Round the Regions

I’d like to thank the many people who made our High School concert season go smoothly. From our Division Chairs to our managers, site hosts and conductors, these volunteers have dedicated themselves to providing high quality musical experiences for our students.

We are now moving on to our Intermediate ensemble concerts. Many of you have sent students to participate and we hope to see you at the concerts. Please also be aware of our many festivals and honors ensemble days that will be taking place in the next few months. Information about all of these events can be found on our website.

The CJMEA board is currently working on developing college scholarship opportunities for students who have participated in our high school region ensembles. Please keep your eyes and ears open for information about these scholarships in the near future. Information will be posted on our website and announcements will be made on our facebook page once the information is posted. If you have not done so, please “like” our facebook page!

We are also discussing the role that CJMEA plays in the lives of our teacher membership. In addition to providing fantastic performance opportunities for our students through the region groups, honors ensembles, and festivals, we are looking into ways CJMEA can be more supportive of our teachers through professional development opportunities. If you have ideas about this, please get in touch with me to share!

I hope your winter concert season was successful! Please remember to attend our general membership at the NJMEA conference in February! Adam Warshafsky - President awarshafsky@cjmea.org

The CJMEA Region Bands enjoyed a wonderful concert weekend on January 15th-17th with Andrew Yozviak and M. Gregory Martin from West Chester University on the podium. Many thanks go out to our managers, Durand Thomas, Christopher Vitale, and Michael Anzuini as well as our hosts at Montgomery High School, Adam Warshafsky, Kawika Kahalehoe, and Michael Brennan.

We also had another successful concert with our Symphonic Band Invitational of Central New Jersey, which was organized by Paul Caruso and conducted by Thomas McCauley from Montclair State University. Thank you to all those involved in helping this group thrive and the Sayreville Public Schools for their support of this event. Next on the calendar is the CJMEA Concert Band Festival on March 15-17th hosted by Summit HS, Monroe Twp HS, and Ridge HS. Even if you aren’t bringing a group to perform, consider joining us as a spectator for three nights of splendid music making.

Just a heads up: Intermediate Region Band Auditions are coming up on Saturday, January 30th. By this time, your students who are planning to audition have already turned in their registration forms and are hopefully working hard with their final preparations. (Late applications are to be post-marked by January 15). For questions about On-Site Registration, please write Seth Davis at k8band@cjmea.org. Michelle Lindner will be working with the Wind Ensemble and Jeff Smith will be working with the Symphonic Band. They’ve prepared very exciting programs for your students!

Elementary band directors should start thinking about Elementary Honors Band. The event will be held on April 16th. Three bands representing all experience levels from 4th-6th grade will gather to rehearse and perform on this one Saturday at Rahway Middle School. Prior to the big day, students will receive music in the mail so they can practice and prepare. It is an excellent way to challenge your advanced students, so stop by the CJMEA website and consider filling out an application. Questions about the event can be directed to me at k8band@cjmea.org.

The Elementary & Intermediate Band Festival will be held on April 13th/14th at Neptune High School and May 12th/13th at Freehold Township High School. Bring your young ensemble to Neptune or Freehold for an experience which includes a performance opportunity, adjudication, a brief clinic with the judges, and the chance to hear other ensembles from the area. On the CJMEA website you can find the application.

We invite you to get involved: come to a rehearsal, run a sectional, usher at a concert… There are many ways to enhance your professional experience and benefit your students by becoming more involved with CJMEA! Remember, you only get out of CJMEA what you put into it, and if we work together, we can provide some really high-quality experiences for our students!

The CJMEA Intermediate Choir had a successful audition on January 9th with students and directors coming from all over the region. Thank you to Sue Belly at Avenel Middle School for hosting auditions again this year. Rehearsals will run through February and the concert will be on Sunday, March 13th at Monroe High School in Monroe Township.

The Treble Honors Choir will be accepting nominations of students for Treble Honors Day on Saturday, April 23rd. The Treble Honors Choir is open to students in grades 4 through 6. Teachers may nominate up to six students per school and are required to teach the music to students before the day-long workshop and concert. Please go to the CJMEA website to find out more information or email me at hmount@ cjmea.org.

Greetings from the Intermediate Orchestra Chair. We are having a successful Region Orchestra season. I would like to thank everyone who stepped up to volunteer to make it all happen. I can’t wait to see the 2016 Intermediate Orchestras in action at the concert on Saturday, March 5th at the Neptune High School PAC. The New Jersey Youth Orchestra facility in New Providence is being used for our rehearsals this year and I would like to thank the teachers and administrators at these schools for inviting the CJMEA Intermediate Orchestras to use their buildings. I would like to be prepared in advance for next year’s region rehearsals, so if anyone would like to host a rehearsal for any of the orchestra ensembles, please let me know right away. It’s a great opportunity to fundraise for your group by holding a baked goods/snack sale. Also, if you are interested in putting your name in the hat to conduct, please consider managing so you have the opportunity to work with the ensemble ahead of time. Have a wonderful Spring Concert Season! I would like to wish all students auditioning for the All-State Intermediate Orchestra to break a leg!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic school year and holiday season! Our HS Region Percussion Ensemble had its concert on January 10th. What an honor it was to have a legend in the percussion field, Jonathan Haas from NYU come to Region 2 to work with our students. Bravo to everyone involved! Each year the bar gets set higher and higher and it is a pleasure to watch! Our Intermediate Percussion Ensemble concert will be on March 13th at Monroe Township High School. We are honored to have Peter Saleh from the Exit 9 Percussion Group as well as the director of the Rutgers Youth Percussion Ensemble as our 2016 conductor. I look forward to having him work with all our Middle School percussionists. I hope to see everyone at our general membership meeting in February. If you have any percussion questions I can assist with, I am only an email away!

Ihope this finds you all well and having enjoyed a successful school year thus far, full of great rehearsals, performances, and experiences with all of your students.

As I sat with my Wind Ensemble working through yet another crazy Woodwind run, one of my students raised his hand and said “Although this is the toughest run I have ever seen, its till better than Physics!” It made me take pause and remember what are jobs are really about. We inspire and create an experience that most students do not get in other places of the school. It is moments like this that remind me, on a regular basis, why we do what we do. Students rely on us, to inspire their creative side, to challenge what they thought they could accomplish, and to learn what hard work and dedication to craft is all about. The reason I first got involved with Region activities as a student, was to enhance my own goals and to challenge myself to get to “the next level”. I am thrilled and humbled that I have the opportunity as an adult to keep these challenges alive. Region I has an entire host of incredible opportunities coming for our students. Every experience is designed to further their passion for music, from auditions to rehearsals to unbelievable performances. I encourage you to not only keep sending amazing students to audition, but I would love to see you at our performances. Of course it would be great if you could lend a hand and volunteer your expertise so we can keep offering amazing experiences to our students. Nothing motivates your students like you! As always, visit our website (www.NJSMA.com) to keep up to date with forms, deadlines, the calendar, audition requirements, and anything else you may need. Most importantly the Board is here to help you be successful. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to any one of us. Russ Batsch, President NJSMA www.NJSMA.com

We are in need of a 2nd Orchestra Chair. The job of running the Orchestra division is much easier when you have 2 people helping to delegate the work load. Please reach out if you think you can help out with this division.

For anyone who is looking to become more involved with Region 1, we’re always looking for site hosts for concerts, rehearsals and festivals as well as sectional coaches for strings, winds and percussion. Let us know if you’re interested in conducting or managing an ensemble as well. We’re always happy to meet new faces in the region!

Dear Colleagues, We hope your first months back to school have been rewarding and successful! I would like to take a moment to thank Matthew Spatz from the Millburn Public Schools for his many dedicated years of service to Region I as the Band Division co-chair, audition chair and program coordinator. Although the board will miss having him in an official role, we all will look forward to having his continued guidance and input as we move forward. As one doors closes another opens - please help me welcome Lewis Kelly from the West Orange Public Schools to the board as Band Division CoChair! NJSMA is pleased to announce the conductors for its 2016 honor bands. Jack Stamp, past Director of Bands at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, will conduct the Wind Ensemble, and Courtney Snyder, Associate Director of Bands at University of Michigan, will conduct the Symphonic Band. Mark Donellan, Director of Bands at Paramus High School, will conduct the Junior Band and Jeffrey Conrad, Band Director at Roxbury Middle School, will conduct the Intermediate Band. The high school band festival will be held on April 5, 6 and 7, 2016. There will again be day and evening times for participation. Please check the website for details and performance application. The junior high school band festival will take place on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at two different locations. The junior high school scale and solo requirements have been updated from past years. Please download a new copy

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from the website for your records. There are separate solos and requirements for grades seven/eight and nine. The junior high school percussion requirements will continue to combine the snare and traps requirements to create a battery percussion audition. Students may not audition for snare and traps as separate auditions. NJSMA will be continuing the elementary band festival for those students in sixth grade. Students and directors will have an opportunity to participate in this one-day festival to represent the high quality of instruction. The festival will be Saturday, May 7, 2016 at a site to be determined and will feature two sixth grade bands. Directors will be able to nominate their students for participation online and will need to be present the day of the festival. All audition, festival and concert information can be found online at the region website, www.njsma.com. If you would like to get more involved with the organization, there are many opportunities available. We are always looking for schools to host rehearsals, concerts and festivals in addition to individuals to conduct, manage, and volunteer for the many different jobs that need to be accomplished on a yearly basis. As you can see by this letter we are still in need a site for the junior region concert weekend. Anyone interested in conducting one of the region bands should complete the application found on the website. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to working with you this year.

The NJSMA Elementary Music Division Columbus Day Workshop, featuring John Feierabend was a huge success! Over 160 music educators, supervisors and music education majors from NJ, NY, PA and VA attended the workshop. NJ Clinicians, Missy Strong and Amy Burns also presented sessions. The Sola Voce of the New Jersey Youth Chorus, under the direction of Tara Postigo performed as well. All participants received a SWAG bag, filled with catalogues and giveaways from favorite music education distributors. 25 door prizes were awarded, including a discounted February conference registration presented from NJMEA! Check out the NJSMA webpage for upcoming Elementary Division events. All elementary music educators are welcome to attend.

SJBODA will bring in the New Year with two very exciting concerts. On Sunday, January 10th we will present our Orchestra and String Ensemble concert at Rowan University. This is the 62nd anniversary concert for the Orchestra which will be conducted by Paul Bryan (Curtis Institute of Music). The Junior High String Ensemble will be conducted by Tim Schwartz (Rowan University). The managers for the Orchestra will be Amanda Lakits (Hamilton Township Schools) and Don Wittenwiler (Charter Tech HS). The manager for the String Ensemble is Marlee Ernst (Atlantic City Schools). The following Sunday, January 17th the Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band conducted by Tom McCauley (Montclair University) and Scott Visco (Toms River HS South) respectively will perform in the 70th anniversary concert at Rowan University. The managers for the Wind Ensemble are Matt Holmberg (Lacey Township HS) and Nicole Baldelli (Mill Pond School) and the managers for the Symphonic Band are Lisa Simone (Hooper Avenue School) and Jon Grill (Toms River HS North).

These concerts would not be possible without the commitment and dedication of our colleagues. Phil Senseney (retired, Southern Regional Schools) and Deb Knisely (Cinnaminson HS) did an outstanding job in providing our students with a positive audition experience. John Stanz and Rhea Fernandes provided an excellent facility for our students, parents, and membership at the auditions which were held at Eastern Regional HS. Our percussion equipment managers for all of our events this year are Karyn Park (Williamstown MS) and Deb Knisely (Cinnaminson HS).

The first rehearsal for these ensembles was held at Cinnaminson HS and hosted by Deb Knisely. Deb did a wonderful job in meeting the needs of our students. Our young musicians also benefitted from the efforts of Mark Kadetsky (Fernwood Ave. MS) our String Coordinator and Nichole DelNero (Toms River HS South) our Senior High Band Coordinator.

The Junior High Band auditions will take place on Saturday, January 30th at Southern Regional Middle School. Jennifer Hodgson, Andrew Wright, and Phil Senseney will be our hosts. Audition information is available on our website. Tony Scardino (Indian Mills MS) and Joe Jacobs (Ventnor MS) are the Junior High audition chairs. Glenn Motson (Gloucester City HS) is our Junior High Band Coordinator. The concert will take place on February 28th at Lower Cape May Regional HS. John Dreshen and Bethany Wiberg will be our concert hosts. The rehearsals will take place at Mainland Regional HS with Keith Hodgson as our host.

One of the conductors for the 39th Annual Junior High Band Concert is Ken Rafter (Penns Grove HS) and his manager will be Scott McCarron (Delsea Regional HS). A search for an additional conductor was still in progress at the deadline for this report.

The 9th annual Chamber Ensemble Concert will take place on Wednesday, February 10th. Keith Hodgson (Mainland Regional HS) is our Chamber Ensemble Coordinator and concert host. The Mainland TRI-M Music Honor Society Chapter will also host this event. This year we will be piloting a Tuba/Euphonium Quartet. Patrick O’Keefe (Smithville ES) will coach this group. We were still accepting applications to coach the Woodwind Quintet, Brass Ensemble, Saxophone Quartet, Percussion Ensemble, Clarinet Choir and Flute Quartet at the deadline for this article.

Registration forms for our 22nd annual Concert Band Festival are available on the SJBODA website. The festival, coordinated by Mike Armstrong (Deptford Township HS) and Jon Porco (Absegami HS), will take place on Tuesday, March 8th and Wednesday, March 9th at Rowan University. Rick Dammers and the Rowan CNAfME will host this event.

The 24th annual Elementary Honors Band Festival will take place on Saturday, April 23rd at Absegami HS. Jon Porco will be our host. Our coordinators are Sue Moore (Mansion Avenue School) and Bill Trimble (Wenonah ES). Registration forms are available on the website.

The SJBODA inaugural Elementary String Festival will take place on Saturday, April 30th at Cinnaminson HS. Ian Miller (Thomas E. Bowe ES)) will coordinate this event and Deb Knisely will be our host.

The SJBODA Winter Meeting will take place on Friday, January 15th at 10:00 am at Rowan University. All members are encouraged to attend. Please continue to check the website, maintained by Keith Hodgson and Derek Rohaly (Mainland Regional HS) for the latest SJBODA updates. The SJBODA phone number is 609-4570590.

Joseph Jacobs Secretary, SJBODA

The South Jersey Choral Directors Association held its Second Annual kick-off gathering at Villari’s Lakeside Restaurant in Sicklerville, New Jersey, on Monday, September 21st. This fall membership meeting was intended for teachers both new and seasoned to get acquainted with one another and generate new energy and excitement for the new school year. It was an excellent opportunity to provide those educators with a support system of music directors and a network of vocal music resources. All three conductors presented their programs, and a good time was had by all.

On Saturday, November 21st, annual region auditions were held at Woodstown High School. David Taylor will be this year’s Senior High Chorus conductor, and Sarah Mickle will be conducting this year’s Junior High Chorus. The first rehearsal was held on Saturday, December 5th, at Lenape High School. This year’s festival will take place on January 30th and 31st at Eastern Regional High School.

It continues to be our goal to connect with the music educators of region three and expose them to all of the things we have to offer. If you are interested in becoming a member of SJCDA, please feel free to contact me directly, and/or visit our website: www.sjcda.net.

Nancy Dickinson, (SJCDA President) Bunker Hill Middle School ndickinson@wtps.org

Degrees: Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts Master of Arts, Artist’s Diploma Performer’s Certificate Programs: Music Education, Performance, Jazz Studies Music Therapy, Theory/Composition