NJMEA Salutes Its 2020 Master Music Teachers
S
ue Mark graduated Magna Cum Laude from West Chester University with a B.S. in Music Education. She was a double major on flute and voice, with a minor in piano. Along with holding Pennsylvania and New Jersey Teacher of Music Certifications, she also holds a New Jersey Elementary School Teacher certificate. Sue is in her 33rd year of teaching and currently teaches instrumental music at Rosa International Middle School in Cherry Hill, NJ, where she has been for the past 21 years. Her job responsibilities include directing bands, jazz band and orchestras, as well as teaching small-group lessons to over 280 wind, string
and percussion players. She is also a co-advisor and the layout designer of the school newspaper, The Raptor’s Roar. She is an active member of the NJMEA where she plays a supporting role in several activities throughout the year including South Jersey Band, Region Jazz, South Jersey and All-State Junior High Orchestra. She is also the NJ All State Orchestra Auditions Chair. Last year, Sue guest conducted the Region III Flute Choir. In 2018, she was guest conductor of the All South Jersey Junior High School Orchestra. She has also guest conducted the New Hampshire MEA Middle School Southeast District Festival Orchestra, as well as the All South Jersey Junior High School Band and Elementary Honors Band. Sue serves as the co-coordinator of the NJMEA Summer Workshop. She also presents workshops to colleagues throughout the state. These workshops focus on technology and communicating with students through the vast resources available today, along with using technology on a limited budget. Musically active outside of her regular teaching job as a woodwind player in local pit orchestras, Sue also is a keyboard
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player and vocalist in a pop/ rock cover band, Memories. She recently stepped back into her marching band shoes and took on an additional role as the assistant director/color guard instructor of the Cherry Hill HS West marching band. In her spare time, she is the mother of two awesome young men - DJ (recently married) and Bryan (a college senior) - and wife to her husband, Jim, who teaches instrumental music at Cherry Hill High School West. She lives in Washington Township and loves to spend time with her family on their boats (tubing and cruising), at their lake site and dock, and attending sports activities such as ice hockey, football and baseball. Sue has no intentions of slowing down any time soon. “My passion for teaching and instilling the love of music in my students is still as strong today as it was when I started. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
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JANUARY 2020
