THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION
News From Our Board of Directors Choral
Festivals
Donna Marie Berchtold
firesongwed@gmail.com
With all great consideration, we have to make the decision to cancel the 2021 NJMEA Middle School Choral Festivals which we had planned to take place in the spring of 2021 at both Rowan and Rutgers Universities. This past fall, we had hoped we could still host this year's NJMEA Middle School Choral Festivals for the students. We wanted to be that sparkle of light at the end of the tunnel for your school children. However, with careful consideration of the Pandemic, that cannot be the case for this upcoming year. Karen Blumenthal, my AWESOME committee member, and I still have all of our files, and we plan to step forward in preparation for 2022! Let us pray that the world will heal, and our students will be taking the stage in the choral festivals once again. We will miss seeing all of you, and hearing your fabulous choirs this year. Thank you to our University hosts, Dr. Dammers, Dr. Thomas, Judith Nicosia, and adjudicators Charles Bass, Dr. Williams, and Dr. Cates for their past support. We look forward to scheduling dates at Rowan and Rutgers in the future and seeing all of you again! Wishing you all the very best in health, and continued success in your school music programs. Note: With future planning - The application forms are on the NJMEA web site; however, they can also be found in the January edition of TEMPO Magazine each year. A maximum of ten (10) registrations will be accepted at each site. The Registration Fee per school group will be $150.00 for either site. Each participating choral group will receive written and aural evaluations by the adjudicators, along with a plaque from NJMEA which recognizes the commitment and involvement by the school, its chorus, and the director(s). Any schools interested in participating in either of these events in 2022, should be sure to complete the application form in next year’s January issue of TEMPO magazine, or online at www.njmea.org. Anyone with questions or concerns may contact Donna Marie at: firesongwed@gmail.com, or 609-226-7751 (cell)
Retired Music Educators Kathy Spadfino
kspadeb@aol.com
Retired music teachers are feeling for all of you that are still in the classroom, trying to figure out how to do something that remotely feels musical. We support NJMEA and the February convention – I just hope we can figure out how to attend with zoom! I enjoy seeing you share good ideas on the NJMEA Facebook page and lots of other posts. Keep communicating with each other! We are, as always, available for anyone who would like some mentoring and kind, encouraging words. Please contact me at KSpadEB@aol.com, and I can put you in touch with someone in your particular area. I look forward to a better year in 2021!
TEMPO
6
JANUARY 2021
