The 2020 NJMEA State Music Conference Moves To Atlantic City February 20-22, 2020

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.

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.

Why Move The Conference?

After many years at the East Brunswick Hilton, we have outgrown the space both in the physical and philosophical sense. By moving the conference to Atlantic City, we have an opportunity to re-imagine what our state conference can and should be. A committee made up of veteran conference staff, and NJMEA members who have experience attending and presenting at conferences all around the country has been meeting during the year to decide how we can modernize and improve the conference experience for our members. While we know this change may seem unexpected to some, please know that we’ve been discussing this since we hosted the 2017 NAfME Eastern Division conference, and it wasn’t a decision we rushed into. We are confident that this move will be a positive step forward for our conference. The list of all of the factors that lead to this decision are too numerous to put in this message, however we would like to highlight some parts of the conference experience that we feel will be improvements in Atlantic City.

Entertainment and Dining

One common complaint about East Brunswick, and something our members liked about the Eastern Division conference in Atlantic City, was the availability of things to do outside the conference. As anyone who has been to the conference in the past knows, evening activities are limited without the necessity of a trip to a nearby town like New Brunswick. In Atlantic City there are numerous choices for evening entertainment once the conference sessions and concerts are over. Another limiting factor in East Brunswick was food options, especially for lunch and dinner. Similar to the entertainment options, finding a quick bite or enjoying a full meal will be much easier in Atlantic City.

Parking

Not much elaboration needed here. The parking situation will be much better with this move.

Exhibits

You may not know this, but we typically sell out our exhibit space and often have a waiting list for exhibitors. Using the AC Convention Center will allow us to accept more exhibitors, and make moving through the exhibit hall much more comfortable.

Lobby Concerts

For those who were able to attend the 2017 Eastern Division conference, you may recall that the lobby concerts were a very prominent feature for that conference. By

virtue of where they were located, they were heard by many more attendees. Additionally, we received numerous comments from the employees of the convention center who shared how much they enjoyed being able to hear our student performers while they worked. And isn’t that why we do this?

Conference Structure

One of the benefits of hosting the 2017 Eastern Division Conference was having the opportunity to try a new conference schedule. We added dedicated concert hours, general assembly sessions with keynotes, and were able to accommodate more performing groups and sessions. Not all decisions have been made yet, but we’re looking to bring some of these features to our 2020 conference.

All-State

Those of you who send students to the All-State Bands and Treble Chorus may be wondering how those ensembles will be impacted by this change. The rehearsal structure and performance schedule will look very similar to what we offer our Orchestra, Chorus, and Jazz students in November. The All-State Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Treble Chorus will rehearse in Atlantic City during the conference, just as our November ensembles rehearse during the NJEA conference. Our plan is to make these rehearsals open to directors, and to make them easily accessible within the conference center. Students will then travel home after the conference and report to NJPAC on Sunday, February 23rd for their concert. Additionally, our plan is to run buses from locations in central and northern New Jersey so parents don’t have to drive their students. This is what we do for our November All-State students and it works well. More information regarding this will be shared as details are finalized.

Next Steps

Planning! We spent the past year working to put this all together so when we arrive in Atlantic City in February of 2020 we’ll be walking into a revamped conference that will continue to provide high-quality professional development for music educators.

Thank you for your continued support of our conference over all these years. We hope that those of you who are regular conference attendees will continue to support our conference. For those who have never been, or have not attended recently, we hope you’ll consider joining us in 2020.

Keynote Speaker: Joanne Lipman

Joanne Lipman is the bestselling author of That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together. One of the nation’s leading journalists, she most recently was chief content officer of Gannett, and editor-in-chief of USA TODAY and the USA TODAY NETWORK, comprising the flagship title and 109 other news organizations including the Detroit Free Press, the Cincinnati Enquirer , and the Arizona Republic. In that role, she oversaw more than 3,000 journalists and led the organization to three Pulitzer Prizes. Lipman began her career as a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, ultimately rising to Deputy Managing Editor - the first woman to attain that post - and supervising coverage that earned three Pulitzer Prizes. While at the Journal, she created Weekend Journal and Personal Journal and oversaw creation of the paper’s Saturday edition. She subsequently was founding Editor-in-Chief of Conde Nast Portfolio and Portfolio.com, which won National Magazine and Loeb Awards. Joanne is a frequent television commentator, seen on ABC, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CNBC, and CBS, among others, and her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Time, Fortune, Newsweek and Harvard Business Review. She is also co-author, with Melanie Kupchynsky, of the critically acclaimed musical memoir Strings Attached. A winner of the Matrix Award for women in communications, Lipman is also a member of the Yale University Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, and is an International Media Leader for the World Economic Forum as well as a member of the Knight Foundation Commission on Truth, Media and Democracy.

Featured Performers: Boston Brass

For 30 years, Boston Brass has set out to establish a one-of-a-kind musical experience. From exciting classical arrangements, to burning jazz standards, and the best of theoriginal brass quintet repertoire, Boston Brass treats audiences to a unique brand of entertainment, which captivates all ages. The ensemble’s lively repartee, touched with humor and personality, attempts to bridge the ocean of classical formality to delight audiences in an evening of great music and boisterous fun. The philosophy of Boston Brass is to provide audiences with a wide selection of musical styles in unique arrangements, provided in a friendly and fun atmosphere. Through over 100 performances each year, the members of Boston Brass play to audiences at concerts, educational venues and jazz festivals. In addition to solo performances, Boston Brass regularly performs with orchestras, bands, marching bands, organ, jazz bands and avariety of other ensembles. They have performed in 49 states and 30 countries and have conducted master classes around the world including sessions and residencies at the Eastman School of Music, The Juilliard School, Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Peabody Conservatory of Music, University of North Texas, Royal Academy of Music in London, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at the National University of Singapore and Mahidol University in Bangkok.

Boston Brass along with Jupiter Band Instruments are ambassadors for the “Give A Note Foundation,” giving musical instruments to schools in need. They have been featured educators and performers at the Mid- West Band and Orchestra Clinic, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Music Educators National Conference events, American Bandmaster Association Conference, The American Band College, Western International Band Clinic and at the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention. Since 2006, Boston Brass has served as Artist/Educational Ambassadors for XO Professional Brass Instruments. Boston Brass has been featured on The CBS Early Show, National Public Radio’s Performance Today, The Great American Brass Band Festival and has recorded several diverse albums. Their newest recording, Rewired, features new and exciting classical and jazz arrangements. Latin Nights, features a collection of some ofthe greatest classical and jazz works by Latin composers and performers and features the legendary drummer Steve Gadd, the beautiful voice of Talita Real, percussion and guitar. Other albums include Ya Gotta Try, featuring music from Horace Silver, Chick Corea and Dizzy Gillespie, produced by legendary jazz recording genius Rudy van Gelder andWithin Earshot, featuring classical works by Shostakovich, Ginastera, Dvorak, Lisztand others. Boston Brass has two holiday recordings, Christmas Bells are Swingin’,and The Stan Kenton Christmas Carols, featuring the Boston Brass All-Stars Big Band playing the truly phenomenal charts made popular by the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Boston Brass tours a vibrant holiday show each year featuring many of the charts from these two albums, combined with a variety of solo and combo selections and some fun surprises, which has quickly established the show as a perennial audience favorite. 2011 marked the 25th Anniversary of Boston Brass and was celebrated with the “25 Fanfares Project,” wherein 25 fanfares were premiered by composers from all over the country. Boston Brass also premiered a new major commission by noted wind ensemblecomposer Brian Balmages and new arrangements by the legendary Sam Pilafian. Additionally, Boston Brass was very excited to have the opportunity to collaborate in the 2010/2011 season with the fabulous Imani Winds in a program entitled “Sketches of Spain,” featuring the music of Miles Davis and Gil Evans. In the 2012/2013 season the quintet began touring their “Notes from the Balcony” program with the Enso String Quartet. The program features music based on “Romeo and Juliet.”

Featured Presenters (as of August 9, 2019)

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon

Peter and Mary Alice Amidon are versatile and widely respected as performers and teachers who have dedicated their careers to traditional song, dance, and storytelling. They are in demand throughout the United States as clinicians leading Orff and Kodály elementary school music teacher workshops on traditional dance, song and storytelling. The Amidons have been headliners at several AOSA and OAKE national conferences and are honored to be members of the AOSA Advocacy Council. They are founders of “New England Dancing Masters,” publishers of traditional dance materials for children and communities. The Amidons’ choral arrangements for adults and children are being sung by choruses throughout the U.S. and the U.K. The Amidons are both former elementary school music teachers.

John Feierabend

John Feierabend is considered one of the leading authorities on music and movement development in childhood. He is Professor Emeritus and former Director of Music Education at the University of Hartford’s “The Hartt School” and is a past President of the Organization of American Kodály Educators. He has given presentations in all 50 states and many other countries. He is the author of over 80 books, recordings, and DVDs, several of which served as the inspiration for the award winning PBS children’s television series “Lomax: The Hound of Music.” John continues to be committed to collecting, preserving and teaching the diverse folk music of our country and using that folk music as a bridge to help children understand and enjoy classical music. John’s creativity and research has resulted in two music methods: First Steps in Music, a music and movement program for infants through elementary-aged children; and Conversational Solfége, a music literacy method suitable for elementary through college-aged student. His teaching has provided thousands of teachers and their students with the materials and techniques to help build community through music by evoking enthusiastic participation of all people. To that end his approach strives for all people to become tuneful, beatful and artful through research based and developmentally appropriate pedagogies while promoting the use of quality literature.

Denise Gagne

Denise Gagne has taught instrumental, choral and classroom music from babies and preschool to college levels. She has degrees in music and education, as well as Level 3 certification in both Kodály and Orff. Denise is the author or editor of more than 100 publications for K- 6 music teachers. She has been a workshop presenter in every Canadian province and territory and all 50 states. She presents regularly for Orff and Kodály workshops, preschool and kindergarten conferences in Canada, the USA, Asia, and Australia! Her workshops are fun, practical, and activity based!

2020 NJMEA State Conference

Registration for the 2020 February Conference is OPEN!

Prices for 2020 will remain the same as 2019!

Full Conference - Members- $170 Full Conference - Collegiate and Retired Members - $50 Single Day -Members- $135. Full Conference - Non-members- $350. Clinicians- $85. (All clinicians MUST register.) Add $10 for On-site registration. (There will NOT be a membership luncheon on Friday and the Friday Gala Concert is free, as usual.) To Pre-Register

The Pre-Registration process will also be the same this year as last. You can follow the link below to our website and the Eventsquid page. You will need to know your NAfME log-in to start the registration process. Your NAfME membership must expire no earlier than 2/20/20. Please renew prior to registering to avoid problems!

Payment

There are three forms of payment. You will see forms of payment listed and you check one.

You may pay by:

Credit Card - Upon completion of the form you will be asked if you want to “Finish and pay later or Pay Now.

For credit card you select, Pay Now and you will be directed to the payment page. A $10 process fee will be added to all credit card registrations. If you need a receipt, either for you own records or to show your school, please print out the invoice page upon completion of registration.

Check – Upon completion of the form, you will choose the “Finish and Pay Later” button. You will not be charged the $10 processing fee. Print out the invoice, and send a check, made out to NJMEA, for the correct amount, with a copy of the invoice to:

NJMEA 1806 Hwy. 35, Ste. 201 Oakhurst, NJ 07755

Purchase Orders – You MUST register online first, choose the “Finish and Pay Later” button. Print out the invoice, give it to your Board Office and then have your school send the PO w/the invoice to the above address.

Pre-registration will end on Friday, February 7, 2020.

The site will SHUT DOWN on that date. ALL PO’s MUST BE RECEIVED IN THE OFFICE NO LATER THAN Friday, February 7, 2020. There will be NO REFUNDS after Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

To register: Go to njmea.org, click on the Conference Header, then Conference Information. You will find the link to the registration page there!