. Until we are able to post our catalogues on the website, please feel free to reach out to our division chairs to inquire as to whether or not a piece is available. All of their contact information is on www. cjmea. org. As we move through the winter months, it becomes time to think about our executive board for next year. This is an election year, meaning the positions of president-elect, treasurer, and secretary are open. If you are interested in serving in one of these positions and would like to run for election, please contact our current president-elect, David Westawski at dwestawski@cjmea.org. Additionally, we are always looking for people to help and assist with our division chairs for high school band, choir, and orchestra as well as intermediate band, choir, and orchestra. If you have an interest in serving in that capacity, please contact me, Adam Warshafsky, at awarshafsky@ cjmea. org. This brings me to the most important, yet unfortunate news I sadly must share with you. Our beloved treasurer, Susan Belly, has passed away. Sue dedicated everything she had to bringing music to children’s lives both as a teacher and as a member of our executive board. She gave immensely of herself to CJMEA not just as our treasurer, but as an advisor to me and the rest of the board. We will miss her terribly and our hearts go out to her family and friends.
NJSMA
North Jersey School Music Association njsma.com
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ongratulations to all students who successfully auditioned for the NJSMA region bands and to all the directors that helped with auditions, rehearsals and concerts. NJSMA would not be able to provide these wonderful opportunities for students without the support and encouragement from their sponsoring directors. 56
The Junior High School Concert will be March 5, 2017 at a site to be determined. Russell Branch, band director in Mendham Township, will conduct the Intermediate Band, and the Junior Band will be under the direction of David Martin, retired band director from Hanover Park. This year’s High School Region Concert Band Festival will be held March 21-23. Hosts include Verona, Parsippany Hills, Hanover Park, Bergenfield and Randolph High Schools. The Junior High School Concert Band Festival will be held April 26th at West Essex High School and Westwood Jr./Sr. High School. Thank you to all our hosts and all participating ensembles. Special thanks to our festival coordinators John Maiello, Pete Bauer and James Lawrence. The sixth annual NJSMA Elementary Band Festival will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at South Orange Middle School. Sixth graders from North Jersey that have been nominated by their directors will rehearse and perform a concert in a one-day festival. Bands will be conducted by Dan Halpern, H.B. Whitehorne Middle School, and Janell Kallimanis, SussexWantage Regional School District. Special thanks to our festival coordinator Jennifer Wise and librarians Dan Halpern and Brian Michalowski. Please check www.njsma.com for updated and detailed information. Band Division North Jersey School of Music Association
SJBODA
South Jersey Band And Orchestra Directors Association sjboda.org
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he past few months have been very exciting and rewarding for the members of SJBODA. On January 8th our Senior High School Orchestra and Junior High String Ensemble performed at Rowan University and the following week our Senior High Wind Ensemble and Senior High Symphonic Band performed at the same venue. Their music was beautiful and the result of the many excellent music teachers and programs throughout our region. The conductors for these concerts were Michael Ludwig (Montclair MARCH 2017
