Ned J. Rosenblatt, Jazz Choir Director The New Jersey Music Educators Association proudly presents The 2019 New Jersey All-State Jazz Ensemble and Honors Jazz Choir Ned J. Rosenblatt, Jazz Choir Conductor Program to be selected from: Tight..................................... Betty Carter, arr: Matt Falker Lilás..................................... Djavan, arr: Ned J. Rosenblatt To You....................... Thad Jones, arr: Manhattan Transfer Got To Get You Into My Life..............................arr: Rosenblatt
Dennis Mackrel, Honors Jazz Ensemble Conductor Program to be selected from: Blues in the Two Percent.....................Dennis Mackrel Yesterdays............................. Jerome Kern/arr. Mackrel Don’t Fence Me In.................Cole Porter/arr. Mackrel I Got it Bad......................Duke Ellington/arr. Mackrel And That’s That..................................Dennis Mackrel Nor Frills.............................................Dennis Mackrel
Finale NJ Honors Jazz Choir & All-State Jazz Ensemble I Thought About You........Jimmy Van Heusen, arr. Rosenblatt Thursday, November 7, 2019 Claridge Hotel Celebrity Theater 7:30 p.m. and Friday, November 15, 2019 NJ-PAC Chase Room 7:00 p.m.
OCTOBER 2019
Ned J. Rosenblatt currently holds the position of Associate Professor in the Voice Department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Pedagogy from the Berklee College of Music and The Boston Conservatory. As a freelance musician and director, Rosenblatt has accompanied and arranged for the Connecticut Music Educator’s Association Middle School Chorus, managed and accompanied the Massachusetts AllCape and Islands Festival Chorus, founded and served as manager of the Massachusetts AllCape and Islands Jazz Festival from 19992003, has served as a vocal coach, and has arranged for both instrumental and vocal ensembles in the Jazz, Classical, Pop, Contemporary, and Broadway Show idioms. He has served as Director of the Vermont Music Educator Association District VI Festival Jazz Choir; AllCape and Islands Jazz Festival Vocal Jazz Ensemble and Festival Chorus; Maine All-State Vocal Jazz Choir and the New Jersey Honors Jazz Choir. Rosenblatt frequently serves as an adjudicator for Classical, Jazz and Show Choir festivals. His high school Vocal Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Ensembles have won numerous awards including thirteen wins at the highly acclaimed "Berklee Jazz Festival" (Boston, MA); have been featured on television, have performed at the Massachusetts and Florida All-State Conferences and the Arts Schools Network Conference. The Berklee Advanced Vocal Jazz Ensemble is the current Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble Undergraduate College Level winner of the 2019 DownBeat Student Music Awards.
Dennis Mackrel, Jazz Ensemble Director Dennis was born, April 3, 1962. A child prodigy, he began playing the drums when he was two; and became a professional musician at the age of ten when he performed in the Anchorage Community Theatre’s production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”. Developing his craft in various playing situations, his Broadway credits include “The First” and “A Chorus Line”. In January of 1983, Dennis joined the Count Basie Orchestra on the personal recommendation of Joe Williams. After leaving the Count Basie Orchestra, he returned to New York and soon became the drummer of choice for a number of large ensembles. Dennis’s transition from sideman to leader continued with his frequent trips to Europe as a guest conductor, arranger and/ or soloist for such outstanding ensembles as the "Kluvers Big Band" in Aarhus, Denmark; the "Danish Radio Big Band" in Copenhagen, Denmark; and the "WDR Big Band" in Koln, Germany. In 2010, he returned to the Count Basie Orchestra where he served as its leader and chief conductor until 2013 and on November 7th 2015, he was named chief conductor of the Jazz Orchestra of the "Concertgebouw" in Amsterdam, Holland. As an educator, he continues to conduct master classes, seminars, and workshops thoughout Europe, Asia, Canada and the USA. From 2002-2003, Dennis served as a guest professor at the Royal Conservatory in Aarhus, Denmark and from 2012-2013, he was the Visiting Artist in Jazz Studies at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He is currently a professor at Queens College in Flushing, NY and a member of the jazz faculty at the Birch Creek Summer Jazz Camp in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin and the Skidmore Jazz Institute in Saratoga Springs, NY. 35 TEMPO
