2022 New Jersey Guitar Ensemble - Jayson Martinez

2022 New Jersey Guitar Ensemble

Jayson Martinez NJMEA Chair for Guitar Education jmarti37[at]webmail.essex.edu

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brought a new definition to the phrase “The day the music died.” Originally sung by Don McLean in the song “American Pie,” that lyric accurately describes life in the times of the pandemic. Live music had tragically died while we were socially distant. But to quote another lyric by the Village People, “you can’t stop the music, nobody can stop the music.” Now that the COVID-19 crisis is waning, concerts and music festivals are thriving once again.

We are excited to announce that our NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble and the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra (NJGO) will perform four joint concerts throughout the spring and summer months. These concerts will also feature a world premiere commission work entitled, “Air and Lamentations”, by Kean University’s Dr. Matthew Halper.

Save these dates in your calendar:

GuitarFest 2022 Saturday, April 23rd @1:00pm William Paterson University 300 Pompton Road, Wayne, New Jersey 07470 973-720-2000 https://www.wpunj.edu

30th Annual Long Island Guitar Festival Sunday May 15th @1:00pm Setauket Presbyterian Church 5 Caroline Avenue, Setauket, NY 11733 http://www.ligfest.net/ https://www.setauketpresbyterian.org

GuitarFest Sunday, June 5th@1:00pm Kean University 1000 Morris Avenue, Union NJ https://www.kean.edu/

United States Guitar Orchestra special guests: NJMEA Honors Guitar Ens and the NJGO Thursday, July 7th@5:00pm Kaufman Center, Merkin Concert Hall 129 W. 67th Street , New York City kaufmanmusiccenter.org

The NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble, alongside the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra, are honored to perform with the United States Guitar Orchestra at the Kaufman Center.

The USGO is led by Professors Kami Rowan and Ethan Lodics of Guilford College. The group is comprised of nearly 50 guitarists , ranging from elite high school students to full-time tenured professors, as well as professional recording guitarists. They range from twenty different states and seven countries.

Lastly, our NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble extends their gratitude to NJCU MDT Dept Chair Dr. Desamparados Fabra, guitar professors Dr. Michael Newman, and Dr. Celil Refik Kaya for hosting our rehearsals at your campus. New Jersey City University continues to be a strong partner in guitar education.

Special thanks are also extended to our concert hosts, including William Paterson University’s Professors Seth Himmelhoch and Gabriel Handy; LIGQ GuitarFest Coordinator Harris Becker; Kean University Professor Dr. Matthew Halper, and USGO Director Dr. Kami Rowan.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at our concerts! For more information, including concert programs for each performance, visit my website @ jaysonmartinez.com

2023 GuitarFest

NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble Audition Information

The NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble Audition will take place virtually. Students will upload the required audition materials to YouTube, then submit the link via email to jmartinez[at]nps.k12.nj.us.

Those accepted as Honors Guitar Ensemble members must attend all rehearsals and prepare music with our conductor for the 2023 GuitarFest at Kean University and William Paterson University. Concert dress is all black. The non-refundable Audition Fee is $20.00 per student. All applicants must submit the application (which can be found on the NJMEA website along with the non-refundable application fee of $20 by check made payable to "NJMEA". A copy of the sponsoring teacher's NAfME membership card must be included with the application and audition fee, and must be postmarked by November 30, 2022

Each participating student must fill out an application and, if accepted, must pay the $50 participition fee.

More info, e-mail only - jmartinez@nps.k12.nj.us.

All students must perform on a nylon string classical guitar (no steel string acoustic or electric guitars)

Audition Requirements for students in grades 9-12

• Solo Piece: Maria Luisa by J. Sagreras- which can be found in this issue and at www.njmea.org • Ensemble Excerpt found on NJMEA.org Website (Guitars in Classroom portal) • Scale Requirement: Choose two (2) out of the four following scales: F-sharp melodic minor, E major,

C-sharp melodic minor, B major, edited by Abel Carlevaro. These scales can be found in this issue and at www.njmea.org

Students will be judged on a point system for correct notes and rhythms, tone quality, musicality: dynamics, phrasing, interpretation and overall quality of preparation for prepared piece, ensemble excerpt, scale and sight reading.

Printed with the permission of Alfreda Music. All Rights Reserved