Division Chair News

THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Administration

Ronald P. Dolce 732-574-0846 rdolce561@aol.com

Well winter is almost over and we are all looking forward to our spring season of hearing great music from our teachers and their student ensembles. We once again get an opportunity to hear how our students are improving their musical skills as they demonstrate their appreciation of creating good music and working together. Members of New Jersey Music Administrators Executive Committee and the Board of Directors have been working together this year to present beneficial workshops for the general membership.

We have held three workshops to date for the membership. The most recent was facilitated by Joe Akinskas, adjunct professor, from Rowan University. The presentation was entitled, “Arts and Special Education”. The presenter for the workshop was Maureen Butler. Educators from the higher education community were invited to observe the presentation as well as teachers from the member districts. The presentation offered techniques for the teaching of special needs students. The workshop gave all attending an opportunity to exchange ideas and ask questions about possible situations taking place in their program.

We are happy to say that members of the NJMAA will have the opportunity to present at this year’s All Eastern Conference in Atlantic City in April. Joe Akinskas will facilitate the Collegiate Forum and the Open Forum on Education; Peter Griffin, from the Hopewell Valley School District, will present, “Music Student to Music Teacher: Nail Down that Job”; and Bob Pispecky, from the Edison Public Schools, will present, “Transitioning from Music Student to Music Teacher”.

Our next meeting/workshop will be held on March 31. The workshop, “Transitioning from General Music Class to Performing Arts Class” will be presented by Patricia Rowe from the Moorestown Public Schools. The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m. with hospitality beginning at 8:30 a.m. Our general membership meetings are held at the Rutgers Club on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

The NJMAA continues to reach out to music supervisors, building administrators and coordinators of music to become active members in the association. Our association allows us to share information and ideas that help to strengthen our programs. For more information, go to our website, njmaa.org or email me at the email address above.

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2016–2017 AUDITION DATES

Saturday, November 12 Saturday, December 10 Sunday, January 22 Sunday, February 19 Sunday, March 19

rowan.edu

Department of

THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Band Performance

Al Bazzel 856-358-2054 fenwayfollwer5@comcast.net

Congratulations to all involved with this year’s All-State Band process, culminating with the concert at NJPAC on Saturday, February 21.

Special thanks to the people who made the concert a success:

Conductors: Keith Brion and Richard Blatti

Ensemble Managers: Darrell Hendricks, Nick Mossa, John Scozzaro and Joe Spina

All-State Band and Treble Chorus Coordinator and First Rehearsal Host: Donna Cardaneo, South Brunswick High School

Auditions Chair: Deb Knisely

Auditions Hosts: Andrew DeNicola and John Zazzali, JP Stevens High School

Rehearsal Hosts: Darryl Bott and Tim Smith, Rutgers University

Chaperones: Jose Maunez, Kevin Pryor, Lisa Simone, Kyle Titmas, Scott Visco, Carlye Waniak

Procedures Committee:

Donna Cardaneo, Coordinator Bruce Yurko, Solo Chair Mindy Scheierman, NJBA Liason Paul Oster, Historian NJSMA Representatives: Darrell Hendricks, Lewis Kelly, Greg Mulford CJMEA Representatives: Brian Toth, Chris Vitale, John Zazzali SJBODA Representatives: Nichole Delnero, Tom Rafter, Phil Senseney

Please note the 2017-18 solo list will be published in the May 2017 issue of TEMPO. On behalf of the entire committee, I hope you have a successful spring performance season.

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Choral Festivals

Donna Marie Berchtold 609-476-6241 x1013 berchtoldd@hamiltonschools.org

Donna Marie Franchetta Berchtold, choral and instrumental director at the William Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, will be coordinating the Middle School Choral Festivals this year along with Karen Gerula Blumenthal, choral director at Von E. Mauger Middle School, Middlesex, NJ.

The Festivals will be held at two separate locations. The first event (South Site) will take place at Rowan University on March 1, 2017. The deadline for applications is Feb. 3, 2017. The second event (North Site) will be held at Rutgers University on May 24, 2017. The deadline for applications is April 24, 2017. The time of each event is 9:15 – 1:30 pm.

The application forms are on the NJMEA web site, however, they can also be found in the January, 2017 edition of TEMPO Magazine.

Several choral directors have expressed interest, and have sent in their forms. It is anticipated that more registrations will be sent, since the form is now in TEMPO. A maximum of ten (10) registrations will be accepted at each site.

Anyone with questions or concerns may contact Donna Marie at: berchtoldd@hamiltonschools.org, 609-625-6600, x1013, or 609- 226- 7751.

Choral Performance

Kathleen Spadafino 908-208-5980 kspadEB@aol.com

March - the hard month with no end of school in sight. Hang on! Soon the musical, the trip, and all the final concerts will be over. For now, please know that I think of you guys all the time. THANK YOU for all the lives that you influence so positively!

In February, we were treated to a fabulous performance by our All-State Treble Chorus. Eleanor Daley was a wonderful conductor, and we all enjoyed her company during the festival weekend. We were so glad that Lucille Kincaid was once again accompanying the chorus! Her expertise and personality are always a treat. Many thanks to managers Jennifer Alagna and Joe Cantaffa, our managers, and to Donna Cardaneo for organizing the weekend. We did miss the NJMEA conference, but we are looking forward to our great Eastern Division NAfME conference in Atlantic City on April 5,6,7,8!

Meanwhile, we are busy getting ready for auditions for next years’ choruses. Your Choral Procedures Committee is hard at work preparing for the South auditions on April 22nd and the North auditions on April 29th. Please keep checking our website and your emails for ALL information and updates. You can practice with the tonal memory examples shared on the website as well as listen to the starting pitches and the “Silver Swan”. You will be hearing from Rick Retzko and our audition chairs, Christie Scott and Cheryl Breitzman as they answer your questions and confirm your registration information. If you have any questions, please email me at kspadeb@aol.com. There are no stupid questions!! I cannot stress enough the importance of having even one of your students participate in All-State Chorus! They will bring a whole new level of excellence to every part of your program. BRAVO to all of you for your incredible work ethic, and I look forward to seeing you at auditions! continued on page 12

THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Early Childhood Education Amy Burns 973-493-5797 aburns@fhcds.org

Early childhood and elementary music educators have many opportunities this spring for professional development. From April 5-8, NJMEA is hosting the NAfME All-Eastern Division Biennial Conference, which will include wonderful presenters that are lead educators in elementary general, vocal, instrumental music, and elementary music technology. On May 23, NJSMA Elementary Division is hosting the grades 3-5 Elementary Choral Celebration (http://www.njsma.com/elementary/elemchoirfest.html - registration due now). In June, I will offer all of our 2016-2017 elementary webinars again to view and receive PD, if PD was not received for the first viewing. If you would like to offer an hour-long webinar for elementary music educators, please contact me.

I look forward to seeing you all in Atlantic City!

Guitar Education

Thomas Amoriello tom@tomamoriello.com 908-342-7795

Happy March! If you are attending the NAfME Biennial Conference in Atlantic City next month please attend guitar presentations by: Loren Fortna, Mike Christiansen, and Glen McCarthy. I will also be hosting the NAfME Eastern Division Guitar Educator Meeting to offer an open forum for educators to exchange 6 string happenings in their states on Friday, April 7th.

It is important to please spread the word to the teachers whom you know in NJ and mark your calendars for May 6, 2017 as this will be the 4th annual NJMEA Guitar Festival at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ which will feature the chosen students conducted by Loren C. Fortna as well as a featured guest artist recital featuring classical guitarist Candice Mowbray. http://www.candicemowbray.com/

Personnel:

Conductor: Loren C. Fortna

NJMEA Guitar Festival Directors: Thomas Amoriello & Keith Calmes

Please feel free to share any classroom guitar news with tamoriel@frsd.k12.nj.us

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

NJ Association For Jazz Education

Mike Anzuini 609-631-4150 x3412 manzuini.njaje@gmail.com

It has been a tremendous year in Jazz Education in New Jersey! Starting off with the great performances of our All-State Jazz Ensemble and Honors Jazz Choir. Directors, Mark Taylor and Randy White, offered tremendous musical direction to the students of these ensembles. In a new format to the NJPAC concert this year, the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts brought in famed trumpet performer Jon Faddis to perform with the Jazz Ensemble. Not only did he bring the house down with his performance, but he spent several hours with the students talking about music, his life in jazz and even offering some trumpet lessons! Sometimes the best education is being able to sit and talk with a person of his musical stature!

An offering of thanks goes out to Doug Barber, Seneca High School. Doug has served as the manager of the ASJE for the past two years. Doug has decided to step down from this position and we thank him for his service and expertise that he has offered our students and our organization. If anyone is interested in serving NJAJE and NJMEA as manager of the ASJE, please contact me! It is a rewarding position as you are able to meet some great Jazz Educators and work with outstanding students!

March offers our busiest time of year. We have 45 bands registered to participate in our State Jazz Festival. We will be holding Region Jazz auditions and performances. In addition, April has our first annual Jazz Choir Festival, the finals of our State Jazz Band Festival and then All-State Jazz Ensemble auditions in May, along with our newly formed State Jazz Band Gala Concert.

Please check out our website, www.njaje.org, for all of your New Jersey Jazz events and resources. We are here for you. And while you’re visiting our site, think about joining our organization. For a nominal membership fee, you are able to attend our annual Jazz Conference in November, receive a subscription to Downbeat Magazine, and entrance to all of our sponsored events.

Orchestra Performance

Susan Meuse 732-613-6890 susanmeuse@gmail.com

It’s March, so we are once again preparing for the All Sate Orchestra auditions. They will be held on Saturday, March 18th at JP Stevens High School in Edison. Both the High School (ASO) and Intermediate (ASIO) auditions will be taking place at this time. The auditions will also include the Honors Chamber Orchestra (HCO) for the second year. It is a high school ensemble made up of string players who are not in ASO. It will take place during the spring, so seniors may audition for this ensemble. I look forward to seeing everyone at March auditions!

We are preparing for our Middle School/Junior High School Festival on March 8. Thank you to Kim Williams and Joe Simon for hosting at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School. Thank you also to Michael Berry for adjudicating. It would be great to see even more schools participate next year, so please let me know if you are interested!

At the end of April, the ASIO and HCO will begin rehearsing. Brian McGowan will be conducting ASIO. As I am writing this, we are finalizing conductors and programs for ASO and HCO. Look for more information in the May issue of TEMPO!

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Retired Music Educators

Kathleen Spadafino 908-208-5980 kspadEB@aol.com

We all missed getting together at the NJMEA conference in February - there was no conference this year as New Jersey is hosting the NAfME Eastern Conference in Atlantic City! Dates are April 5 – 8. I hope to see many of you there, showing the rest of our division how New Jersey hosts a conference.

But meanwhile, we are starting to prepare for next year’s conference. Do you know an NJMEA Music Educator who is truly an outstanding teacher? Help recognize this person by nominating them for the 2017 Master Music Teacher Award. Please note that the application form for this nomination can be found in the January issue of TEMPO and also on the NJMEA website. The deadline is March 15, so there still is a little bit of time to get your nomination in!

Our end of the year General Membership meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 10 at 10:15 a.m., place TBA. I will be sending out a reminder in April, or you can email me for any further information. That includes YOU – anyone who joined our ranks in the middle of the year!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2017. Yay, retirement!!

Special Learners Maureen Butler 973-299-0166 mbutler@mlschools.org

Increasingly, music teachers have questions about how to include special learners in their class. Some of these questions are: How do we make music accessible to children with various disabilities? How do we do this while juggling the needs of all our students? What kinds of behaviors can we expect from all our students? Moreover, how can we find the time to learn about their special needs?

Fortunately, this year music teachers will have at least two opportunities to learn more, and hopefully many will be able to take advantage of them. The first will be the NAfME Eastern Conference in April, where there will be several wonderful sessions to choose from. The second will be at the annual Summer Session in August at TCNJ. We are still in the early planning stages, discussing feedback we received from the survey taken after last year’s Summer Session. A few music teachers made specific workshop requests in the “Special Education” strand, including such topics as autism, behavioral disorders, and building successful lessons. If there are other topics you’d like to see covered in the summer, please email me at the above address.

Likewise, if you have questions or concerns about the students you teach, or topics want to see addressed in TEMPO please contact me as well.

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Summer Workshop Joe Akinskas akinskas@rowan.edu Summer Workshop Coordinator

Summer Workshop X

I am pleased to announce that Summer Workshop X will take place on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, from 8:00 - 5:30 pm. All activities will take place in the Arts and Interactive Media Building on the College of New Jersey campus in Ewing.

Below you will find our tentative session topic roster at this early stage of planning. All sessions are designed to be interactive, in a relaxed summer setting, so come prepared to utilize your voice, instrument, I-devices, and musical skills, in activities designed to be brought back to your classroom.

Presenters needed: Although we are well on our way regarding sessions, we are still open to proposals from the membership. Please complete and return the presenter request form on the Summer workshop homepage, or via email to: njmeasummerworkshop@gmail.com or akinskas@rowan.edu , on or before April 3, 2017.

We look forward to another enjoyable and productive day for all in attendance. Periodic updates on program development will be forthcoming in TEMPO Express postings and on our website at the conference tab on the TEMPO homepage.

NJMEA Summer Workshop X Tuesday, August 1, 2017 The College of New Jersey 8:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Proposed Workshop Sessions

New This Year

Extended Roundtable sessions will be utilized for idea-information gathering and sharing in the primary strands: Classroom music, Choral Music, Instrumental Music, Recruitment and

Retention, Special Ed, Technology.

CLASSROOM MUSIC:

Guitar and Ukelele classroom applications and activities. Revitalizing ‘General’ Music AP Theory-resources and techniques Genre focus: African American Spirituals, Madrigals, American

Folksong Bucket Drumming 101-02 Drum circle

CHORAL MUSIC (general topics)

Vocal Warmups Rehearsal Strategies Vocal Pedagogy Acapella Rehearsal Techniques Non-musical Issues for the Choral Teacher Elementary-Middle-High School Reading Sessions

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC:

Hands-on sessions for teaching proper beginning sound production-techniques BWSP. Chamber Music in the String Classroom The Challenges of Adding Winds to a String Orchestra String Program Repertoire: How to Spot What Works Technology For String Instruction Elementary Instrumental Reading Session, Think Small-Get Big Results

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

TECHNOLOGY:

Smart Music Applications Tech On A Dime!-What’s Free Out There-How Do We Use It? Google Classroom Applications and Organization Communicate Like the Kids!

SPECIAL EDUCATION

Teaching Music to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Lessons and Activities for Children with Disabilities Pre-K and

Primary. Teaching Students with Behavior Disorders Activities to Engage Special Learners

SPECIAL TOPICS:

‘Just’ the Music Teacher ! Instrument Repair: What Not To Do!

A Full day of Collegial Networking and Camaraderie in summer garb! See you there! Register now!

Technology

Marjorie LoPresti 732-613-6969 marjorielopresti@gmail.com

Do you use technology with your students? Do they do some cool projects? Why not share what you know and do in your own classroom?

Presenters are needed for two types of upcoming events:

The NJ Student Music Technology Expo. Presenters at this event can include students and alumni who have created unique projects using technology, community members, or teachers sharing pro level skills, tips and tricks. Student and teacher performances that use technology are also welcome. Expo events are planned for Monday, May 15, 2017 at Rutgers, and Thursday, May 18, 2017 at Rowan. Email marjorielopresti@gmail.com with ideas or for more information.

NJMEA Summer Workshop. Peer sharing is a cornerstone of this relaxed day of learning. Consider sharing what works in your classroom! Save the date - August 1, 2017. Contact njmeasummerworkshop@gmail.com for more info.

Registration for the 2017 NJ Student Music Tech Expo will open on March 1. Check the information and registration link at https:// njmea.org/classroom/technology/.

This student-centered, science fair style event features exhibits of adjudicated student works as well as hands-on workshops and performances. The event is open to students in grades 3-12 who are sponsored by NJMEA member teachers.

Throughout the day, students will explore electronic music-making in hands-on workshops with tech gear, receive training from music industry professionals, and get up close to the action during performances. Student ensembles featuring electronic/technology-based music are invited to perform. The Expo will culminate with an awards ceremony to recognize the exemplary works submitted by student participants.

Student projects may be submitted in advance, and will be evaluated by professional composers using a festival rating scale (gold, silver, bronze). Categories include remixes, multimedia, and applied technology projects. Students attending the Expo will have the opportunity to review and rate projects along with the pros, then vote for “best in show.”

Mark your calendar now: Expo North will be held on Monday, May 15, 2017 at Rutgers, and the Expo South will be on Thursday, May 18, 2017 at Rowan. Visit the Technology link at njmea.org for more info. Registration will open March 1, 2017. &