Amy Burns & Lisa Lepore Named Master Music Teachers, Kathleen Spadafino

Amy M. Burns (http://www.amymburns.com) has been teaching general music to grades pre-kindergarten through three, directing the Far Hills Philharmonic for grades four through eight, co-directing the elementary chorus and Broadway Jr enrichment groups, and coordinating The Far Hills Conservatory at Far Hills Country Day School in Far Hills, NJ, for the past nineteen years. A widely known music educator, author, and clinician on how to effectively integrate technology into the elementary music classroom, she credits her colleagues, administration, and the members of the Technology for Music Education (TI:ME) organization and NJMEA for her success in teaching music to elementary students.

She holds a Bachelor of Music in both Education and Performance from Ithaca College and a Master of Science in Music Education from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), with her capstone research project focusing on composition with music technology at the second grade level. She also holds TI:ME levels 1 and 2 certifications as well as Orff level 1 certification and Kodály level 1 certification. A firm believer in differentiating instruction, Amy began adding technology as another tool to reach the students in her music classes in 1998. In 2005, Amy received the first-ever TI:ME Teacher of the Year Award for her innovative uses of technology in the elementary music classroom.

During the summers, Amy teaches courses to music educators on ways they can integrate technology into their music classrooms. She has been an adjunct professor at CCSU, Montclair State University, and William Paterson University. In addition, she has taught several classes online and has been a guest speaker for numerous webinars.

Amy has presented many workshops on integrating music technology into the elementary music classroom for district and state conferences in Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. She has also presented sessions at AOSA and the national conferences for Technology for Music Education (TI:ME) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). In 2014, she was a keynote speaker at the MusTec conference in Glen Waverly, Australia. In 2015, she was the keynote speaker at the Music and Technology Conference in Houston, TX. Both of her keynote addresses focused on how technology is transforming the way music educators teach elementary general music.

Amy has written many articles on the topics of early childhood music education and integration of technology into the elementary music classes for publications such as NJMEA’s TEMPO and NAfME’s General Music Today. She is the lead author and editor of a book of technology-enhanced lesson plans titled, Technology Integration in the Elementary Music Classroom, published by Hal Leonard and is currently a contributing author to Online Learning Exchange™ Interactive Music powered by Silver Burdett. She recently began writing a Help Series of ebooks, with the first two resources entitled Help! I am an Elementary Music Teacher with a SMART Board! and Help! I am an Elementary Music Teacher with one or more iPads!

Eager to share and give back to the professional community, Amy has served on many educational boards. In 2006, she served on the NJ TI:ME Board. In 2008, she was elected as President-Elect of TI:ME, served as President in 2010-2012, and as Past-President in 2012-2014. In 2013, she was selected to serve on the NJMEA Board as the “Early Childhood Music Educator Chair” where she produces bimonthly webinars for early childhood and elementary music educators in NJMEA can earn PD hours.

Outside of school, Amy is devoted to her family, which includes her husband Chris, and her two daughters, Mikayla and Sarah. When she is not teaching, she is enjoying watching them grow and learning about life through their eyes.

Lisa Lepore is a graduate of Westminster Choir College and has spent the last 22 years teaching in middle school and 13 years directing and teaching at Westminster Conservatory of music. At Crossroads South Middle School in Monmouth Jct. (South Brunswick), she teaches piano, general music, music of ancient world cultures, handbells, group vocal technique, and is the vocal director for the school musical. She has built a very large choral program where she directs four choirs. The largest is 260 voices; three of them are a cappella ensembles, including a Men’s Ensemble and Women’s Ensemble. The choirs have performed on live TV “Good Day NY,” with three premiered commissioned choral works, including a collaborative program with McCarter Theater and the State Arts Council after 9/11. The top ensembles have worked with guest conductors and clinicians, including members of the Barbershop’s Harmony Society, “Ithacapella” from Ithaca College, “Orphan Sporks” from Rutger’s University, and the Rowan University Concert Choir in a combined performance with Chris Thomas. The Choirs consistently receive Superior ratings at festivals and competitions. In 2014, Lepore and Jennifer Sengin presented a session at the NJMEA Convention on “Engaging Boys in the Middle School and High Choral Program”. She has given seminars and lectures at TCNJ and Westminster Choir College in music education and choral literature. She continues to train many student teachers from Westminster, Rutgers and TCNJ.

Bucknell Music Students had Amazing Opportunities in 2015.

Music Education Research in Australia Studying Music in Bali with the Gamelan Working Closely with Artists on a World Class Jazz Series Debuting the Electro-Acoustic Ensemble World Premiere by the Bucknell Opera Theater So Can You.

Performance | Contemporary Composition | Critical/Cultural Studies

Music Education | Vocal Performance