2020 April TEMPO by William McDevitt

APRIL 2020 IN THIS ISSUE Tribute to Thomas Mosher 2020 NJMEA State Conference Recap Articles on Creativity, Advocacy, General Music, Nylon Guitar Strings, Modern Band, and more! Governor’s Awards for the Arts Recipients 2019-20 NJ All-State Ensemble Musicians 2020-21 All-State Band Solo List The Official Magazine of the New Jersey Music Educators Association a federated state association of National Association for Music Education

A Message from NJMEA NAfME and NJMEA are continuing to follow the updates on the changes to education that have resulted from Covid-19. As we all continue to adapt and retrain to deliver the best education possible to our students, please remember that NAfME and NJMEA are committed to providing resources to our members to achieve our goals. NJMEA has created a page on our website to specifically provide resources in the form of links where you can find lesson plans, tutorials, suggestions, and “best practices” examples from our own members. If you have had particular success with a lesson that you would like to share, the website provides instructions for how you can submit your lesson to share with other members. You also might consider submitting a proposal for the 2021 February Conference! Experience has shown us that music teachers have always been willing to help colleagues in need. With the love of the art that we all possess, and a little help from our friends, we will get through this together.

Volume 74, No. 3 http://www.njmea.org

FEATURES

APRIL 2020 DEPARTMENTS AND NJMEA BUSINESS

Editor's Message - Tribute to Tom Mosher

Advertisers Index & Web Addresses....79

NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble, Jayson Martinez

Board of Directors................................76

Why Arts Education for Every Child? Lisa Vartanian

Division Chair News........................ 8-16

Reconsidering Some of the "Whys" of Music Education, Marissa Silverman

Editorial Policy & Advertising Rates...78

Expanding Access to Culturally Relevant, Student-Centered, and Inclusive Music Education Through Modern Band, Bryan Powell

In Memoriam.................................. 74-75

Rethinking Middle Level General Music: Five Democratic Principles to Enhance Student Engagement, Stephanie Cronenberg

Ten Websites and Uses in the Elementary General Music Classroom: #10-6, Amy Burns

The 11th Annual New Jersey Young Composers Competition Finals, Andrew Lesser

NJMEA Summer Workshop - Save the Date

Ask the Expert: What's the Deal with Nylon Guitar Strings, Jayson Martinez

2020 NJMEA State Conference

Creating a Case for Creativity, Shawna Longo

Who Should Use Conversational Solfege Upper Levels (3 & 4), John Crever

Arts Advocacy Spotlight: Katy Brodhead, Lisa Vartanian & Dennis Argul

Arts Education Data Project Accelerates from Partnerships with CMA Foundation and The Music Man Foundation

All-State Chorus Conductor Info..........35

2019 - 2020 New Jersey All-State Ensemble Musicians

2020 NJMEA Governor's Award for the Arts Recipients

NJMEA Marching Band Festival......... 67

TEMPO Editor - William McDevitt 1806 Hwy 35, Suite 201 Oakhurst, NJ 07755 Phone: 732-508-9770 e-mail: wmcdevittnjmea@gmail.com Deadlines October Issue - August 1 January Issue - November 1 March Issue - January 15 May Issue - March 15 All members should send address changes to: mbrserv@nafme.org or NAfME, 1806 Robert Fulton Drive Reston, VA 22091 Printed by: Spectrum Printing Inc. 1-717-569-3200 https://www.spectrumprintpartner.com/

Past-Presidents......................................78 President’s Message................................2 Resource Personnel............................. 77 Round the Regions......................... 68-73

FORMS AND APPLICATIONS

The New Jersey Music Educators Association is a state unit of the National Association for Music Education and an affiliate of the New Jersey Education Association. It is a nonprofit membership organization. TEMPO (ISSN 0040-3016) is published four times during the school year October, January, March and May. It is the official publication of the New Jersey Music Educators Association. The subscription rate for non-members is $20.00 per year. The subscription for members is included in the annual dues. A copy of dues receipts (Subscriptions) is retained by the NJMEA Treasurer. Inquiries regarding advertising rate, closing dates, and the publication of original articles should be sent to the Editor. Volume 74, No. 3, APRIL 2020 TEMPO Editor - William McDevitt, C/O NJMEA, 1806 Hwy 35, Suite 201, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 Periodicals Postage Paid at Lakewood, NJ 08701 and additional entries POSTMASTER: Please forward address changes to: NAfME 1806 Robert Fulton Drive Reston, VA 20191

See NJMEA.ORG

Click on the Desired Activity for downloadable copies of all their forms & applications

All-State Band Solo List.......................52

ATTENTION MEMBERS Please go to nafme.org to record email and address changes.

NJMEA Music Conference Atlantic City February 18-20, 2021

president’s message Patrick O’Keefe

patrickaokeefe@gmail.com Website: http://www.njmea.org

As we begin to immerse ourselves in what should be spring concert season, I think it would be fair to say that we did not foresee the current state of our programs and schools, or any everyday happenings at all. The impact of COVID-19 is far reaching, and while I’m sure things have changed so much from the time of me writing to when you have received this issue, I would like to start by saying thank you to all the educators and companies that have offered their knowledge and resources during this time of virtual learning. Our society has been challenged in many capacities, but the amazing versatility of music educators is inspiring. I encourage you to explore the tools NAfME offers, available on their website, but most importantly, to continue to turn to each other in brainstorming and innovating new platforms for our students. By the time of this publication, I hope many of you took time to complete our Conference Survey. We were thrilled to see all of the programming opportunities of Atlantic City come to life at our February Conference, and appreciate the feedback both on site and in the survey. This year’s conference featured a wealth of phenomenal presenters and performers, an exhibit hall that has never looked better, and the space to allow for keynote speakers and concerts. In my own observation, each day seemed to hold a little something new, and I felt excited to experience that sense of professional reset that comes along with getting new ideas and connecting with colleagues. I am hoping those in attendance felt similarly, and we look forward to always improving as we move forward. For those that were unable to be with us this year, I encourage you to consider joining us in the future. In the spirit of professional development opportunities, please take note of the information within this issue of Tempo regarding our Summer Conference at The College of New Jersey! As details are prepared we will keep you notified through Tempo Express, our website and social media. This is a great offering, especially for members who may have difficulty with professional days during the school year, or anyone who could benefit from some new ideas before returning to school in the fall.

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One powerful component to all of these professional development opportunities, whether it be our large February Conference, the Summer Workshop or local region and district offerings, is providing the platform for colleagues to share best practices, turnkey what works well for them in their classroom and, in some cases, allow their students to represent them through performance. It is evident that we have a wealth of diverse practices and programs across the state, and I encourage you to help in recognizing your friends and colleagues. This past year we began our teacher spotlight articles in Tempo, and hope to expand that model to social media and beyond. While it is wonderful for those teachers to be recognized, it is also beneficial for others to see what is going on in different places, realize those things might work well in their own district, or spark a new idea. If you know of someone in your part of the state that is doing something people should know about, please reach out and we can highlight their work. Our spotlight for this special April issue features our late Tempo Editor, Tom Mosher. Tom’s passing was not anything we foresaw and has been a huge loss to our organization. He had extensive experience in so many different facets of our profession, which are elicited later in this magazine, but I would like to thank those members who reached out to us here at NJMEA to offer their condolences or personal memories of Tom. Thank you to NJMEA Past President (twice), Bill McDevitt, for being so gracious to offer his help in multiple capacities, including creating both our conference book for February and this issue of Tempo while we restructure and plan for next year. As always, please stay connected and in touch. Whether it is in a professional development setting, bringing your students to a festival, or just participating as an audience member for our honors ensembles, we are a stronger and more dynamic organization with everyone involved. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns, and have a great end to your school year.

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editor's message William McDevitt

wmcdevittnjmea@gmail.com Website: http://www.njmea.org

I had the opportunity to work with Tom Mosher for a number of years. He and his wife Kathy were fixtures at the February Convention registration table. When he became editor of TEMPO, he elivated the magazine to one of the top MEA publications in the country. He created the NJMEA website and kept it up-to-date from its inception, many times revising it while on vacation to make sure that audition results were posted as soon as they were available. He listened to the NJMEA Board of Directors and, as each new Board convened, revised based on the wishes of its' members. Tom passed away unexpectedly in December. It was a shock to all of us, but more so it was a shock to Kathy, their children, and friends who had known him for decades. In January, the NJMEA Board discussed appropriate ways to honor his service to our organization. What appears in this edition is a result of the discussion. Following this message are letters written by Kathy and his children. Later in the magazine are tributes from close family friends. I hope that this printing honors his memory appropriately. William McDevitt Editor THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC! By Kathy Mosher Tom Mosher, my husband and best friend for the last 54 years passed away in December. He was the consummate musician and music educator, dedicated to not only teaching students over the years but also to making music a part of his life. From the time he started playing alto and tenor saxophone in elementary school, later switching to clarinet in high school and majoring in instrumental music at Montclair State College, music was a constant in his life. He became a fixture at Raritan High School in Hazlet as the band director and remained there for over 30 years before retiring. Marching band, jazz band, symphonic band, wind ensemble, student recitals as well as teaching music theory, harmony and music appreciation were all a part of his life at Raritan. He formed one of the strongest Band Parents Organizations in the area and under his direction, the band performed in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City, taking the first place award; the Apple Blossom Festival in Virginia as well as a marching band festival in Canada. The band performed at Disneyland in California, Disneyworld in Florida, Knotts Berry Farm in California and were the Goodwill Ambassadors on a trip to Mexico where they represented not only their school, but our country as well. His students made a lasting impression on all of the people for TEMPO

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which they performed. Tom became active in the Central Jersey Music Educators Association, sending his students to audition in Region 2 bands as well as All State. He conducted the CJMEA Symphonic Band as well as serving as rehearsal conductor for Alfred Reed, who was a guest conductor for the Wind Ensemble. He served as Treasurer of CJMEA and later became President of the group. Many weekends were spent attending CJMEA concerts introducing the groups as well as manning the “ticket booth”. He took over the editorship position of Tempo magazine when the position became available and served NJMEA in that capacity as well as being in charge of the website for over 20 years, until his passing. Tempo magazine became one of the best state magazines under his leadership and Tom constantly sought ways to improve the contents and scope of this publication. Tom was a member of the Ocean Grove Summer Band for many years as well as the Atlantic Wind Ensemble, under the direction of his friend and mentor, Harry Eichhorn, who ironically passed away two weeks before Tom. He later became a member of the Greater Shore Concert Band, directed by Jim Bast and eventually became the assistant conductor of this group. His conducting expertise was apparent in the pieces he conducted in these groups and he was well respected by the band members and other music teachers whom he dealt with over the years. Being a member of these groups with him, I was able to see firsthand how much he gave to the musicians in the group and how, through his conducting, he was able to share the music with his audiences. One of the most memorable moments of Tom’s musical career was having the chance to play a clarinet solo, “a la Benny Goodman” at Carnegie Hall two years ago and conducting the Greater Shore Concert Band at this prestigious site as well. Three of his children and grandchildren as well as many of his close friends had a chance to watch his performance and share this special memory with him. A special composition dedicated to Tom will have its premier performance on April 26th, Tom’s birthday, by the Greater Shore Concert Band. The piece, entitled, Thank You, Mr. Mosher was written by a former GSCB band member and trumpet player, Andrew Kosinski, who is graduating from Rutgers this spring with a degree in music composition and trumpet performance. It is a very moving piece and one that I know Tom would have loved to be a part of as well. Tom touched many lives through his music performance, conducting and teaching and he was so proud that several of his former students went on to become music teachers and follow in his footsteps. His love of music surrounded him and his life and he was conducting up until the very end, when we had to say good-bye and let him join all the musicians that have gone before him. He is missed everyday but his memory and love of music live on forever in all of our hearts. Thank You For The Music, Tom!

THE MUSICMAN By Michele (Mosher) Turanski Simply said my father’s life and legacy can be epitomized as the 'MUSICMAN'. The earliest memories of my father contain some form of music. Growing up, every weekend in the late summer and fall comprised APRIL 2020

of going to Raritan High School football games and marching with the band as a mascot. I loved going to his high school and watching the musicals he conducted, dancing with the senior citizens at the dances his jazz band played at and traveling across the country with the marching band that he was so proud of. Our car trips were always loaded with a mix of tapes from many genres and was our favorite family traveling companion. Holidays at our house were especially music filled with Christmas tunes of all sorts accompanied by my dad whistling along to all of them. Summers were when my parents played with the Ocean Grove Band; the warm summer nights were magical and full of beautiful music. From the time my daughter Kayla was a baby, my husband and I would bring her down to listen to my parents play summer concerts in the Ocean Grove Band. She would be twirling and dancing to the music on the boardwalk, loving the sounds and the joy of the music. I treasure the fact that my father’s love of music was passed to my daughter Kayla and shared lovingly with her. My parents gave my daughter her first keyboard, initiating her piano lessons at age 5. Through the years she has not only become a gifted pianist, with an extensive music theory background, but also started her school’s first “student led” a cappella group, and plays to relax while studying. Every year for Kayla’s birthday my parents would take her to New York to see a Broadway show, a highlight of her summer visits with them. She absolutely loves musicals and it was something both my parents nurtured. My mom and dad would travel from NJ all the way down to Charlotte, NC and later to Chicago, to attend Kayla’s cello/piano concerts. They were avid supporters of her musically and always made a special effort to come to her concerts. My most cherished part of my father is that many of my favorite memories of him are also now my daughter’s too. Thanks Dad! XO

MY DAD By Stacey Mosher Critchlow I am Tom Mosher’s oldest child and I would like to share some memories of him with you. Most of you already know that my dad was extremely musical. He attended Montclair State College (now University) and majored in instrumental music with clarinet as his major instrument. He became the high school band director at Raritan High School in Hazlet, NJ where he had the opportunity to teach and inspire thousands of students over the years, many of whom went on and became music teachers themselves. His band won many awards and Tom enjoyed working not only with his students but with his band parents as well. Together they became an integral part of Raritan High School. After retiring he continued to play in the Atlantic Wind Ensemble under the direction of Harry Eichhorn as well as the Ocean Grove Summer Band, also conducted by Harry. He later joined the Greater Shore Concert Band with Jim Bast as conductor and Tom eventually became the assistant conductor of this group until his passing. Dad met my mom while they were both music majors at Montclair and together they enjoyed making music a part of their lives through the groups they were part of and the people they met along the way. Each of their children enjoyed playing musical instruments while growing up: I played the piccolo and flute; my sister Michele 5

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played the clarinet; and my twin brothers, Joel and Eric played tenor saxophone and clarinet respectively. Although none of us pursued music as a career we all enjoyed watching our parents perform. One of our greatest pleasures was watching my dad perform a clarinet solo in Carnegie Hall in the “Benny Goodman King of Swing” selection and conduct the Greater Shore Concert Band there as well. What a performance! Tom also loved to travel and together with my mom, they had the opportunity to sail on many cruises and tour many countries. Their last cruise was a return trip to Hawaii last spring to visit many of the places they had seen years ago. Dad’s love of Aruba and his enjoyment of the people and places of that island became a yearly tradition for mom and dad and eventually some of us joined them there as well. We will take dad back to Aruba in November and spread his ashes in the waters off the island he loved so much. My dad was the strongest and most courageous person. He showed strength and love right up until his passing. He never cried, never complained, never expressed pain and never gave up hope with his battle against a disease that was unknown to us before the last four weeks of his life. Daddy, you are truly missed and we will love you forever!

A MUSICAL MEMORY OF DAD By Eric Mosher As far back as I can remember there has been music in my life. From Saturdays going to see the Raritan Rockets Marching Band strut their stuff on the field, to listening to the Statler Brothers tape in the family van's cassette player on vacations, to the sounds of a clarinet or piano being practiced in the basement, music was everywhere. That is in no small part to my father, Thomas A Mosher. There are a lot of memories of him and music growing up that I could write about. But I'm only allotted so many words, so I'll just pick a favorite one. You would think it would be the high of seeing him conduct and play a solo up on stage at Carnegie Hall in NYC, but in fact it is something smaller and more personal. Like our parents, my brother and I both played instruments. He chose the alto saxophone while I went for the clarinet. We mainly played in school but there was one other place where we got to stretch our musical wings—Ocean Grove Summer Band. If you aren't familiar, this group was made up of volunteers and students and played free concerts every week for the summer. Monday you got the music for the week and practiced it with the group. On Wednesday was the concert. It was a good way to keep your practice up during the summer vacation and you got to play a variety of music in a small amount of time that you might never play otherwise. At least, that's how it was pitched to me. Truth be told, I kind of hated it at first. To me, band during the summer was an affront to the sanctity of Summer Vacation™. These were times to be spent exploring the wilds of Jersey Shore and playing outside until fireflies dotted the sky. Yet there I was, hopping in the van and trucking down the highway to Ocean Grove to sit in a gazebo, play my clarinet and hope I didn't melt. Then it was time to head home until you did it all again on Wednesday except this time you had to dress up so you looked nice while you sweated your brains out. TEMPO

Then somewhere along the line, I started to enjoy it. I'm not altruistic enough to say it was the joy on the faces of those we were bringing music to night after night. No, it was the bond of family that kept me coming back each week. Monday and Wednesdays became less of a roadblock, and more of a chance to spend time with my parents and play right along with them as they did what they loved. The car ride in was time to talk to each other and the ride back to discuss what we thought of the pieces we played that night, all set to the scenic backdrop of one of New Jersey's finest stretches of beaches. In between those rides, we got to make some great music together and I grew as a player. Of course after college, I stopped going due to work and other commitments. My parents stopped going not long after that as they joined another band to make more musical memories in. It's those idyllic summer days that I keep coming back to when thinking about my father and one of the things I'll miss the most. But as with everything, I'm glad I had the opportunity for so long.

THANK YOU, DAD! By Joel Mosher Having two parents that are music teachers tends to drive you into some sort of musical direction when you are younger, whether it be instrumental, vocal, or both. Having a highly regarded band director as a parent does that even more. Now, having music teacher parents doesn't guarantee that a child will stick with music later in life, or even like music that much. But the guidance my parents, and particularly my father gave me, has led me to incorporate music into my life, even if not as a career. As a child, I was encouraged to pursue an instrument; I chose saxophone, the more glamorous (to me, at any rate) instrument that my father played. I stuck with it all through school, and even some summers in college, playing in the Ocean Grove Summer Band where my parents played. This came as somewhat of a surprise to me, looking back, because there was a time in high school when I was ready to quit altogether, due to the forced requirement of marching band in high school. My choice would have been to just play in the Jazz Band and Wind Ensembles. My dad didn't forbid me to quit; he just reminded me to focus on what I loved about playing music. So I did, and found myself playing in charity jazz bands, and playing backyard shows in Ska bands, experiences that I thoroughly enjoyed. I rekindled my love of music. When college hit and I wanted to explore other musical avenues, my dad came with me to purchase my first guitar. He offered praise and gentle criticism of songs that I wrote, even though the genres were not his favorite (or even ones he liked!). I was even gifted with a set of microphones and stands to use with my band, as yet another form of encouragement, to help keep me recording, and involved in music. Over the course of his life, my father was an excellent musical resource for me, and source of encouragement, as he was to many others. So I'd like to say "Thank you, Dad, for all the inspiration".

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APRIL 2020

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs Administration

& Advocacy

Dennis Argul Jazz House Kids dennisargul@gmail.com

On behalf of all the members of the New Jersey Music Administrators Association, we mourn the loss of Mr. Thomas Mosher, our long-time colleague and steadfast collaborator. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Mosher family. The NJMAA held two productive and innovative sessions since the Fall issue of Tempo was released. At the meeting on December 6th we addressed the topic of Non-Traditional Music Electives in the schools. The session was facilitated by Robert Hamm, Supervisor of Music, Art, Practical Arts and TV for the East Windsor, NJ Regional School District. All the administrators and guests at the session were very active in discussion about the potential opportunities for offering students a variety of musical electives. A prominent topic in the discussion was that, as per the NJSLS, students in Grades 6-7-8 should have the opportunity to select an arts elective of their choice in their schools. Potential scheduling, faculty, and resource challenges were a major part of the discussion. The February 7th meeting addressed Social Emotional Learning in the Arts. The session was led by Shawna Longo, teacher for the Hopatcong Borough Schools. This topic is so very relevant for our craft as the NJ State Student Learning Standards, which are now in review, are to be hopefully approved in next few weeks and the inculcation of social emotional learning will be a concept we will all need to be mindful in our practice. Shawna provided multiple layers of resources for the attendees and the association is confident in leading the way for the music educators in our schools. As always, we invite all arts administrators who supervise, observe and evaluate music educators in our schools to join our association and attend our meetings. Our membership continues to grow in size and deepen its impact on the craft. Our upcoming sessions include; • June 5 - ArtsEdNJ and NJMAA – Sharing Resources and Tools Facilitators: Bob Morrison and Kira Campos Location: FEA/NJPSA – 12 Center Drive Monroe Township, NJ Please visit us at www.njmaa.org and share this information with your district administrators. For more information regarding membership, please contact our Treasurer/Membership Chairman, Mr. Lou Quagliato, at: lquagliato@westorangeschools.org (973)-669-5400 ext. 20570

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APRIL 2020

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Band Performance

Nick Mossa nmossa16@gmail.com

In the spirit of reflection, we look back on the 2020 NJMEA All-State Bands and congratulate all participating students on a spectacular experience. The Symphonic Band led by Dr. Timothy Rhea (Texas A&M Director of Bands) and the Wind Ensemble led by Dr. Paula Crider (University of Texas Professor Emerita) both performed a great concert of remarkable works at NJPAC in February. It is always impresses me when so many talented young musicians come together from varying backgrounds and programs to create something truly amazing. Bravo and brava to all! The All-State Bands rehearsed and performed concurrent to the NJMEA Conference which ran in Atlantic City this year for the first time. The move to Atlantic City meant a lot of detailed planning and coordination to ensure that the All-State student experience could be as successful, positive, and professional as possible. The following people deserve tremendous thanks for their work in this regard: Managers Connor Babos and Rich Barrierers were on site and on call for the conductors and the students throughout everything. A huge thank you for their volunteer efforts to be on the “front lines”! Scott Visco deserves a world of thanks for the coordination of all the percussion equipment throughout the rehearsal and performance times. Band directors know that percussion instruments do not move themselves and it takes an outstanding individual to set up at multiple sites, handle the varied instrumentation between both bands, and coordinate with the percussion students and conductors to make it all happen. Thank you Scott! Joe Cantaffa, the Production Manager, oversaw the operations of every day the students were under the care and supervision of NJMEA and works within the condition of creating a professional performance experience for these kids. He and his team of chaperones worked throughout the weekend to coordinate every aspect of the student schedule. His meticulous attention to detail and professional touch was much appreciated - thank you to the chaperones, and thank you Joe! Each of the All-State Committee Members deserve recognition and thanks for being unwaveringly dedicated to making this student experience as good as it can be. With special thanks to Val Kuntz, the chair of the committee, this group of volunteer band directors did everything they could to work with the change in moving to Atlantic City and they continue to work to optimize the experience for the kids. Thank you all! Lastly but certainly not least, I would like to recognize and thank Deb Knisely for, well, everything! She wore many hats in the past few months as a committee member, auditions chair, and step-in manager (and also doubled as a conference presenter this year!). Deb is organized, knowledgable, and cares so very much about the quality of this All-State experience for the kids. She was at the ready every step of the way. On behalf of NJMEA, the All State-Band students, and each of the other volunteers working with the All-State Bands, THANK YOU DEB! With the 2020 All-State Band experience now behind us, we look ahead to 2021. Anyone who attended the NJMEA conference and/or sponsored an All-State student is encouraged to send me feedback or suggestions for next year. We are always looking for ways to improve the student experience and there may be something that the committee members did not include in their notes that should be considered as we look to next year. Don’t be shy! You can review next year’s solo list for each auditioned band instrument in this issue of Tempo as well. Please be mindful that some editions that have been used in past years are no longer in print - be sure to purchase the correct edition as it is listed in the official solo list. TEMPO

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TEMPO

THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs Orchestra

Performance

Susan Meuse susanmeuse@gmail.com

Unfortunately, the March auditions had to be cancelled this year. The All-State Intermediate Orchestra will not be taking place for 2020. It was not an easy decision, as we all understand how disappointed the students are. There is no decision yet about All-State Orchestra, but I will keep everyone updated as decisions are made. On March 11, the Middle/Junior High School Orchestra Festival took place at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School. I would like to thank Maria Ramsay and Nevena Bojovic for hosting the festival. I would also like to thank Michael Berry for working with all of the schools who participated. It was a great experience for all the students involved! As always, if you are interested in getting involved with the All-State Orchestras, please feel free to email me or stop by a rehearsal.

Choral Festivals

Donna Marie Berchtold firesongwed@gmail.com

The 67th Annual NJMEA Middle School – Junior High Choral Festival Dates - At the time of this writing, the Festival scheduled for March 18, 2020 was cancelled due to a prevention directive from Rowan University as a result to the Corona Virus Global issue. No decision has been made at this time regarding the May 27th date of the Festival planned to be held at Rutgers University. We are currently in communication. Choral Directors have been asked to make a decision as to whether they would like a REFUND of their registration fees, or have NJMEA hold on to the Registration Fees already submitted, and keep each school's registration in the line up for next year's Festivals. Donna Marie Berchtold and Karen Blumenthal will co-coordinate and host the Middle School Choral Festivals. Any schools interested in the Festivals should check TEMPO magazine, or online at www.njmea.org. Anyone with questions or concerns may contact Donna Marie at: firesongwed@gmail.com, 609.226.7751 (c) At the time of this writing, there are no updates for the 2020 NJMEA Opera Festival.

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APRIL 2020

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Retired Music Educators

Kathy Spadfino kspadeb@aol.com

We retirees had a wonderful time at the NJMEA convention, first time in Atlantic City! There was lots of room for all performances and sessions, and everyone had a great experience. The key note speaker, Joanne Lipman, spoke movingly about her musical training with Jerry Kupchynsky, the legendary orchestra conductor. She went on to cite many research articles and surveys that emphasize the importance of music education as a basis for many of the skills needed to become successful in all of life’s challenges. Look for future TEMPO articles as NJMEA will share this information with everyone. Our next General Membership meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 13. We had several new members at our February meeting and would like to continue to welcome new interested members! We will be sending out a mailing with all the information. If you don’t get anything, please email me at KSpadEB@aol.com. I look forward to seeing you in May!!

Special Learners

Maureen Butler mbutler@mlschools.org

At the February conference there were several excellent sessions that focused on special learners, with opportunities for teachers to gain new insight and learn new strategies. It was encouraging to see so many music educators in search of ways to accommodate the needs of special learners in their classes. Many thanks to workshop presenters and roundtable panelists, including Angela Guerriero, Jodi Jianniney, Lucia Marone, Rina Sklar, Andrew Vessel, and Brian Wagner, as well as all the participants who attended these sessions. As always, if you have questions or concerns about the students you teach, or topics you want to see addressed in TEMPO please contact me. Note: After June 19th, please email me at maureenbutlermusic@gmail.com

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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION

News From Our Division Chairs

Technology

Dr. Andrew Lesser andrew.lesser@yahoo.com www.andrewlessermusic.com YouTube: Professor Lesser

Greetings, fellow music educators! It was wonderful to see so many of you at February's NJMEA Conference and participate in the amazing technology seminars throughout the event. Music tech gurus including Marjorie LoPresti, Shawna Longo, Jim Frankel, Kevin Mead, Vince Du Beau, John Mlynczak, and more presented engaging classes on everything from music notation software, recording tools, online resources, video games, and other great topics for 21st century learning. If you have an idea or experience you'd like to share, please consider presenting at one of our many opportunities for professional development or e-mail me at andrew.lesser@yahoo.com and I will post it on the NJMEA website. Speaking of which, project submissions for the 10th annual New Jersey Student Technology Expo is open on the NJMEA website at the following link: https://njmea.org/classroom/technology/. Individual student submissions will be due April 22nd. School registrations are $30 per district, will $10 for each individual student and an additional $10 if a student's work is submitted for adjudication. These fees are used to compensate our presenters, in addition to facility and prize costs. The Expo events will be held on the following dates:

Expo Central: Monday, May 18, 2020 @ Rutgers University Expo South: Tuesday, May 19, 2020 @ Rowan University Expo North: Wednesday, May 20 @ Montclair University

If you have any questions about the Expo, please feel free to contact me at andrew.lesser@yahoo.com. On a separate note, I would like to close by expressing my heartfelt condolences to the family of Tom Mosher. Tom gave me my first opportunity to see my writing in print, and since then has been a mentor and guide throughout my career. It was an honor to serve alongside him as part of the NJMEA Board of Directors, and we all have felt the great loss experienced by his passing. Tom was completely dedicated to the publication of Tempo Magazine, and his memory will always be a big part of this magazine's future.

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NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble Mr. Jayson Martinez, M.Mus; M. EdLd. NJMEA Chairperson for Guitar Education

Most of the country’s culture system shut down all at once in March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For young and emerging artists whose performances were scheduled this spring, some of which represented large-scale debuts, the personal disruption can feel profound. However, we as artists are called to bring light into the darkness and remain steadfast in our resolve! Thus, as we conquer this storm, our NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble will continue to strive for excellence and plan for our next achievements. Together we will extol the virtues of all our artists. The purpose of this article is to remind the reader of exactly who we are, and highlight our upcoming goals. The NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble was established by Thomas Amoriello in 2015 and has quickly gained popularity across the country. With many high school guitar students from across the state participating each year, this premier ensemble has established itself as the top program for guitar education and collaboration in New Jersey. The impact of this program is evident in the success of the students, as many have been accepted into prestigious music institutions and performance groups, garnering countless awards and merits. Several of these talented high school guitarists have also earned full scholarships to attend top institutions and universities to further their education at the collegiate level. The recent achievements of NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble members include acceptance into the NAfME AllNational Guitar Ensemble, performing alongside with other top high school guitar students from across the nation. The NAfME All-National Honor Ensembles (ANHE) represent the best performing high school musicians in the United States. Furthermore, several members were selected to participate in masterclass settings, performing for world-renowned guitarists such as Jorge Caballero, Andrew York, Ana Maria TEMPO

Rosado, Newman and Oltman Duo, and Ben Verdery. The guitarists have also received top honors at several city and state Teen Arts Festivals, in addition to winning first place and superior ratings at the Music in the Parks Festival at Six Flags Great Adventure and Hershey Park. 2021 Plan for GuitarFest at William Paterson University Here’s the tentative plan: Our 2020 NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble students will audition in December 2020 at The College of New Jersey. Special priorities will be given to those students whom could not perform in this year’s GuitarFest due to Covid-19. The selected students will perform at William Paterson University’s annual GuitarFest in 2021, hosted by Seth Himmelhoch. Next year’s conductor is slated to be Raul Huaman, guitar teacher at JP Stevens High School in Edison, winner of the 2019 College Success Award. William Paterson University’s annual GuitarFest is a one-day guitar festival that occurs each spring. This annual celebration is a focal point for guitar students and a showcase to the community for world-class artists of the classical gui18

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tar. The students present a concert of solo and ensemble music. Seminars, master classes and other performances take place, creating an atmosphere of musical excellence. Each year, the festival presents one featured artist, whose concert performance forms the centerpiece of the festival. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us to work together and collaborate to achieve new heights of success. One example, spearheaded by the Paris Guitar Foundation, was to assemble an international web orchestra. Students uploaded a performance of their part of the chosen piece, entitled Dansa Peruvienne. Our NJMEA

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guitarists, along with countless other guitarists worldwide, formed the CoronOrchestra, a virtual ensemble with shades of Eric Whitacre’s “Lux Aurumque” virtual choir piece. The finished product will be uploaded to YouTube soon. Along with more concerts and collaborations, we as the NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble will continue to achieve new goals and not acquiesce to defeat due to the recent crisis. We will continue to aver that it is music that tells us that the human race is greater than we realize.

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Why Arts Education for Every Child? Lisa Vartanian NJMEA President-Elect "The true purpose of arts education is not necessarily to create more professional dancers or artists. It’s to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who have curious minds, who can lead productive lives." -Kelly Pollock, Center for Creative Arts, St. Louis

During the National Association for Music Education Annual Conference in Orlando in November, I had an opportunity to hear about some of the newest research that supports the age-old question, “Why arts education for every child?” In this article, I want to share two reports that caught my eye and that can help all of us make the case for arts education. In September, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Centre for Educational Research and Innovation held an international conference in London that focused on the importance of fostering students’ creativity and critical thinking. Participants explored how the arts suffer when states and countries face economic downturns and how to protect and advance arts programs for school-aged children. According to a report on the event:

new jobs will emerge requiring a new set of skills. By 2022, an astounding 42% of required workplace skills will have changed. The emerging jobs for 2022 require both technological competencies, like programming and systems analysis, and distinctly "human" skills, like emotional intelligence, creativity, and innovative and critical thinking. As we all know, it’s the latter set of critical skill sets that the arts provide to our children. (https://www. weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report) Victoria Hermann: Arts Education in Action

"Tomorrow's schools need to help students think for themselves and work with others. Schools need to nurture students' creativity and critical thinking, help them look at things from different perspectives, understand the limits of their and others' views, and help transform their ideas into innovative solutions." 1

As supervisor of visual and performing arts and 21st century life and careers for the Paramus Public Schools for 15 years, I've had the opportunity to work with many incredible students. I also have witnessed firsthand how the arts impacted young people’s lives and careers in a profound, beautiful, and meaningful way. Dr. Victoria Hermann, a Paramus High School alumnus, is a case in point. At age 29, Victoria is the president and managing director of the Arctic Institute. One of her jobs is to use stories to bring attention to climate change impacts and inspire people to act together to find solutions.

Another study published by the World Economic Forum identifies trends across 20 economies in 12 industry sectors. It suggests that between 2018 and 2022, 75 million current job roles may be displaced by machines and algorithms. At the same time, however, 133 million

Victoria’s effectiveness in her work – telling America's climate change story and crafting sustainable, equitable policies for a livable future – requires the foundational skills she acquired in arts classes as a student at Paramus Public Schools.

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At Paramus High School, Victoria sang her way through four years of choir classes and poured over AP art history books long after she finished her homework. Her art classes, and in particular art history, were an immersive learning experience that taught her far more than how to describe chiaroscuro and what it takes to create an encaustic painting. These courses instilled in Victoria a lifelong commitment to analyze the social, economic, and political contours of art, and to question the consequences of what was visible and invisible to audiences' eyes. She still remembers the excitement and satisfaction she felt handing in an art history final on Francisco Goya's legendary painting depicting the horrors of war, The Third of May [1814]. Not only was she able to analyze the painting's symbolism and iconography, but she was also able to explore the socioeconomic and political conditions associated with the French occupation of Spain in the early 1800s and how art can inspire empathy, conviction, and collective action. Victoria's arts education at Paramus High School helped her develop skills that served her well as an art history major at Lehigh University, and later as she completed a Ph.D. in geography as a Gates Scholar at Cambridge University. Today, Victoria keeps the arts front and center in her life and career as she works with cultural heritage leaders to keep public art, architecture, and history above water as sea levels rise.

and she could not do it without the skills gained in her high school music and art classes. As educators, the most important thing we can continue to do is to create an environment where our students feel supported and safe, and where they can learn, grow and take risks. Sometimes it’s hard to remember in the middle of our daily work, but Victoria’s story reminds us of something vitally important. Encouraging words, a listening ear, and a mentoring spirit can make all the difference. The time we invest today in our students will shape who they become as confident future leaders in our society. Keep up the great work, music teachers! I enjoy hearing from you, so please continue to reach out at lvartanian@paramusschools.org Citation- Vincent-Lancrin,S.etal. (2019), Fostering Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking: What it Means in School, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/62212c37-en

When she thinks back to her time in art classes as a Paramus student, Victoria says the most important and lasting impact can be summed up in “three Cs” that her music and art teachers instilled in her: courage, compassion, and creativity. “Lessons of storytelling and critical discourse analysis my teachers taught me over a decade ago still inspire and elevate my research regardless of where I'm working — whether I am testifying in front of the U.S. House of Representatives or presenting at the United Nations climate change negotiations." Victoria was recently named one of the world's top 100 influential people in climate policy by Apolitical. She is passionate about shaping solutions and sharing our shared climate change story. It is demanding, vital work,

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Reconsidering Some of the “WHYS” of Music Education Marissa Silverman John J. Cali School of Music Montclair State University

It’s important to consistently revisit the “whys” of music education as evidenced through the teaching and learning of music. I tend to think through the “whys” of music education multiple times a day. And each year, I commit that thinking to paper. So, what follows is somewhat personal. My hope is that my own reflecting will inspire readers to critically reflect on their own “whys” of their own music classroom teaching and learning explorations. At the core of my teaching philosophy is the belief that music teachers of all kinds and at all levels should strive to be as effective, ethical, educative, and creative as possible in working with students conceived as individuals—as “whole” human beings moving toward full personhood. From this perspective, “educative” teaching involves the development and integration of my own and my students’ abilities and dispositions to continuously examine and update our grounding beliefs about various concepts within the field of music education such as, the natures and values of education, curriculum, assessment, creativity, and of course, music. More specifically, my philosophy of teaching guides and compels me to increase, sharpen, and fuse my abilities as an excellent musician; an empathetic, motivational, and skilled pedagogue; and an informal and caring mentor, model, and advisor to and for my students. So, teaching is only meaningful when it’s “transformational,” by which I mean that teaching must be a two-way process. Specifically, and on one hand, I teach dialogically to ensure that students develop critically reflective skills and dispositions by examining music and music education from a variety of perspectives. On the other hand, I work to ensure that I learn from my students by welcoming and engaging with the thoughts, ideas, cultural dispositions, and constructive criticisms they bring to our classes and rehearsals. I believe that in our classrooms—by “our” I mean our conjoint teacher-student ownership of our communal classroom space—we work toward creating a mutually respectful TEMPO

“community of understanding” where we are all teachers and learners simultaneously, and where we all have opportunities to contribute to our mutual learning and transformation as musicians and people. Teaching in this mutually constructive, respectful, and empathic way is the basis of my educative and ethical teaching philosophy. I see teaching as much more than the orderly transmission of knowledge and skills. Although my philosophy challenges current notions of “education,” defined in terms of standardized testing, “teacher accountability,” and top-down curriculum making, I stand by my themes of educative and ethical teaching and learning. Allow me to elaborate by means of one practical example. The choices I make about the music I introduce in my courses are constantly and consciously affected by the music listening and performing interests, preferences, and choices of my students. To illustrate, in one of my Foundations to Music Education courses, I engaged students in a discussion of how they might foster their future students’ musical identity formation—a major issue in the contemporary theory and practice of music education. I emphasized the importance for students of all ages to be respected personally, culturally, and musically. The fundamental reason is that when we respect a person’s music, we are also demonstrating respect for someone’s sense of selfhood, however developed this may be at a given point in time. In short, a person’s musical preferences are often a deep aspect of who she or he is, especially in the case of children and adolescents. After we examined concepts related to musical and personal identity, I described how I applied these concepts in my own experiences as a secondary school music educator in a large secondary school in New York City. When I finished, a very quiet, African-American sophomore in my course raised his hand and said: “So, you mean you actually welcomed students’ music into your classes? How?” So, I asked my class: “What do you listen to outside your university classes?” This 22

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same student came to the front of the room, searched my Macbook online for a track from Mos Def’s album “The Ecstatic,” and began to play it. There was a visceral change in the classroom environment. The class was not only surprised that I voluntarily opened our classroom to the students’ music, but they learned simultaneously (as I intended) that I am open to listening to them as people. As I said earlier, my students’ musical choices—popular, classical, jazz, country, cultural, or whatever—are also deeply embodied and felt symbols of their social-cultural musical worlds, inside and outside their classroom walls. By accepting and acknowledging students’ music, I accept and acknowledge my students’ selfhood. Indeed, one of the most hurtful things teachers can do is to ignore their students’ beliefs, values, and individuality, which I never want students to experience in any classes. In the situation I just summarized, I had never heard Mos Def’s “The Ecstatic.” So, I took a risk for the purpose of admitting new teaching-learning opportunities to my classroom. Of course, my risk-taking was anchored in my teaching philosophy and in many previous teaching experiences, so utilizing this teaching-learning strategy was not new to me. Nevertheless, as my students witnessed, taking risks not only serves to prepare the way for creative teaching-and-learning, it also transforms teachers’ identities, which I want my students to witness vividly and practically by observing me and by participating in the teaching-learning strategies I illustrate for and with them. In the process of the “the Ecstatic situation”—which is seemingly simple, yet not simple at all—my students became more eager and excited to explain the context of the album and identify what and how to listen to this music. In other words, they engaged spontaneously in various strategies of music teaching and learning that they would not have experienced otherwise, and without understanding these strategies until I later explained to them what they were actually doing. Equally important was the fact that they enjoyed this process immensely, especially because they were literally teaching their professor and each other how to listen to music they loved, which they never expected would happen. In short, the unscripted “Ecstatic” opportunity provided the basis for teaching my students many other strategies for engaging their future students in music listening. This is important because motivating and empowering youth to engage with a wide range of musiAPRIL 2020

cal styles is one of the most difficult challenges facing music educators. Opening the class to students’ musical choices provided me with many “teachable moments”—many opportunities drawn from my secondary school teaching experiences, which students found enlightening and which they subsequently applied in class teaching projects and in the “real world.” The above exemplifies key concepts in John Dewey’s philosophy of education, as explained in Experience and Education (1938), where he argues that students must interact democratically and ethically to foster both individual and community learning through mutually constructive thinking-in-action and thinking-about action for the advancement of each and all. These ideas are reinforced by the educational philosopher, Richard Pring (2001), who argues that educative teaching and learning is an ethical engagement and enterprise: namely, “the initiation” of people into an empathetic way of seeing and being in the world, with and for others “in a more human and understanding way” (p. 106). Or, to paraphrase the educational philosopher Clive Beck, education is for life, not just for “job getting.” My teaching-and-learning strategies echo and incorporate these philosophical emphases. I aim to contribute to the growth, wellbeing, and ethical dispositions of my students and myself. From this perspective, I center my professional focus on the lives of people-learning-music and on people growing through musical engagement. Stated differently: “music education as/ for artistic citizenship” (Elliott, 2012). I believe it’s in our society’s best interests that we enable our students to conceive of themselves as artistic citizens. By this I mean that we must not overlook the importance of assisting music makers develop their abilities—performing, and compositional abilities—to create musical replies to social, moral, and political dilemmas: to create musical expressions of and suggest solutions for important social problems, as many musicians have done and continue to do. The need for music makers and music educators to become musical artists for citizenship is a concept that is advancing among a growing number of music education scholars and practitioners. It includes but moves beyond “art and artistry” as traditionally conceived—as “art for art’s sake”—which is a concept that Dewey challenged on democratic grounds. Musical-artistic citizenship requires all the various skills and 23

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understandings that are exhibited through musicianship. But musical-artistic citizenship also requires the personal and social disposition to act with a deep awareness of music’s power to move, bond, and heal others, and to motivate people to act for the good of one another. I am a teacher of future musicians and music educators because I hope to contribute to the development of future generations of musical artists, informed listeners, and enthusiastic “musical publics,” but also to reclaim a democratic purpose for music education. How? By being the kind of artist-educator who can enable students to create music in a wide variety of styles and, simultaneously, to express their social ideas and commitments via musical performances and compositions that serve others in many different ways—artistic, democratic, and social. In fact, as I noted above, many classical, jazz, rock, and folk musicians have done the same for centuries. So, why not music educators and music education students, too? I will conclude with one more central element of my teaching philosophy. Dewey’s pragmatic view of art (explained in Art as Experience, 1934), which he sees as central to the life of democratic societies, is not only for the maintenance and sustenance of artistic experiences and authentic living, but is a way of understanding the self in relation to others in democratic and socially just societies. According to Dewey (Art and Experience), active participation in art-making that

is connected to life, and enjoyed in/with a community, is a cornerstone of collective living, creativity, and fellowship: The remaking of the material of experience in the act of expression is not an isolated event confined to the artist and to a person here and there who happens to enjoy the work. In the degree in which art exercises its office, it is also a remaking of the experience of the community in the direction of greater order and unity. (p. 81)

Dewey’s words return us to the greater charge of music education as/for artistic citizenship. Following from these ideas, two more central themes in my teaching philosophy are to prepare students for (a) life-long learning in/through music and (b) music making in/for health and wellbeing. For these reasons and so much more, I am proud to be a music educator. Works cited: Dewey, J. 1934. Art as Experience. New York: Minton, Balch, & Company. Dewey, J. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan. Elliott, D. J. 2012. Music Education as/for Artistic Citizenship. Music Educators Journal, 99:1, 21-27. Pring, R. 2001. Education as Moral Practice. Journal of Moral Education, 30:2, 101-112.

Tom Mosher

Frederic A. Truntz Choral Director, Ocean Township High School, Retired Tom Mosher and I worked together with Region 2 concerts. His attention to detail and organization were obvious. Tom’s work ethic and commitment to excellence have given us lasting examples of ‘how to do the job properly’, efficiently making for outstanding results. TEMPO Magazine is the result of Tom’s dedication and effort. TEMPO Magazine represents the professionalism, dedication and abilities of Tom and stands as his legacy. Our professional association developed into a strong friendship. I hold dear the family activities we shared, children’s marriage, the birth of grandchildren, dinners at favorite restaurants, concerts attended, or simply enjoying a cup of coffee and conversation. When my computer challenged me Tom helped me out, also helping was his magic screwdriver adjusting the regulation of my grand daughters flute . Losing my friend hurts. I miss him. Looking through my tears, I am grateful to have known Tom, to have shared our friendship. Rest in peace Tom until we meet again.

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Expanding Access to Culturally Relevant, Student-Centered, and Inclusive Music Education through Modern Band Bryan Powell Assistant Professor of Music Education and Music Technology Montclair State University The inclusion of popular music in United States public school music education classrooms has become increasingly common in the 21st century. This expansion is in part due to the growth of modern band programs in public schools. “Modern band” is a stream of music education that broadens the repertoire and instrumentation typically found in school-based instrumental programs. The repertoire of modern band is what people might typically think of as “popular music” played on popular music instruments—the term “popular” being used to mean “of the people,” in this case, “of the students.” Such repertoire can include musics across rock, rap, metal, reggae, EDM, county, and other genres as they emerge. Music classrooms incorporating modern band repertoire, and therefore ensembles, help to bridge the gap between the music that students experience in schools and the music they experience in their communities. Through focusing on music that is familiar to students, modern band allows students to see themselves reflected in the curriculum. By validating and leveraging the cultural capital of their students, music educators can forge stronger bonds between typically marginalized students and the schools that serve them. Our bands, choirs, and orchestras are working well for the students that they serve. However, current research shows that our traditional bands, choirs, and orchestras are serving, on average, around 20% of secondary school students. What about the other students who, for one reason or another, are likely passionate about music, but do not see themselves participating in these ensembles? Modern band provides an opportunity for music educators to engage such students. TEMPO

Moreover, as music educators seek to focus on issues of access, diversity, and inclusion, it is important to offer more diverse options in school music programs to provide an opportunity for more students to participate. In a study published in titled “Increasing Access to School Music through Modern Band,” the authors found that found that the introduction of modern band ensembles into school music programs can increase overall participation in school music, especially among non-white students and students who receive free and reduced lunch assistance (Clauhs, Beard, Chadwick, 2017). The authors also found that the introduction of modern band programs didn’t take students away from the traditional band, choir, and orchestra ensembles in the school. Instead, the modern band courses mostly attracted new students who had previously not participated in school music. One of the opportunities offered by modern bands is the opportunity for the students to engage in songwriting and improvisation. Music educators all know that composition and improvisation are important aspects of music education, but composition and improvisation seldom happen in concert bands, choirs, and orchestras. The incorporation of composition in public school music education is often hindered by the teacher’s perception that students must first learn Western musical notation as well as have great facility on their instrument before they are able to write new music. Modern band on the other hand embraces student composition and songwriting through the use of common chord progressions and simplified, student-friendly approaches to songwriting and improvisation. Thousands of songs use a I-V-vi-IV chord progression (in the key of G, this would be G, D, 26

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Em, and C). Once students learn to play these chords, they can not only play thousands of songs, they can also use that progression to create their own musical ideas. Music teachers can then use this common chord progression for improvisation and songwriting activities. Since most popular music uses similar chord progressions, music educators can utilize transposition and approximation to make most songs accessible to students of all skill levels. For more ideas about how to incorporate approximation and scaffolding in modern band, see “Approximation and Scaffolding in Modern Band,” published in the September, 2019 issue of Music Educators Journal.

is to embrace the wide variety of musical genres to showcase the interests and talents of our students.” Modern band is not just taking off in K-12 classrooms; it is also rapidly expanding in higher education. To date, over 50 colleges and universities have included modern band into a college course syllabus. Some of these institutions are even offering full modern band courses where future music teachers are learning to play popular music instruments while also developing an understanding of the pedagogies involved in teaching popular music. Three music education faculty members from NJ-based colleges and universities recently participated in the Modern Band Fellowship. Sponsored by the nonprofit organization Little Kids Rock, The Modern Band Higher Education Fellowship (MBHEF) is an opportunity for music education professors to receive instruction in incorporating modern band pedagogies into pre-service music teacher education programs and receive hands-on instruction in playing popular music instruments. Since 2018, music education professors from Rutgers University, Westminster Choir College, and Montclair State University have participated in the Modern Band Fellowship. Conclusion Modern band ensembles should be seen as an addition to, and not a replacement of, traditional ensembles in schools. School music education is a big enough field to both advance its practices and preserve the music offerings that are valued by current students, their teachers, and our communities; to choose one music over others does little to advance the availability and viability of music in our schools. There is an exciting opportunity to expand the vision of music education to include popular music, improvisation, composition, music technology, and musics from around the world for the benefit of all. If the music education community is serious about increasing diversity, increasing access, and promoting inclusion, then it is imperative that we widen the door to participation in school music with more diverse and inclusive ensembles.

Modern Band in New Jersey In New Jersey, the presence of modern bands has expanded over the last ten years due in part to the efforts of the non-profit organization Little Kids Rock. In New Jersey, there are currently 123 active Little Kids Rock teachers serving over 21,000 students. The cities with the greatest number of Little Kids Rock teachers are Newark (25 teachers), Elizabeth (22 teachers) and Jersey City (18 teachers). Many of these teachers are offering modern band programs either as part of their regular teaching duties or as an after-school club. In January of 2019, 24 music teachers from Passaic City Public Schools attended a full-day modern band workshop, and there is a followReferences up workshop scheduled for October 2019. According to Clauhs, M., Beard, J., & Chadwick, A. (2017). InLatasha Casterlow-Lalla, the Passaic Supervisor of Visual creasing Access to School Music through Modern Band. and Performing Arts, “Passaic Public Schools has taken a School Music NEWS: The Official Publication of the New leap of faith to incorporate modern band as the newest York State School Music Association, 81(4), 24-28. dimension of our instrumental music program. Our goal APRIL 2020

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Rethinking Middle Level General Music: Five Democratic Principles to Enhance Student Engagement Stephanie Cronenberg Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Mason Gross School of the Arts The present moment in education in the United States, with its focus on standardized learning and testing, challenges educators who desire to cultivate democratic learning communities (Elliott, 2016; Michelli & Jacobowitz, 2016; Wall & Wall, 2016). While the idea of integrating democratic principles into music education is not new (see Allsup, 2016; DeLorenzo, 2016; Woodford, 2005), specific democratic principles may help to reshape middle level general music. Randall Allsup (2016) argues that “music teachers in public schools are endowed with an obligation to alter – to (re)form, to (re)musik – the quality and character of their music forms to ensure that student life and learning is enlarged, deepened, and enriched” (p. 23). In what follows, I put forward five democratic principles that, if employed, could help remusik middle level general music, increase student engagement, and potentially create a positive musical space for all students and teachers involved. Middle Level If you teach general music to fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade students, it is likely that you have wondered something like, “what on earth went wrong during that lesson?” Hopefully, you have also had the opportunity to think, “that was great, how can I do the same thing next class?” I purposefully use the phrase “middle level” here because this term is inclusive of all students and teachers, fifth through eighth grade, regardless of school context. Students at this age—variously referred to as middle schoolers, young adolescents, or middle level learners— face a time of significant change, cognitively, physically, emotionally, and socially, as they mature into full adolescence. As a result, they can be unpredictable to their TEMPO

teachers, parents, and even to themselves. Educators and researchers who examine middle level education from all academic disciplines share a common goal of improving education for young adolescents. Their focus puts young adolescent developmental needs at the center of all educational decision-making (see NSMA, 2010). So, what would a general music classroom in this vein look or sound like? How might democratic principles influence classroom experiences and provide new energy to classroom curricula? Five Democratic Principles for Middle Level General Music I define middle level general music as developmentally appropriate musical learning for all young adolescents, music learning that inspires students to continue learning formally or informally in music. Importantly, developmentally appropriate musical learning is key to fostering student engagement both within and beyond the classroom. The ability to cultivate young adolescent engagement rests upon a foundation of five democratic principles drawn from middle level education or music education. They are: 1. Educating the Whole Student 2. Making Connections 3. Integrating Students’ Perspectives 4. Including All Musical Forms 5. Teaching All Students When combined together, these five democratic principles can guide general music teaching-and-learning. Briefly, I describe each democratic principle and provide a tip for teacher development or classroom application. 28

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1. Middle Level General Music Educates the Whole Student Developmentally appropriate music learning begins with the inescapable realities of puberty. For middle level students, the onset of puberty and its subsequent developmental evolution impacts every area of their lives. Young adolescents’ cognitive abilities are deeply intertwined with their physical development, their social and emotional needs, and their evolving identity development. Michael Nakkula and Eric Toshalis (2006) argue that as adolescents develop, they are constructing their understanding of themselves and the world around them through daily experiences and the positive and negative lessons they learn when they try something new. Accordingly, our job is to serve as co-constructors of young adolescents’ identities by providing support, guidance, and correction as they explore their emerging physical, cognitive, social, and emotional potentials and construct their emerging individual identity. Therefore, it is critical that middle level general music educate the whole student, not just his/her cognitive abilities. Tip #1: Develop or enhance an understanding of young adolescent development beyond stereotypes associated with puberty and middle schoolers. These developmental needs are well-outlined in several music education resources, for example: Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School & Beyond by Bridget Sweet (2016) or Engaging Musical Practices: A Sourcebook for Middle School General Music edited by Suzanne L. Burton (2012). Another great resource is the third edition of What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know by Dave F. Brown and Trudy Knowles (2014). 2. Middle Level General Music Helps Students Make Connections Young adolescents vacillate between concrete and abstract thought; it is critical that middle level general music helps students make connections. Middle level students’ growing facility with abstract thought (Mee & Haverback, 2016; Roney, 2005; Stevenson, 2002), along with their identity development, primes students to question what they experience in their lives. Although students are developing abstract thought, they are not always able to make connections between musical learning and other subjects, current events, or the community without help. Music teachers can make musical learning APRIL 2020

more democratic by explicitly exploring connections for those who have not yet developed abstract thought or who have not fully developed the ability to apply abstract thought across contexts. Music teachers can excite and engage middle level students in any form of musical learning if they help students see the connections to their own lives. These connections are the purpose of the “connecting” strand of the National Core Arts Standards. Doing so does not sacrifice or water-down musical learning, but rather enhances it. Taking five minutes to help students see the relevance of what they are learning can make the music classroom come alive. The music educator who helps students connect musical content to their own lives and to what they are learning in other subjects will find that students become more interested and engaged in musical learning, further inspiring them to persist musically. Tip #2: Connect with your colleagues in other subjects to find out what your students learn at various times of the year. For example, perhaps the science curriculum includes a unit on acoustics and sound production. You might choose to develop a parallel music unit in which students explore sound production through the creation of invented instruments or explore acoustics using classroom instruments in various physical spaces.

3. Middle Level General Music Integrates the Students’ Perspectives As young adolescents mature, they begin to develop a sense of their place in the world. It is through this important identity development that young adolescents desire autonomy, independence, and the opportunity to articulate their own perspectives (Mee & Haverback, 2016; Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006). Consequently, most middle level students seek teachers who listen to their ideas and views on almost any topic including the curriculum. Thus, music teachers might develop curriculum and pedagogy based on student interests and needs. This does 29

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not mean that a teacher allows students to choose every aspect of learning. However, it does mean that a music teacher should be attuned to his/her students and how students’ interests and needs change over time, both within one school year and with each new group of students. Accordingly, a democratic curriculum “includes not only what adults think is important [such as discipline specific knowledge], but also the questions and concerns that young people have about themselves and their world” (Beane & Apple, 2007, p. 17). When young adolescents are given opportunities to direct, co-construct, or choose learning activities, the outcome is typically a classroom of students highly engaged in a learning process they helped develop. Tip #3: Ask students to share their own questions about music or a particular musical topic. Then, work with students to develop these questions into a unit of study that seeks to answer these questions. Additionally, have students suggest ways they might demonstrate their knowledge and understanding on a particular topic and then allow them to choose from among the suggestions for the summative assessment they will complete. 4. Middle Level General Music Includes all Musical Forms Musical skills, genres, and topics covered in middle level general music should be inclusive and wide-ranging. Carlos Abril (2016) argues that “if the musical experiences in school music are singular and rigid, they fall outside of the concept of general music” because a defining characteristic of general music is the comprehensive nature of the musical content (p. 15). A middle level general music curriculum should provide students with an opportunity to engage with multiple musical forms. Of course, not all musical forms can be included in a single quarter, semester, or year of study. Teachers must make judicious choices. There is a (mis)perception expressed by some music teachers that general music is focused on singing. While singing is one component of comprehensive musical content, students should also perform on body percussion and instruments (whether existing or created from found objects), respond to music through listening and evaluation of recorded and live performances, create music through play, improvisation, and composition, and connect their musical learning to other areas of their lives (Barrett, 2016). The National Standards support this noTEMPO

tion of comprehensive musical content in general music (MENC, 1994; SEADAE, 2014). Whether a general music course explores American rock, Caribbean drumming, Cantonese opera, and/or Western classical music are decisions best left to teachers who know their students best. Regardless of the genre(s) selected, the musical content should allow students to experience the performing, responding, creating, and connecting components of music education that form a solid foundation for any future musical development, whether this future music learning occurs within or beyond the school walls. Tip #4: Find out what students already know or what genres they prefer through a quick survey at the beginning of the quarter, semester, or year. Ask students about their musical experiences at home, place of worship, community center, etc. Then, select from familiar and unfamiliar musical forms to deepen their musical experiences and provide them with opportunities to meet the standards. 5. Middle Level General Music is for Everyone One of the most fundamental democratic principles of general music is that it is designed as music learning for all. Perhaps you have heard the often-used phrase from Karl Gerhkens “Music for Every Child, Every Child for Music” (Munkittrick, 2013). If musical learning is for every student, then middle level general music should also include all students. In fact, the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act specifically states that music is an important part of a well-rounded education for all K-12 students (GovTrack.us, 2015). If all students are entitled to a wellrounded education, then general music learning should be available as an option for all students. Adherence to this democratic principle challenges music educators because it means teaching those students with no expressed desire to enroll in music alongside those with longstanding interest in music. Often, students enrolled in general music are not given a choice, but rather required to enroll. While music teachers often have no control over their schedule or course enrollments, all music teachers can decide how students are included in their classroom community. The creation of an inclusive classroom community is critical to cultivating student engagement in musical learning. Tip #5: Develop a classroom community in which all students feel comfortable and supported to take risks and try new things. Differentiation is key in a heterogenous classroom. Consider how you might group students dur30

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ing an activity so that strong students can help those who sourcebook for middle school general music. Lanham, MD: Rowneed support. Perhaps rethink a beloved assignment in man & Littlefield Education. DeLorenzo, L. C. (2016). Introduction. In L. S. DeLorenorder to provide differentiation to challenge or support zo (Ed.), Giving voice to democracy in music education: Diversity those who need it.

Conclusion Building a middle level general music curriculum with the developmental needs of young adolescents at the center begins with the five democratic principles discussed above. Relatedly, ask yourself: What are you doing well? Where are places that you might make small or large changes that could significantly impact your students’ engagement? Make at least one thoughtful change in the next school year. As student engagement increases, I hope that you find yourself looking forward to your middle level general music classes and to the invigorating potential of guiding students along their individual musical journeys. References Abril, C. R. (2016). Untangling general music education: Concept, aims, and practice. In C. R. Abril & B. M. Gault (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 5–22). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Allsup, R. E. (2016). Remixing the classroom: Toward an open philosophy of music education. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Barrett, J. R. (2016). Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to general music. In C. R. Abril & B. M. Gault (Eds.), Teaching general music: Approaches, issues, and viewpoints (pp. 168–182). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Beane, J. A., & Apple, M. W. (2007). The case for democratic schools. In M. W. Apple & J. A. Beane (Eds.), Democratic schools: Lessons in powerful education (2nd ed., pp. 1–29). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Brown, D. F., & Knowles, T. (2014). What every middle school teacher should know (3rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Burton, S. L. (Ed.) (2012). Engaging musical practices: A APRIL 2020

and social justice (pp. 1–9). New York, NY: Routledge. Elliott, D. J. (2016). Artistic citizenship, personhood, and music education. In L. C. DeLorenzo (Ed.), Giving voice to democracy in music education: Diversity and social justice (pp. 13–35). New York, NY: Routledge. GovTrack.us. (2015). S. 1177 — 114th Congress: Every Student Succeeds Act. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack. us/congress/bills/114/s1177 Mee, M., & Haverback, H. R. (2016). Young adolescent development. In S. B. Mertens, M. M. Caskey, & N. Flowers (Eds.), The encyclopedia of middle grades education (2nd ed., pp. 437–440). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. MENC. (1994). National standards for arts education: What every young American should know and be able to do in the arts. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Michelli, N. M., & Jacobowitz, T. (2016). Why do we educate in a democracy?: Implications for music education. In L. C. DeLorenzo (Ed.), Giving voice to democracy in music education: Diversity and social justice (pp. 36–50). New York, NY: Routledge. Munkittrick, D. (2013). Music for living: The thought and philosophy of Karl. W. Gehrkens. Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, 35(1), 21–34. Nakkula, M. J., & Toshalis, E. (2006). Understanding youth: Adolescent development for educators. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. National Middle School Association (NMSA). (2010). This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents. Westerville, OH: Author. Roney, K. (2005). Young adolescent development. In V. A. Anfara, Jr., G. Andrews, & S. B. Mertens (Eds.) The encyclopedia of middle grades education (pp. 397–401). Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association. State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE). (2014). National Core Arts Standards. Dover, DE: Author. Stevenson, C. (2002). Teaching ten to fourteen year olds (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Sweet, B. (2016). Growing musicians: Teaching music in middle school & beyond. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Wall, M. P., & Wall, J. K. (2016). Artistic citizenship, personhood, and music education. In L. S. DeLorenzo (Ed.), Giving voice to democracy in music education: Diversity and social justice (pp. 123–137). New York, NY: Routledge. Woodford, P. G. (2005). Democracy and music education: Liberalism, ethics, and the politics of practice. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

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Ten Websites and Uses in the Elementary General Music Classroom: #10-6 Amy Burns Far Hills Country Day School aburns@fhcds.org At the beginning of each calendar year, I blog about 10 items that are useful to the elementary general music classroom. Past posts have included ten technology tools for an elementary music concert and ten educational technology (edtech) tools to enhance an elementary general music classroom. This year, I chose to write about ten websites for the elementary general music classroom because most elementary music educators have access to at least one device that has internet access. In this article, I present numbers ten through six. The following items can enhance a classroom with one device, as well as an elementary music classroom with 1:1 devices, where each student has access to a device. #10 Free Lesson Plans Many of us love paid websites to purchase lesson plans and manipulatives, such as Teachers Pay Teachers (teacherspayteachers.com), as they also offer discounts and free downloads from time to time. However, there are also some sites that have free lessons written by teachers for teachers. A few to note are: • Share My Lesson (sharemylesson.com) – Though not have as thorough of a database as Teachers Pay Teachers, they have free lessons written by educators for educators. When I apply the filters for K-2/Arts/Music, I find 498 lessons. • Smithsonian Folkways Lesson Plans (https:// folkways.si.edu/lesson-plans/smithsonian) - This site has lesson plans where one can browse the map to find world music curricular experiences from Smithsonian Folkways’ Network of Music Educators. All lessons can be downloaded in PDF format. • Carnegie Hall Music Educators Toolbox (https://www.carnegiehall.org/Education/Educators/ Music-Educators-Toolbox) - Another great resource for TEMPO

free lesson plans. As written on their website, “set of free online resources for music teachers includes lesson plans and activities, summative and formative assessments, video examples, and documented best practices. Designed to be effective and adaptable in a wide variety of music classrooms, the resources were developed through Carnegie Hall’s five-year residency in a New York City elementary/middle school.” #9 Free Tech Resources Three of the best resources for edtech are Richard Byrnes’s website, “Free Technology for Teachers”, Katie Wardrobe’s website, “Midnight Music”, and the Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) website. • Free Technology for Teachers (https://www. freetech4teachers.com/) - Richard has an amazing amount of free edtech resources for any educator. I love that you can type into the search tool for any type of music technology and you would search his database that goes back 12 years. Richard puts his heart and soul into his work. I adore reading his posts and newsletters. I learn a great deal from him and am thankful for this wonderful, free resource. • Midnight Music (https://midnightmusic.com. au/start-here/) - Katie is based in Australia and is brilliant when it comes to music technology. I have known her for years and she always amazes me to how well she knows music technology and edtech and how wonderfully she can showcase and teach it to music educators. Her website has numerous free resources, lessons, ideas, and webinars. There is also a paid subscription where the user can have access to all lessons, webinars, tutorials, and so much more. • TI:ME (ti-me.org) - TI:ME was established in 1995 for the purpose of assisting music educators with music technology. This mostly contained learning how to record and use notation software. In the past 25 years, 32

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TI:ME has kept their mission intact of assisting music ed- be what you need. ucators with integrating technology into their classrooms. #7 Music Creative Tool: Incredibox They have numerous experts and a variety of resources set Incredibox (incredibox.com) has been around for up through their organization. years. My students thoroughly enjoy this website to create music. In my classroom, I have used it for students #8 123apps.com and classroomscreen.com to create a beatbox accompaniment to a name rap at the These two websites are wonderful, free tools to use in beginning of the school year. I have also had them write your classroom. If you need an online tool to edit audio, poetry where they used Incredibox to enhance their poconversion tools to PDFs, audio, and video, a quick voice etry. I have had them create music in guided forms where and video recorder, and an archive extractor, 123apps. each group created the A, B or C Section and then we put com can do all of those things. This is a fabulous, free them all together in one piece. Finally, I have used it have tool to use on a laptop or a Chromebook, since it is based the students create a classroom rules rap where they chant online. it to an accompaniment they created in Incredibox. Currently, Incredibox has four versions or musical styles that you can access online. There are seven versions/musical styles that can be accessed through the paid apps available for iOS, Google Play, Amazon, Mac App Store, and Microsoft. Incredibox is updated so it no longer requires Flash. It does require your school to allow you to disable the ad blocker that is probably installed on most devices. In addition, if you want the version with the cartoon beatboxers with the shirts, then that can only be accessed through the flash based version found here: https://www.incredibox.com/flash. It is also good to note that flash will be discontinued at the end of 2020. Classroomscreen.com was developed by Laurens Koppers from the Netherlands. In his words, “I wanted to use a free and simple tool with all my favorite digiboard widgets to help my students focus more on their work. I could not find such a thing, so I decided to make it myself. And here it is!” This website is excellent. If you need a quick timer, random name chooser, exit poll, a traffic light, language widget to translate a webpage to 40+ languages, a sound level widget to test the levels of sounds in your classroom, or you miss some of those items that the SMART Notebook used to carry, then this website might

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#6 Chrome Music Lab In March of 2016, Google launched Chrome Music Lab (https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/) to support the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) initiative of Music in Our Schools Month® (MIOSM). As stated on the Chrome Music Lab’s website, many teachers use this website as a tool to explore music and to connect music with science, art, math, and more (Google, 2018). Chrome Music Lab consists of thirteen musical activities and explorations that can be done in a 1:1 classroom, as well as a teacher projecting the website onto a screen and having students participate by taking turns creating, making, and exploring music. The requirements to use this website is a device that has the Chrome web browser. I would also suggest a decent pair of speakers and of course, a projector, if you are using this in a one-device classroom. If you are utilizing this in a 1:1 classroom, I would suggest headphones or to space the students around the room so that they can focus on their music 33

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creations. However, students in a group or at a station can also wonderfully use these activities so that students can collaborate together to create and make music. Some highlights from Chrome Music Lab are: • Rhythm – This helps students visualize and experiment with meters of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. • Sound Waves – The exploration and visualization of sound waves moving through air molecules. This is a great way to incorporate STEAM into the music classroom by having students test sound using the keyboard attached to explore long, short, high, and low sounds. • Kadinsky – This app turns anything you draw into sound. This is a great way to integrate art in to music, as well as having students reflect on how they thought their drawings would sound when the app plays them. • Song Maker – In this app, you and your students can build a song or recreate one. I have used this to also show beat subdivisions and to have students “name that tune” where I input a simple melody they have been singing in class. Once finished, the song can be shared via a Amy M. Burns (aburns@fhcds.org) has taught PreKlink, which can then be placed on their learning journals grade 4 general music for over 20 years at Far Hills Country such as Seesaw, or on a school website. There are other apps in the music lab for you and Day School. She has authored three books on how to integrate tech into the elementary music classroom. She has presented your students to create and explore music. many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses In the next issue of Tempo, I will present numbers five in Texas, Indiana, Saint Maarten, and Australia. She is the through one. If you want to watch a webinar on utiliz- recipient of the TI:ME Teacher of the Year, NJ Master Music ing these ten websites in the elementary music classroom, Teacher, Governor’s Leader in Arts Education, and the NJ please visit amymburns.com/webinars. If you write a Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Awards. summary about the webinar, answer the question at the end of the webinar, and send it to me at amywillisburns@ gmail.com, I will send you a PD certificate. I hope that these first five websites inspire you to try one in your elementary music classroom today!

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APRIL 2020

Accepting Applications For New Jersey All-State Choir Conductor! Here's your chance to conduct some of New Jersey's finest young choral musicians.

CONDUCTOR SELECTION: NJ ALL-STATE MIXED AND WOMEN'S CHOIRS Current NAfME members in good standing. New Jersey Choral Educators.

Who is eligible?

1) Submit a video of your Choral Conducting not to exceed 12 minutes or FIVE Selections (Please include a list of these selections). For suggested Conducting example choices, please consult the NJ-ACDA High School Required Repertoire list on the All-State Choir Audition Page of www.NJMEA.org What is required? 2) A Proposed Mixed or Treble Chorus program not to exceed 35 minutes of music. Find Past NJ All State MIXED Chorus programs at www.rhschoirs.net 3) Your resume and a letter of intent which states why you feel you are the best candidate for this position.

Where do I send my materials?

Helen Stanley, Selection Committee Chairperson 540 West Avenue, Pitman, NJ 08071 Or submit your video and material via email hstanley326@comcast.net

What is the due date?

June 1, 2020 FOR 2021 ALL-STATE MIXED CHORUS OR 2022 ALL-STATE WOMEN’S CHORUS

A WORD ABOUT THE MATERIALS YOU SUBMIT… Please use your best judgment when submitting materials for consideration. Do NOT include CD’s or MP3’s only send DVDs, Flash Drives, or digital videos files. Please TYPE all materials – letter of intent, program and resume. A WORD ABOUT YOUR VIDEO We need to see you conduct, so make sure your video includes considerable evidence of your conducting! The panel cannot assess your conducting if your group is filmed from the rear of an auditorium and all that is seen is your back! Please submit a video with no more than FIVE varied selections; no more than 12 minutes in length. You may submit work representative of different ensembles in your school, but NO MORE THAN FIVE selections. Also, the choir performances you use may be your own school choir, but you can also use material from an Honor Choir or Community Choir that you have conducted.

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The 11th Annual New Jersey Young Composers Competition Finals Andrew Lesser, Ed.D. Technology Chair, NJMEA Chairman, NJ Young Composers Competition andrew.lesser@yahoo.com www.andrewlessermusic.com

The 11th annual New Jersey Young Composers Competition (NJ-YCC) finals were held on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at the New Jersey Music Educators Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. Students from all over the New Jersey area in both middle and high school divisions submitted original compositions in various instrumental and vocal orchestrations. Finalists were interviewed by competition judge and NJ-YCC Committee member Serge Puchinsky of Bayonne, NJ. Judges of the competition also included Patrick Burns (Montclair State University), Scott Ordway (Rutgers University), Bruce Yurko (Rowan University), and Bob Frampton (Past-President, NAfME Eastern Division, Retired). Finalists included the following students: High School Division 1st Place: "Future City" – Emily Ta, East Brunswick High School Finalist: "Everest" – Jessie Liang, West Windsor-Plains boro High School South Finalist: "Soar!" – Joseph Marta, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School

Middle School Division 1st Place: "Symphonic Scherzo in D minor" – Ben Janisze wski, Hilltop Country Day School Finalist: "Evening Blues" – Nathanael Gaw, Fernwood Av enue Middle School Finalist: "Soon (The Incident)" – Mikayla Marinelli, Crockett Middle School Recordings of each finalists' compositions are now posted on the NJMEA website. Applications for the 202021 competition will also be posted on the website in the Fall of 2020. Congratulations to all who participated, and we look forward to receiving more exemplary submissions for our next competition. We are also looking for volunteers to participate in the organization of next year's competition. You do not need to be a professional composer to be part of the committee. If you would like further information, please contact Dr. Andrew Lesser at andrew.lesser@yahoo.com.

Finalists of the 11th Annual New Jersey Young Composers Competition From left: Mr. Serge Puchinky, Session Clinician, Joseph Marta, Emily Ta, Jessie Liang, Ben Janiszewski, Mikayla Marinelli, Nathanael Gaw, Dr. Andrew Lesser, NJ-YCC Chairman.

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APRIL 2020

SAVE THE DATE JULY 15, 2020

Summer Location:

Workshop More details coming soon on our Facebook Page and Tempo Express!

APRIL 2020

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Ask the Expert: What’s the Deal with Nylon Guitar Strings? Mr. Jayson Martinez, M.Mus; M. EdLd. NJMEA Chairperson for Guitar Education

Thanks, Martin Keith, for your valuable insights! Martin Keith is a luthier, repair and restoration expert, and working musician based in Woodstock, New York. martinkeithguitars.com Q: I’ve been a steel-string player for years, but just got my first nylon-string guitar. I want to figure out what strings will work best for me, but the names and tensions are confusing. Can you help clarify things?—Rebecca P., via email A: Thanks for the question! Rest assured—you are not alone. Players who come from the steel-string world are accustomed to the relatively simple system of numbered gauges (12s, 13s, etc.) standard among manufacturers. By comparison, the naming convention for nylon-string sets is a bit more poetic, and not quite as easily portable from one brand to another. The weights of string sets are usually indicated with terms such as medium hard, hard, and extra hard. To add to the confusion, many of these sets overlap in unpredictable ways—for example, La Bella’s upscale Argento line includes the same second- and third-string gauges in all three available weights. Nylon-string sets also have wider variation in materials than steel strings, in all three main areas of construction: the core, the wrap, and the plain string. Let’s take a quick look at the differences available for each, along with some useful terminology. Unlike steel strings, nylon sets usually have three wound strings (known as basses) and three plain strings (called trebles). The basses are wound with a metal wrap wire over a stranded filament core, made from either nylon or a blend of other synthetic fibers (such as in D’Addario’s Pro-Arté Dynacore line). The alloys used for the wraps vary and can have a big impact on the tone and response of the string. String manufacturers use wrap alloys ranging from traditional 80/20 bronze to more exotic choices, even pure silver in the case of La Bella’s Argentos. TEMPO

At the dawn of the modern era of guitar, the only choice for treble strings was gut, usually sheep intestine. As an organic material, gut presents some difficulties—it will react to heat and humidity, causing tuning instability. During World War II, the supply of natural gut was restricted, as it was also the preferred material for medical sutures. In response to this shortage, the Augustine string company, in collaboration with E. & O. Mari/La Bella and with input from classical guitar legend Andrés Segovia, developed nylon trebles and formally introduced them to the market in 1948. Other makers soon followed, and the stability and predictability of nylon soon made it the material of choice. Because of the inherent properties of nylon—and the processes used in its manufacture—the shape and diameter of clear nylon strings is not always perfect. There can be tiny variations along the length of a string, which are too small to notice, but just enough to affect the string response, particularly the intonation. To address this, string makers developed rectified strings, which begin as clear nylon and are then ground to precise shapes and sizes. The resulting strings hold closer tolerances for dimensions along their length, which improves intonation and consistency. However, the grinding process leaves a textured surface on the string, quite different in feel from the slick, smooth feeling of clear nylon. Some players experience more string squeak and noise with rectified strings. They are also generally felt to be a bit warmersounding than clear nylon trebles. Black nylon trebles are most often seen on older folk nylon guitars and are typically associated with a softer, warmer tone and less clarity and articulation. The lower tension of these strings is also a good fit for beginning players or those with less hand strength. These strings are usually equipped with ball ends, which simplify stringing vs. the traditional knot-style bridge attachment. In recent years, carbon and other composites have entered the market. Carbon compositions are denser, and therefore a thin carbon string will have equivalent mass to a 38

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thicker nylon string. Carbon trebles are usually thinner than nylons, and offer a brighter tone with more overtone content—both of which may make them a more familiar-feeling choice for a steel-string player looking to cross over. Classical guitar technique places considerable emphasis on clarity, note separation, and independence of voices within a given chord shape. Many classical guitarists also prefer notes with a strong, impulsive attack and relatively modest sustain. Good classical guitars—and their strings—have evolved to emphasize these traits, but those same characteristics may not be ideal for other genres, such as bossa nova, jazz, or even modern fingerstyle. Furthermore, crossover steel-string players may not have the well-groomed and sculpted fingernails of a serious classical player, and may prefer to play with the fingertips themselves. In cases like this, the modern, brighter strings may help to keep things sounding crisp without the help of a fingernail attack. Alongside your playing style, your instrument itself can inform your choice of strings. Cedar- or redwood-topped instruments are generally warmer and darker sounding than

those with spruce soundboards, and your choice of string can either balance that or further emphasize it, depending on your preferred result. Much like violinists, classical guitarists converse at great length about the minute differences between string brands. Unlike electric players (or even many steel-string acoustic players), classical guitarists have relatively fewer key variables that determine their sound: the guitar itself, their own technique, and their choice of strings. As a result, there is a wealth of information online about the tonal characteristics of the different brands—though, as always, one should take online advice with a healthy dose of caution. Strings are a relatively inexpensive way to fine-tune the feel and tone of your guitar to suit your specific needs. And with nylon-string guitars particularly, the broad range of options gives the player quite a bit of control. Although different strings will not completely change the inherent character of a guitar, the right choice can emphasize the best aspects of your instrument and style, and make playing more comfortable and more fun.

Memories of Tom

By Ernie and Barbara Stuber Our friendship with Tom (and Kathy) probably goes back further than most people. Tom was a fellow music education major at Montclair State College, as it was known when we started. We were both clarinet majors and had many of the same classes, professors and performing groups. All of us spent many hours playing together in marching band, recitals and various bands, as well as outside band jobs, honing the skills that Tom would later use during his very successful years as a high school band director. Upon graduation; two clarinet majors from the class of 1964, married two piano majors from the class of 1965 and then together we went back to earn our Master's degree. As the years marched on our children were born and we all embarked on our teaching careers. Tom went beyond just teaching by becoming active and being an integral part of NJMEA. He always presented himself as a professional, "take charge" person having a level headed and sensible approach to all situations but still keeping a sense of humor. His organizational skills became more apparent as he took over as Editor of TEMPO which has evolved into a wonderful and useful tool for teachers in all areas and levels of music. We have known Tom on a professional level and fellow musician but more so as a good friend. We have traveled together, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, the births, growth and marriages of our children. We have seen the arrival of grandchildren and for Tom and Kathy great grandchildren. Tom loved them all and was so proud of them! Tom will be sorely missed but his accomplishments will continue to speak for themselves through his family, colleagues and the many students he has touched. We are so glad to have been a part of his life. APRIL 2020

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NJMEA State Conference Atlantic City, NJ February 20-22, 2020

Keynote and General Session

Save the Date February 18-20 2021

Exhibits

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APRIL 2020

Professional Development Sessions and Concerts

photo credits: Rachel L'Heureux APRIL 2020

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Creating a Case for Creativity Shawna longo Durban Avenue School shawnalongo@gmail.com

Have you been noticing a change in the mindset within your school or district? There is a shift away from a testfocused classroom toward a more creative, student-centered classroom occurring in education. In some places, it’s happening more quickly than others, but it’s all still moving in the same direction. In the past, school was thought of as a place of certainty. As Seth Godin discusses in his book, The Icarus Deception - “the Industrial Age taught us that there are answers and that you need the answers in order to succeed” (2012, p58). The current shift is empowering teachers to create a classroom climate that supports students searching for QUESTIONS, not answers. The search for questions sparks creativity and a deepened level of inquiry. At the heart of this movement is creativity. And, we all know that the arts go hand in hand with creativity!

ity and comfort with our creative self becomes less and less frequent. Shauna Niequist writes in her book, Present Over Perfect, “creativity, of course, is so easy and natural for children, and most adults struggle to recover that wild courage to make and imagine and play” (2016, p168). Sunni Brown agrees in her book, The Doodle Revolution, “The capacity to innovate is undoubtedly available to all of us, but creative thinking is like a muscle, and there are people who’ve been exercising that muscle more purposefully and more often than others have” (2013, p184).

The Arts = Play As Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun!” Many people equate the arts with play. This gets some people all up in arms! But, I tend to focus on the positive. Let’s face it, the arts are typically an elective course and if the students aren’t engaged then they aren’t going to enjoy themselves. The arts are the catalyst for creativity in our schools, but creativity should not just be limited to the arts classrooms. Sir Ken Robinson states in his book, Out of Our Minds, “creativity is possible in any activity that engages our intelligence” (2017, p3). We all know that when students are involved in creative activities, their brains (intelligence) are engaged, and they are most likely having fun in the process!

Teaching Through or For Creativity Creativity doesn’t necessarily just happen in a classroom. Creativity must be fostered and encouraged through a supportive environment where risks are encouraged and praised. Ken Robinson writes, “There is a difference between teaching ‘through’ creativity and teaching ‘for’ creativity. Good teachers know that their role is to engage and inspire their students. This is a creative task in itself. Teaching ‘for’ creativity is about facilitating other people’s creative work. It involves: • Asking open-ended questions where there may be multiple solutions • Working in groups on collaborative projects • Using imagination to explore possibilities • Making connections between different ways of seeing • Exploring the ambiguities and tensions that may lie between them” (2017, p227-228).

What happens to creativity? Young children love to be creative – when they are playing with blocks, building with Legos or Magnatiles, coloring, drawing, dancing around the room, acting and role-playing with their friends, singing, or playing instruments - the list of examples is endless. But, as time passes, that innate abil-

Sir Ken Robinson also states that, “teaching for creativity involves teaching creatively” (2017, p228). In order to facilitate a student-centered, creativity-focused classroom, teachers’ need to: • Encourage students to ask questions. • Encourage students to believe in their creative abili-

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ties. • Develop an atmosphere of trust within their classroom. • Facilitate self and peer assessment of ideas and creative processes. Accept Failure as Part of the Learning Process The era of test-focused classrooms has produced students that are constantly searching for the “right answer.” Shifting the focus to creativity is not only challenging for teachers, but also for students. I have found that it takes a long time to make that shift – it won’t happen overnight. It’s easy to fall into old habits or mindsets, but we as teachers must persevere. It is our job to encourage our students to step out of their comfort zone and embrace their sometimes younger, more creative selves. Trevor Bryan tweeted (@trevorabryan, 2/4/18) – “If you aren’t letting your students get stuck, struggle, make things that don’t work out, feel lost, confused and unsure, then you are not teaching creativity. Creativity isn’t about certainty, it dances with the unknown.” It is often in those “unknown” moments of creativity when true learning occurs. As teachers, we must embrace this “unknown” and exemplify it within our classrooms. No one has all the answers and sometimes honesty is the best policy. Don’t be afraid to let your students know that you don’t know everything and even adults experience failure while learning. But, we must continue to push forward to create and learn. When we fail, we often learn the most. Ryan Holiday promotes this idea in his book, The Obstacle is the Way, when he states, “Failure shows us the way – by showing us what isn’t the way” (2014, p86). Focus on creative process, not perfection! By shifting the focus to the process, we discourage searching for the “right answer.” It’s not about whether it’s true or false, or A B C or D; it’s about the journey. As Seth Godin writes, “Approach the world with a confidence that no matter what happens, the journey itself was worth it” (2012, p91). He also writes, the arts are “a commitment to a process and to a direction and to generosity, not to a result” (2012, p95). As a result of the test-focused era, our students tend to be focused on the product or end result of their work. Just as music teachers, we tend to focus on concert performances. But, the true learning occurs during the journey we take while getting through a lesson or in preparation for a concert. Ryan Holiday supports this idea by stating, “think progress, not perfection” (2014, p102).

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Preparing students for their future Many of the jobs that will be available for our students do not even exist yet. In order to prepare them for their future, Daniel Pink writes, “we need to help them move toward autonomy, mastery, and purpose” (Drive. 2009, p182). Autonomy is the desire to direct our own lives. Mastery is the urge to make progress and get better at something that matters. And, purpose is the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves. (Drive. 2009, p219) These three components are easily encouraged in every music classroom. One way to promote autonomy, mastery, and purpose is to have your students write their own learning goals at the beginning of the school year or start of preparations for your next concert. This can be completed and collected digitally using Google Forms or as a writing assignment in your MusicFirst Classroom. The students’ personal learning goals can then be used to inform your class or teacher goals for the term. I then encourage you to have them selfand peer-evaluate their progress at a mid-way point. This can be a written progress evaluation and/or performance based. At the end of the time set for their goals, self-, peer-, and teacher-evaluations using written responses and performance recordings is encouraged. Allow students the opportunity to tell you: 1) Where did they succeed? 2) Where did they fall short? 3) What more do they need to learn?

Encouraging Lifelong Creative Learners At the end of the day, one of our main goals as educators is to create lifelong learners. Encouraging a creative classroom will help move our students toward accomplishing this goal. Creativity promotes a process-centered, lifelong learner mindset. And remember, failure IS an option. As Thomas Edison stated, “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” How many students can you impact by promoting creativity? 43

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Books for Leading the Creative Charge Here is the beginning of a list of books to help inspire and lead you along your creative journey: • Brene Brown, Braving the Wilderness (Random House, 2017) • Daniel Pink, Drive (Riverhead Books, 2009) • Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way (Portfolio/Penguin, 2014) • Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception (Portfolio/Penguin, 2012) • Shauna Niequist, Present Over Perfect (Zondervan, 2016) • Sir Ken Robinson, Out of Our Minds (Third Edition, Capstone Publishing, 2017) • Sunni Brown, The Doodle Revolution (Portfolio/Penguin, 2013)

Web Resources: Albert Einstein Quote taken from http://www.synapticpotential.com/neuroscience-in-action/creativity/ on Sept. 27, 2018. Thomas Edison Quote taken from http://www.happilygifted.com.au/index.php/j-blog/200-i-haven-t-failed-i-vejust-found-10000-ways-that-won-t-work-thomas-edison on Sept. 27, 2018. Shawna E. Longo is the General Music (Music Technology) teacher and Arts Integration Specialist at Durban Avenue School, Hopatcong, NJ. She also serves as the Arts Integration & STEAM Specialist for TMI Education; Coach for Education Closet; and Ambassador for MusicFirst. She is a clinician and consultant for music education, arts integration, and STEAM. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Ti:ME Teacher of the Year Award, 2019 NJ Governor’s Award for Arts Education, 2018 NJMEA Master Music Teacher Award and 2016 Governor’s Educator of the Year for Hopatcong Middle School.

This article was originally written for Education Closet (www.educationcloset.com).

Tom – Thank for the Music, Friendship and More, to be Cherished Forever!!! By Linda Kreilick and Bill Butler

Thank you for the Music, and not only the Music, but the 20+ year Friendship; being a “Travel Buddy” both locally and abroad and even on cruises to exotic places; and finally a person who invited our family into your home to share family times. We spent most of the 20+ years either sitting to the left or to the right of each other during rehearsals and concerts. Our friendship started back in the summer of 1996 when I first played for Harry Eichhorn in the Ocean Grove Summer Band. Several years after that I was invited into the Atlantic Wind Ensemble, playing more closely with you in this smaller organization. In 2003, you were willing to substitute for me during my absence for one of the Greater Shore Concert Band concerts for the Christmas season when Bill and I were off to the First Flight Celebration in Kitty Hawk, NC. You joined the Greater Shore Concert Band the following spring season, so now we were playing in as many as three bands together. But our friendship didn’t stop there. There were family picnics and dinners as well. I remember a Labor Day picnic being one of the first, then trips to Vermont, Maine, California and Italy to mention just a few. By then our friendship had expanded past just you and me and included Kathy and Bill and other family members, too many to mention. We would go out after most band rehearsals to toast the day and just talk life and rehearsals. (Of course, Bill always had that early meeting the next morning to get us on our way!!! ) You convinced us to sign up for a cruise to the Panama Canal with you and Kathy and Jim and Maryann, Bast which was the first of many. What would life have been like without the start of our friendship, all through MUSIC? You even cared about our well-being, calling to let us know you were thinking about us. All of this will be so missed. You have been taken from us much too soon and I know no one was ready for you to leave us. I know that you are up there looking down helping us through this and will look over us as we play those final concerts in your honor this 2020 Spring Season. Thank You for helping to bring music and friendship to me!

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Who Should Use Conversational Solfege Upper Levels (3 & 4)

Conversational Solfege Upper Levels: A Pathway for UE, MS & HS Music Literacy Success John Crever Endorsed Feierabend Methodology Teacher Trainer John@music-ade.com

What is Conversational Solfege? As children, we learn language not by studying letters and spelling, but by listening and imitating. Language acquisition in young children is an Ear First experience. Conversational Solfege™️ (CS) takes a similar approach to music learning. The life’s work of Hartt School of Music Professor Emeritus, Dr. John Feierabend, CS is a music literacy curriculum intended for school music programs from early elementary through high school and college. CS simulates language acquisition by challenging learners to become conversational with music before making attempts at sight-reading notation. Using solfege and rhythmic syllables, students learn to be conversational with tones and rhythms, by ear, improvising conversationally before seeing the notation. The Levels of CS Conversational Solfege is a 12-step method divided into four processes (boxes) Readiness, Conversational, Reading and Writing. Within each process, learners are challenged to first use what they know in order to gain experience with thinking and then reading what they don’t know. Throughout the 12 steps, students regularly demonstrate proficiency decoding something familiar then move on to something unfamiliar, moving through ear-first improvisation, then sight-reading and culminating with composing original music by notating their improvisations. CS is broken down into four teaching levels and can be used as early as second grade all the way through college as a comprehensive music reading curriculum that easily plugs into an existing program. Levels 1 & 2 of Conversational Solfege focus on reading and writing with the first six tones of the major scale with a variety of rhythmic elements in duple and triple meters. Upper TEMPO

level CS (levels 3 & 4) build on levels 1 & 2 rhythmic and melodic development and moves students towards four-part modal improvisation. In addition, “Teaching Harmony and Improvisation Using Conversational Solfege”5 can be implemented at the same time Conversational Solfege Levels 3 and 4 are presented. Who Needs Conversational Solfege 3 & 4 and Teaching harmony and Improvisation? Any students who have completed CS 1 & 2 and anyone who is teaching Middle or High School Music with intention of teaching sight reading. While few elementary school music programs will actually have a chance to use CS3 & 4, even teachers in elementary schools will benefit from learning CS3 & 4 as well as Teaching Harmony and Improvisation. Comprehending the scope and sequence of this third and fourth volume answers questions many teachers already using CS with their groups wonder about. For instance, when and how to introduce pick-up notes, 16th notes and reading in a variety of meters and modes in both triple and duple meters. With some planning at the district level, years of music reading instruction done in the elementary vocal with Conversational Solfege can be continued and expanded upon in middle and high school performing ensembles. For MS and HS music program teachers, CS 3 &4 is particularly helpful, even if the lower and upper elementary programs are not using an ear first approach. Upper Level CS helps Upper Elementary, Middle, and High School music programs introduce, develop and keep on track, a sightreading program that grows thinking musicians.

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Example: The 12-Steps of Conversational Solfege. From Conversational Solfege Level 1, Teacher Manual, pp. 15.1

Highlights of Conversational Solfege Upper Levels: what will this add to a MS or HS program? A Daily Mini-Music-Reading Lesson with a Long-Term Plan. In a course that meets every day (e.g. band, orchestra and choir in middle and high school) students can progress very quickly through the units with daily instruction, doing 2-3 steps as a daily lesson that culminates as the week progresses into writing original compositions on the last day. Conversational Solfege can also be used successfully as a college level musicianship skills class. During a single dedicated sightsinging class, students would do all 12 steps of the unit. In a 15-week semester, students could complete CS levels 1 & 2, and in the second semester, complete CS Levels 3 & 4 while exploring harmony and improvisation from an informed earfirst approach along the way. Example: Bassline Melody “I Have a Dog”, exercising the tonal syllable Sol. From Conversational Solfege Level 2, Unit 5, pp. 34. 2 APRIL 2020

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A Pathway to Polyphony

students thinking close to the implied harmony of the melody.

In addition to introducing and practicing a variety of rhythms, meters and modes that musicians encounter daily, CS3/4 teaches students to think in parts, developing a harmonic understanding by singing Bassline Melodies. Bassline Melodies are simple melodies comprised of the chord roots of tonic and dominant harmonies. They can be applied to whatever repertoire the instructor chooses and are used to help teach rhythmic or tonal subjects ( i.e. quarter/ eights, DRM ). Many of the folksongs in the teacher manual CS2 for music reading instruction can be expanded into a harmony singing lesson. Bassline Melody examples can be seen throughout Levels 2 and above.

How Do I get CS into my classroom?

The curriculum is available from GIA publications. There are many resources available online and in print. More than 40 live trainings events are happening across the country and around the world. To get the most out of the CS curriculum, the Feierabend Association of Music Education (F.A.M.E.) recommends attending a 20+-hour teacher curriculum training. Endorsed certification on CS is divided into two classes. Levels 1 & 2 comprise about as much music reading instruction as would be covered during elementary school years. The CS Upper Levels 20-hour training includes CS 3 Basslines to Vocal Improvisation & 4 as well as Harmony and Improvisation. CS3 gives instruction on how to teach the new Level 3 teacher manual, Bassline melodies provide a stepping-stone into singing culminating with the introduction of natural minor as the in choral harmony. CS3 offers a vocal experience with tonic, aeolian mode. Transitioning into Level 4 and harmonic and dominant and sub-dominant chords. In his soon to be re- melodic minor introducing chromatic alterations fi and si, leased book on vocal harmony and improvisation, Feierabend and the Mixolydian, Lydian, Dorian and Phrygian modes, lays out a path to lead students in expanding beyond just a first conversationally, then reading notation and lastly comsingle bassline against a melody into improvising with four- positionally. As an added lagniappe, Dr. Feierabend will share part chords. his soon to be released book Teaching Harmony and ImproviWith time and practice, once the students have experi- sation Using Conversational Solfege5 that lays out the pathway ence singing bassline melodies in CS 2 & 3, a teacher can to teach functional diatonic harmony with an informed, earencourage students to discover the bassline melody of a first approach. given song. Exploring harmony with an ear-first approach, informed by just enough music theory to help the student make informed choices, can be empowering as students learn Conclusion to use their own ears and judgment to compose and arrange music, free of an instrument. “Conversational Solfege provides the tools for musicians to become musically literate,” say teacher trainers Andrew Himelick and Craig Knapp in their chapter on CS in the Vocal Chording Leading to Improvisation choral Setting4 “by improving a young musician’s confidence with intonation and sight-reading as they work through the Throughout the CS curriculum, students learn that tones units, as part of a regular music literacy mini lesson plugged have specific locations like a person who resides in a house. in to the larger lesson or rehearsal. Teachers utilizing CS can Each house on the street holds a single family of a larger ex- be confident that rehearsals and classes are a time when stutended family living on the same street, or apartment build- dents are not only working towards their performance goals ing. When students understand which tones live in each but also increasing their musicality.” CS gives teachers a musihousehold, they are able to recognize the implied harmony cally natural pathway, far-reaching curriculum and pedagogy of the notes that they’re singing at each part in the melody. by which to teach comprehensive music literacy in the music With this working vocabulary and ability in tonic/dominant classroom. harmonic relationships, choosing movement between chord tones allows for even more musical independence, but keeps TEMPO

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John Feierabend will be teaching a condensed 3-Day format is his Conversational Solfege Upper Level teacher certification this summer in Princeton, NJ. Aug. 20-22, 2020. For more information go to www.music-ade.com/upcomingclasses-in-2020/ For information on CS 1 & 2 in the NE, go to www. Feierabendmusic.org CS 1 & 2 courses in additional areas of the US can be found at www.music-ade.com/upcoming-classes-in-2020/

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Bibliography Conversational Solfege Level 1 Teacher Manual: Feierabend, J.M. (2001) Book. Chicago, IL. GIA Publications, Inc. 2 Conversational Solfege Level 2 Teacher Manual: Feierabend, J.M. (2001) Book. Chicago, IL. GIA Publications, Inc. 3 Conversational Solfege Level 3 Teacher Manual, Feierabend, J.M. (2nd Edition 2018) Book. Chicago, IL. GIA Publications, Inc. 4 Feierabend Fundamentals, History, Philosophy, and Practice, Feierabend, J.M. & Strong, M. (2018) Book. Chicago, IL. GIA Publications, Inc. 5 Teaching Harmony and Improvisation Using Conversational Solfege, Feierabend, J.M. (2020) Book. Chicago, IL. GIA Publications, Inc. 1

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Arts Advocacy Spotlight:

Katy Brodhead, Newark Public Schools Lisa Vartanian NJMEA President-Elect Dennis Argul NJMEA Advocacy Chair “Research shows that when music education is provided as part of the core curriculum, students have more motivation for school and experience an increase for both their self-confidence and their capacity to learn.” https://etmcolorado.org/ Traveling around the state this year, I’ve had opportunities to meet some of the most amazing and inspiring music educators. These individuals have given me motivation to continue the work of increasing music participation for our students in New Jersey. They also provide all of us with important lessons about how best to reach the goal of universal access to a high-quality arts education. In the fall, I attended a young people's concert hosted by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. It was a wonderful event, and it was made even better because it provided me with the opportunity to meet Katy Brodhead. Katy has been working in Newark Public Schools for 10 years, first as a music teacher (PreK-8) and currently as the district’s Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts. In addition to her supervisory role, Katy serves as urban liaison for Region 1 of the New Jersey School Music Association. As urban liaison, Katy is responsible for advancing good ideas for increasing the participation of underserved students in music education in her region. I wanted to learn more about this important work, so I sat down with Katy for a brief interview at the NJMEA convention in February. The interview helps shine a light on the incredible work Katy is doing and provides ideas for replicating the urban liaison role in other areas across our state. Many thanks to Dennis Argul for introducing me to the excellent work Katy is doing and collaborating with me on this article.

Why did you feel it was essential to create an Urban Liaison position in Region 1? Brodhead: We know that music festivals and similar events can have a significant impact on our students’ lives, increasing their ability level, getting them excited to practice and perform, exposing them to other students across the state, and preparing them for future musical opportunities. All students, no matter their socioeconomic status, should have access to them. As a teacher, however, I experienced many challenges getting my students to participate in events like these. In some cases, families couldn’t afford to pay the fees or didn’t have the means to drive students to the events. When I was able to get through those obstacles, I saw that students from North Jersey’s largest school districts—Newark, Jersey City, Paterson—were underrepresented and, in some cases, completely unrepresented. During the 2018 NJSMA Elementary Honors Band Festival, I asked Past President Joseph Spina how I could help get more students involved from these urban school districts. That one question led to a great conversation resulting in Mr. Spina creating the NJSMA Urban Liaison position. The Urban Liaison mission statement states it very clearly. My role is to “increase diverse student participation in NJSMA regional music ensembles by identifying systemic obstacles and generating solutions for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds so that all students have access to music-making opportunities.” What are the common challenges and opportunities teachers and districts face in this work? What resources/strategies have you leveraged to overcome some of the challenges? Brodhead: The opportunities are huge. Cities often

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have local community organizations and programs that are willing to support the arts. In Newark, we are fortunate to work closely with partners such as the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and Save the Music Foundation. One of my favorite aspects about working in a large city is that I am part of a community of music educators who are supported by the director of the Office of Visual and Performing Arts, Margaret El, and our superintendent, Roger León. Our district has 90 music teachers and we have joint professional development sessions with time to collaborate. I am so fortunate to be able to work with such a large group of excellent music educators, supportive administrators, and our brilliant and talented students and their families. But the challenges are many. Underserved communities definitely face disadvantages that we continue to work through. Across the North Jersey region, common challenges include a lack of instruments and supplies, higher teacher-student ratios, school schedules that don’t support sequential music instruction, and lack of access to private lessons for students. What positive steps have you seen in your tenure thus far? Brodhead: I have to celebrate the work that our NJSMA Board is doing to support the initiatives we put in place thus far. This year, we were able to translate all of our regional applications into Spanish (and will be continuing to add more languages to the list). We also are offering fee waivers for students who meet the criteria. And, for those students who need it, we have been able to provide free transportation to get to auditions and rehearsals. We are currently working with Montclair State University for students to have master classes at their high schools and are partnering with organizations that donate refurbished instruments. The NJSMA Board, under the leadership of President Diana May, is excited to share that we had a significant number of high school students who were able to participate this year in regional auditions due to fee waivers and transportation support.1 What do you see as the next steps for advocacy in our low socioeconomic districts? Brodhead: We are looking to build knowledge of the APRIL 2020

programs we’ve already put in place so that more students across the North Jersey region can take advantage of them. We are also excited to be working with Wayne Mallette, Region 2 President, who is interested in implementing similar initiatives so that we can continue to provide access to more music students across the state. In other steps, we want to start partnerships with state organizations and universities to help our high school students gain access to small group and private lessons, so they have more support to prepare for regional, state, and college auditions. Our region is also looking to build on the amazing work that teachers like Libby Gopal of East Orange School District are doing to provide professional development sessions geared toward teachers in underserved communities. We’re adding more urban/rural workshops on our June 1 Membership Day. (This is a special professional development day for our NJSMA members). These workshops are being led by some of the fantastic urban/rural educators from across our region. In Fall 2020, we will add a guitar festival and a “nontraditional” ensemble program to highlight the music that students from all communities across North Jersey are making outside of band, orchestra and choir. And that’s just the start of it. During the NJMEA Convention, I was able to meet with many outstanding music educators currently teaching in low-income communities. I received great feedback from the workshops, and we are excited to continue to expand our offerings for the next school year. Congratulations to Katy and all of the other outstanding music educators across New Jersey who are helping their students learn the joy of music. If you can join us at the following meet-ups, RSVP to Katy. All are welcome! NJSMA Region 1 Urban/Rural Meet-Up – Saturday, May 16th Location: TBD NJSMA Region 2 Urban/Rural Meet-Up - Friday, May 15th Location: TBD Dennis Argul at dennisargul@gmail.com Katy Brodhead at urban@njsma.com Lisa Vartanian at lvartanian@paramusschools.org 1

Free/reduced lunch students are able to get all North Jersey audition and participation fees waived by completing a fee waiver form when submitting their applications. This form also has an option for students to request support with transportation to/from regional events.

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THE PERFECT SUMMER EXPERIENCE FOR EVERY MUSIC STUDENT AGE 10-17!

Band Orchestra Choir Music Theater Chamber + Percussion Ensembles Jazz + Rock Combos

JULY 12-JULY 25, 2020 Visit us on the web at

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Arts Education Data Project Accelerates from Partnerships with CMA Foundation and The Music Man Foundation Warren, N.J. (February 13, 2020)—The CMA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Country Music Association, and The Music Man Foundation have added their voices and financial resources to the Arts Education Data Project (www.artseddata.org) — an ambitious research campaign that’s revolutionizing the understanding of, and increasing participation in, arts education in the United States. A joint effort between State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education (SEADAE) and Quadrant Research, the project is a systemic, data-driven approach to charting the current status of arts education in the United States. By providing valuable insights about arts education’s future direction, the project ultimately serves to increase student participation in all schools across the country. Grants from the CMA Foundation and The Music Man Foundation combine with support from other longtime partners including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, NAMM Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, and Little Kids Rock. This new round of funding will help the AEDP scale nationally, so that states will, for the first time, be able to move the conversation about the status and condition of arts education from opinion to factual evidence, while empowering arts educators and supporters to better support their programs. Led by longtime arts advocate and researcher Robert Morrison, Quadrant Research, in partnership with SEADAE, undertook the Arts Education Data Project to reveal the true status and condition of arts education in the more than 100,000 schools serving more than 50 million students across the country. This initiative is accomplished by taking data gathered by each state department of education, standardizing the data and then transforming it into a publicly available interactive dashboard, updated annually to reflect the true status of arts education in every school, at every grade level for every student. Unlike programs where data is gathered for its own sake, the project uses the information as a launchpad for understanding how specific communities and demographic groups access arts instruction in schools. It’s fundamentally changing the way educators see their programs — and the way funds are reaching classrooms. “Arts education, especially music, continues to be a driving factor in student success both at school and in their communities, helping to shape our next generation to be collaborative, forward-thinking leaders,” said Tiffany Kerns, executive director, CMA Foundation. “It is critical that arts education be included in curriculum as we believe it is vital to a well-rounded education for students today and in the future. By investing in the Arts Education Data Project, we are able to gain insight and intel that can be utilized throughout the country to move the needle in access and equity for all students. Through this partnership we will continue to evaluate promising practices across each state, and in different regions, to better create a model that can be implemented and tracked for success.” “Too often, the children who need arts education the most have the fewest opportunities to access it. In California, the Arts Education Data Project illuminated this shortfall and we have marveled at how various partners have been able to triage the situation,” says Sarah Lyding, executive director, The Music Man Foundation. “As the Foundation aims to support programs that use music to improve children’s lives, we appreciate how the Data Project allows us to easily identify the schools and districts where our partners can fill a void. As the Project rolls out across the country, our hope is that stakeholders in every state will be empowered with data to make more equitable decisions for students.” TEMPO

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The program was first launched in Quadrant Research’s home state of New Jersey and quickly bore unprecedented results. For the first time, administrators were provided detailed objective data showing the status of arts education, diversity of course offerings and equity of program distribution. “New Jersey used the data to tackle the imbalance between different districts and bring the arts to more communities,” Morrison says. “Participation in arts education has gone from 65 percent in 2006 to 81 percent in 2018. That means more than 250,000 students are taking part in school-based arts programs every year than a decade ago.” Today, New Jersey is widely recognized as a national leader in arts education, and in 2019, it became the first state in the nation to provide universal access to arts education for all public-school students. California was next to work with Quadrant Research and SEADAE, and the data they provided played a key role in new legislation allocating $40 million to school-based arts programs. Steve Venz, the former Music Supervisor for the LA Unified School District who now serves as Chief Program Officer for Little Kids Rock, says that the data project is all about bringing transparency to arts education. “Traditionally, we simply didn’t have access to student information systems, district to district,” recalls Venz. “When the Arts Education Data Project was rolled out in California, all of a sudden, things became very transparent, in terms of student enrollment in arts classes at the middle schools and high schools. Conversations around arts education shifted from opinions to looking at quantitative data. For example, it’s one thing to say that you ‘feel’ that kids are not getting access to arts education in middle school, and another to actually see it right in front of you.” “Whether you’re a parent, teacher, arts administrator advocate, school board member or superintendent, the Arts Education Data Project enables anyone to gain access to the data immediately, to develop baselines and clearly see, year after year, where it is going,” adds Venz. “The result is that the state can now pull this information down quickly to develop federal grants and plans to further arts education. As this project goes nationwide, I believe it will eventually impact federal policy, enabling state-to-state comparisons to see what changes need to be made across the country.” Echoing this sentiment is Todd Shipley, fine arts coordinator at the Tennessee Department of Education. “The most significant benefit derived from the Arts Education Data Project is that we finally have real quantitative data to backup decision making. This data helps us locate schools and districts where there is significant participation, to guide our placement of teachers in those areas. It also helps the philanthropic community in deciding where funds can best be applied.” By the end of 2019, the project was informing decisions by educators in Arizona, California, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Wisconsin, representing 33 percent of the student population in the country. Additional states in development are Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Texas, with several more states on tap to have their data unleashed as the new funding is secured. Because the data provides detailed information within communities, it allows each state to build programs that suit its own students and teachers. According to Morrison, the goal is to expand the project to 20 states in 2020 and to reach 98 percent of American students by the end of 2022. “We want to bring the Arts Education Data Project to every state in the union,” says Morrison. “The funding from the CMA Foundation and The Music Man Foundation will make a huge difference in the lives of students. Educators are using our data to make better decisions about programs, and that makes for better outcomes for students. The ultimate goal here is for the data to be the catalyst to drive changes in arts education that will lead to increased participation for students across the nation.” “Our collaborative efforts in this work not only provide the field with a more accurate picture of what is offered in arts education across the United States, but also serve to increase student arts participation in all schools across the country,” said Dr. Julie Palkowski, board member, SEADAE. “Having the support of our new partners in the CMA Foundation and The Music Man Foundation, along with our longtime partners, helps to elevate this work to include more states, as well as generate conversations about the importance of an arts education for all.”

APRIL 2020

TEMPO

NJMEA SALUTES NEW JERSEY’S OUTSTANDING ALL-STATE MUSICIANS The New Jersey Music Educators Association is proud of the hundreds of NJMEA members who sponsor the many thousands of students who audition for Region and All-State ensembles during the year. Listed below are the outstanding musicians who were accepted into the 2019-2020 New Jersey All-State Performing Ensembles. Many hours of practice and preparation have been spent by the students and the teachers who have helped these students attain this noteworthy goal. We congratulate everyone who has been a part of these activities.

FIRST VIOLIN Nora Lee Kaylin Chung Huyan Nguyen Juliet Bu Allison Lee Catherine Kong Hannah Lin Amanda Sun Joelle Kang Miranda Qing Keitaku Iwata Selina Zhang Yujin Ha Evelyn Chao Brandon Cheng Cory Zhou Sehoon Kim Daphne Faulkner Niti Sinha Elise Hwang Ivan Wong Ethan Song

Kent Place School Churchill JR HS Conackamack MS Newark Academy Hammarskjold MS Bridgewater Raritan MS Hammarskjold MS Churchill JR HS Beck MS Montgomery Upper MS John Witherspoon MS Clinton Twp MS William Annin MS Hammarskjold MS William R Satz MS Columbia MS Rosa International MS Glenfield MS Bridgewater Raritan MS Montgomery Lower MS Thomas Grover MS Thomas Grover MS

SECOND VIOLIN Anthony Zhai Jennifer Jang Alexander Ho Katherine Zhou Julia Zhang Janice Lee Laura Ohnnu Shim Enoch Lue Sanjeev Harikrishnan Anjali Rajesh Olivia Ma Carsten Liu Samuel Pelaez

TEMPO

Montgomery Upper MS Benjamin Franklin MS Community MS Columbia MS Heritage MS Lewis F Cole MS Norwood Public School Home School Montgomery Upper MS Bridgewater Raritan MS Crossroads North MS William Allen MS Harrington MS

Heather Lee Maxine Chen Owen Wei David Mo Youhao Steve Wang Rachel Bae Edward Zheng Kim Dayeon Mirella Richard Alan Zhong Jaimie Liao

Voorhees MS Princeton Day School John Adams MS Ridgewood HS Edison Int School Lewis F Cole MS Heritage MS River Dell MS Robert R Lazar MS The Pingry School Community MS

VIOLA Ayush Narain Matthew Lee Riley Park Bori Chung Annie Miao Hannah Lee Kevin May Kevin Chen Sarayu Kodali Alena Zhang Jessica Lee Hannah Lee Keaton Chien Sresth Gupta Audrey Shin

West Orange HS Churchill JR HS Bridgewater Raritan MS Creskill MS Montgomery Upper MS Montgomery Upper MS Churchill JR HS Edison Int School Community MS Beck MS Tenakill MS John Witherspoon MS Princeton Charter School Community MS Harrington MS

CELLO Alexander Kwak JaeAh Shin Katrina Lee Benjamin Chang Amy Mao Jonathan Wey Matthew Kim Justin Tam Josephine Kim Ian Zhang Caleb Park Emma Lin Ethan Lee Youngwoon Chang Crystal Yuen Ken Takagi

Moorestown Friends Churchill JR HS Kenmt Place School William Annin MS Montgomery Upper MS William Annin MS Oak Hill Academy Woodrow Wilson MS Churchill JR HS Black River MS The Pingry School Churchill JR HS Hammarskjold MS DeMasi MS Lawrence MS Chatham MS BASS

Laura-Simone Martin Pracchi Chakraborty Vishva Gajaraj Gaurav Kakarla Isabella Francisco Aryaman Tomar Kenneth Telebrico Luke Piszar

Lawrence MS Thomas Grover MS Churchill JR HS Community MS Hammarskjold MS Community MS Woodrow Wilson MS Stafford Int School

APRIL 2020

FIRST VIOLIN Hannah Park Tenafly HS Charles McGrath Princeton HS Rebecca Kim Cherry Hill HS East Mia Huang Peddie School Cassandra Jin Princeton HS Ryan Nguyen Morris Hills HS Daniel Kwon Cherry Hill HS East Eric Baw Ridgewood HS Kara Lui High Technology HS Dave Ki Watchung Hills Reg HS Charlotte Depew Bernards HS Dorian Ho Union Co Acad/Allied Health Sci Tyler Wu Watchung Hills Reg HS Sydney Yan Biotechnology HS Kristin Tsay Newark Academy Hoon Heen Rhew Ridgewood HS Priscilla Peters Randolph HS Patrick Liang W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Michelle Qing Montgomery HS Navya Sinha Bridgewater-Raritan HS Ashley Kim Ridgewood HS Isabel Lee Ridgewood HS Cole Calavano Toms River HS North

Colin Lee South Brunswick HS Kelly Kim Villa Walsh Academy Kristine Bartley Jefferson Twp HS Emmanuel Lyngberg W Windsor-Plainsboro So Elayne Jia W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So

David K. Kim Moorestown HS David S. Kim Freehold HS Jooahn Yoo Edison HS Kathleen Zhang Peddie School William Yoo No Highlands Reg HS Joshua Kim High Technology HS Soomin Kim Bergen County Academies Edwin Chao East Brunswick HS Haerin Kim Bridgewater Raritan HS Noah Wu Cherry Hill High East Varun Nathan W Windsor-Plainsboro HS No Melissa Liu W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Grace Kim W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Alexander Moon Governor Livingston HS Jeremy Lin The Pingry School Ashley Zhang W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Stephen Andrews Chatham HS

SECOND VIOLIN

STRING BASS Sruti Bapatla W Windsor-Plainsboro HS No Jason Meusel Columbia HS Nitin Reganti W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Varun Mehrotra East Brunswick HS Sally Lynch East Brunswick HS Andrew Enrile Bergenfield HS Kelly Eagan Westfield HS Arthur Li W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Ved Karamsetty W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So

Jeffrey Cheng Bridgewater Raritan HS Daniel Son Ridgewood HS Andrew Chung John P Stevens HS Hyun Woo Ro Dwight Englewood HS Kyle Huang Peddie School Hannah Su Princeton Day School Jaclyn Kim Cherry Hill HS East Kieran Lucus Randolph HS Charis Liu Moorestown HS Irene Lee W Windsor-Plainsboro HS No Kelvin Zheng East Brunswick HS

APRIL 2020

Jason Zhou Joseph Yoon Jonathan Yu Andrea Lim

Bridgewater Raritan HS No Valley Reg HS/Demarest Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS No Valley Reg HS/Old Tappan

CELLO

Samantha Liu Ridge HS Raymond Jin W Windsor-Plainsboro HS No Anni Yi W Windsor-Plainsboro HS No Shoshana Zeiger Randolph HS Paul Jeong River Dell Reg HS Michael Sun East Brunswick HS Amy Xiao Westfield HS Joon Lee Cresskill HS Ava Ostrem Collingswood HS Chelsea Lu Paramus HS Michael Shen East Brunswick HS Jeremy Chen South Brunswick HS Sebin Bok No Valley Reg HS/Demarest Mia Moon Bergen County Academies Joyce Lee Biotechnology HS Amanda Lu Montgomery HS Ye Zin Cho Bergen County Academies Garvin Kim Paramus HS William Sun Princeton Day School Stephen Cheng Millburn HS Jeffrey Li Ridge HS Vanessa Qiu Whippany Park HS Verna Chen High Technology HS VIOLA

CLARINET

FRENCH HORN TJ Viola West Essex Reg HS Thomas McGrath Princeton HS Aprina Wang Westfield HS Ethan Zhang Millburn HS Leah Shiff Newark Academy Niobe Tsoutsouris Millburn HS Sunny Ball Point Pleasant Boro HS Elizabeth Ferrara W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So TRUMPET Benjamin Hambro Nicholas Salerno Emmanuel Ramos Shriyaus Lingam Drew Borek Max Tennant

TROMBONE Ryan Smith Cristina Sarrico Joseph Wentworth Julia Irizarry Hayden Lovinfosse Timmy Chen

Bridgewater Raritan HS FLUTE

Arianna Reischer Monica Nowik Kathrin Schumacher Anthea Zhang

Eastern Reg HS Little Way Co-op Kittatinny HS Cherry Hill HS East

BASS TROMBONE

Montgomery HS South Brunswick HS Westfield HS Westfield HS

ENGLISH HORN Tyler Gurth

Parsippany Hills HS BASSOON

West Milford HS TUBA

Zachary Solano

Roxbury HS

BATTERY PERCUSSION Mayank Paliwal Patrick Flynn Rishi Shah Aayush Gupta

OBOE Elizabeth Yang Shreyas Kanwar Tia Lemberg Valerie Chang

Rancocas Valley Reg HS Watchung Hills Reg HS Parsippany Hills HS Colonia HS Toms River HS South John P Stevens HS

Ben McLaughlin

PICCOLO Ella Pfaff

Egg Harbor Twp HS Howell HS JFK Memorial HS John P Stevens HS Allentown HS Westfield HS

John P Stevens HS Jefferson Twp HS John P Stevens HS John P Stevens HS TIMPANI

Josh Conklin

Ridge HS

MALLET PERCUSSION Christine Castellano

Egg Harbor Twp HS

HARP Chloe Chung

Pingry School

Kaylin Ku W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Amanda Rutkowski Southern Reg HS Ishaan Subramanian Millburn HS Hannah Stroh Parsippany Hills HS

TEMPO

SOPRANO I Anna Creel Summit HS Barenya Das Churchill Jr HS Larissa Garneau Woodstown HS Emma Guan Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Medha Gurukiran John P Stevens HS Taylor Hastings Millville Sr HS Gabriela Henriquez Ridgefield Mem HS Kelly Irwin Hillsborough HS Namita Kalghatgi Ridge HS Marisa Knipfer Seneca HS Gabrielle Lee John P Stevens HS Shannon Leff Monroe Twp HS Michelle Lerma Bergenfield HS Paige Liloia Mahwah HS Maria Lorge Absegami HS Ariadne Mahadeo Cranford HS Lila Mahaffy Cherry Hill HS West Juliana Marston Kinnelon HS Allison Matthews Pemberton Twp HS Chloe McCandless Ridgewood HS Lauren McCandless Ridgewood HS Amber Miller Camden Co Tech School Jea Molina Bergenfield HS Sophia Mozzachio Audubon Jr/Sr HS Katie Nieto Kinnelon HS Jocelyn Oberle Bergen Co Acad Kathryn Rich Monroe Twp HS Emma Riebe Hunterdon Cen Reg HS Kaya Robinson Palmyra HS Desiree Santos Cranford HS Katherine Seifer Millburn HS Anjali Shah Holmdel HS Stacy Shang Rutherford HS Snehal Sinha Bridgewater-Raritan HS Abby Sirinides Kinnelon HS Alyssa Tanti Cedar Grove HS Grace Trenouth Columbia HS Siri Vaddiparti Morris Hills HS Karmina Wall Parsippany HS Amy Wu Bridgewater-Raritan HS SOPRANO II Veena Arunkumar Janet Beshai Olivia Cappello Lucie Chantepie Brooke Chapple Kyra Cioffi Mya Corby Laurel Cousineau

TEMPO

Bridgewater-Raritan HS Bridgewater-Raritan HS Freehold Twp HS Red Bank Reg HS Kittatinny Reg HS Rutherford HS Hunterdon Cent Reg HS Roxbury HS

Victoria Cutalo Tiernan Dautle Mary Doherty Olivia Dunleavy Avery Fogg Hannah Graham Sarah Gunther Vidushi Kataria Katelyn Kociancic Ashley Kornreich Emma Kriege Elizabeth LeBoeuf Julia Mancuso Kiara Oelkers Ellie Paschalis Khushi Patel Sarah Patunas Erin Peters Julia Ramsay Hailey Riccardo Emily Romero Sarah Ross Kriti Saxena Sydney Spencer EmmaCate Sullivan Caroline Tenberge Srivalli Valluri

Cedar Grove HS Cherry Hill HS East Kittatinny Reg HS River Dell Reg HS Ridgewood HS Morris Hills HS Woodstown HS Bridgewater-Raritan HS W Morris Mendham HS Parsippany Hills HS Kittatinny Reg HS Hillsborough HS Red Bank Reg HS Kittatinny Reg HS No Jersey Home Sch Assn Saddle Brook MS/HS Ramsey HS Hanover Park HS Cranford HS Hackettstown HS Cherry Hill HS West Morris Hills HS John P Stevens HS Red Bank Reg HS Audubon Jr/Sr HS Morris Knolls HS Hackettstown HS ALTO I

Laura Alba Leonia HS Amy Alfuso Freehold Twp HS Emma Allen Belvidere HS Karen Andre Verona HS Alexis Borowic High Point Reg HS Pilar Carranza Leonia HS Emma Cecilio Williamstown HS Mo de Poortere W Morris Mendham HS Catherine DeRienzo Secaucus HS Gabriella Dunay Westwood Reg Jr/Sr HS Jessica Fearon Cedar Grove HS Julia Fisher Shawnee HS Jerrine George Mount Saint Mary Acad Gabrielle Guida Raritan HS Tyler Hilton Churchill Jr HS Riya Kishen Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Sofia Little Cranford HS Grace Mabli Ridgewood HS Isabella Masso Bishop Eustace Prep School Gabriela Mutone Roxbury HS Serah Njoroge Roxbury HS Monica Nowik Little Way Homeschool

Ciara O’Hanlon-Boone Columbia HS Bethany Oliveri Audubon Jr/Sr HS Madelyn Ortiz Hillsborough HS Neha Pai Bridgewater-Raritan HS Sarah Pasquale Red Bank Reg HS Sarah Quinn Randolph HS Jahnvi Seshadri Monroe Twp HS Vedanshi Sharma John P Stevens HS Annaika Taneja East Brunswick HS Rhea Telidevara John P Stevens HS Selena Wang John P Stevens HS Olivia Willms Morris Knolls HS ALTO II Mahati Agumamidi No Burlington Co Reg HS Annabelle Avelino Summit HS Maya Ben-Harush Howell HS Emily Broadhurst W Morris Central HS Robyn Burger Livingston HS Layla Clarke Chatham HS Shyanna Depew Cinnaminson HS Isha Devarasetty East Brunswick HS Ava Estacio-Touhey Shawnee HS Kristina Gelber River Dell Reg HS Rebecca Germaine Cherry Hill HS East Alexa Giacoio Kinnelon HS Emily Gilligan Warren Hills Reg HS Rachel Giuffrida Howell HS Lauren Holmes Howell HS Kaitlyn Hulme Howell HS Mia Johnson Westfield Sr HS Margaret Johnson Hillsborough HS Niyati Kashyap Ridge HS Madeline Keane Ramsey HS Lauren Keimer Highland Reg HS Lyra Koncsol Hillsborough HS Alexandra Lino Warren Hills Reg HS Kathleen McClaughry Somerville HS Sheryl Peng Roxbury HS Katherine Preisig No Burlington Co Reg HS Christine Purschke Chatham HS Lauren Rus Ridge HS Izabelle Schoen No Burlington Co Reg HS Alexandra Slofkiss Howell HS Gabrielle Sokolowski Cinnaminson HS Gina Tierno Highland Reg HS Dhrithi Valluri John P. Stevens HS Vaishnavi Vinodhkanna John P Stevens HS Elena Waddleton Hillsborough HS Kristy Yoon Ridgefield Mem HS

APRIL 2020

SAXOPHONES Matthew Miller, Alto I Rafael DeMoura, Alto II Andrew Yan, Tenor I Adithi Balasubramanian, Tenor II James Narayanan, Bari

TROMBONES Seneca HS Cherry Hill HS East Princeton HS Princeton HS Watchung Hills Reg HS

Gabriel Ruszala Stefanie Haas Nathaniel Levas Justin Farquhar

W Essex HS Ridgewood HS Shawnee HS Cherokee HS RHYTHM SECTION

TRUMPETS Michael Weintraub Joshua Free Alan Wu Kass Farnum

Lizzie Appel-Caraccioli Leia Gibson Mia Grizzuti Emilianne Hatke Isabella Lopez Priya Naphade Emily Orlowski Catherine Villa Ama Wickramanayake Aidan Becker Caleb Briggs Alexander Cattani Dylan Gozdziewski

APRIL 2020

Robbinsville HS Cherokee HS Livingston HS Shawnee HS

Kimberley Acad Burlington Twp HS W Milford Twp HS Hopewell Valley Cent HS Piscataway HS Hopewell Valley Cent HS Burlington Twp HS Butler HS Burlington Twp HS W Milford Twp HS Hopewell Valley Cent HS Burlington Twp HS Burlington Twp HS

Peter Rushing, Piano Neelan Kumar, Bass Ian Hurrel, Guitar Rafi Colton-Max, Drums

Bryan McNaughton Logan Mirthes Max Rueda Joseph Schuyler Owen Seftor

Shawnee HS Dwight Englewood HS Livingston HS Golda Och Acad

Shawnee HS Butler HS St. Peter’s Prep Burlington Twp HS Hopewell Valley Cent HS

RHYTHM SECTION James Bally, Piano Paul Reinhold, Bass Irina Mukhametzhanova, Guitar Koleby Royston, Drums

Elizabeth HS Middletown HS North Princeton HS Piscataway HS

TEMPO

SOPRANO 1 Summer Alfonso Saddle Brook MS/HS Liyah Austin West Morris Central HS Taylor Bailey Roxbury HS Bela Battu Livingston HS Hannah Cohen Cherry Hill HS East Deonia Conquest Overbrook Senior HS Catherine Creed Red Bank Reg HS Faith Crossan Clearview Reg HS Brianna Davies Parsippany Hills HS Eleanor Dishong Moorestown HS Olivia Ebel Westfield Senior HS Bailey Felderman Ramsey HS Claire Flynn Delran HS Sophia Garvin Mahwah HS Sydney Goldstein Hillsborough HS Henia Grajcar No Jersey Home Sch Assn Abigail Griffin Hillsborough HS Sam Horvath Westfield Senior HS Julia Jablonski Cedar Grove HS Caroline Kienzle Moorestown HS Olivia Leto Mahwah HS Natalie Ligotino Allentown HS Allison Los Ramsey HS Maeve Marron Ridgewood HS Sophia Masullo Bergen Co Academies Mackenna McLaughlin Allentown HS Amanda Melchers Roxbury HS Kayla Oh Hawthorne Christian Academy Samantha Polhemus Howell HS Mackenzy Reilly Roxbury HS Catherine Rowe Brick Twp Mem HS Olivia Scanzera Randolph HS Sabrina Schubert Hillsborough HS Danielle Serrao Hunterdon Cent Reg HS Dist Saloni Shah John P. Stevens HS Mia Shapiro Toms River HS East Sydney Smith Woodstown HS Angela Song Pascack Valley HS Faith Stack Allentown HS Alyssa Trautman Cinnaminson HS Carolyn Weber Howell HS Ava Weil W Morris Mendham HS Brooke Wilkins No Valley Reg HS/Old Tappan Cecilia Young Clearview Reg HS SOPRANO 2 Riley Aviles Marin Barneetz Erin Blake Emma Bogusz Marisa Brinkman Chloe Budd Olivia Canova Meghna Das Heather Doherty Ariana Eftimiu Sarah Greiner Evelyn Husta Neranjana Iyer Maya Jacoby Hannah Joung

TEMPO

Ridge HS Audubon JR/SR HS Cranford HS Allentown HS Roxbury HS Parsippany HS Sparta HS John P. Stevens HS Roxbury HS No Highlands Reg HS Ridgefield Memorial HS Oakcrest HS Monroe Twp HS Red Bank Reg HS Tenafly HS

Hunter LaPlante Julia Lupi Grace Mazzola Erin Miklencic Hope Miller Alexis Mosley Charlotte Newton Alexis O’Rourke Elizabeth Pereira Rachelle Philip Angelle Philip Mary Price Anna Rehberg Emma Rentzel Brielle Roll Kaitlynn Russell Jade Scharnikow Kelly Taylor Kayla Thomas Isabella Tjan Mishti Tomar Gianna Vanore Ananya Vasireddy Katelyn Viszoki Sophia Waninger Carina Williams

Shawnee HS Howell HS Pitman HS Cranford HS Clearview Reg HS Williamstown HS Hillsborough HS Lyndhurst HS Cranford HS Montville Twp HS Bergen Co Academies Monroe Twp HS Montville Twp HS Pitman HS Woodstown HS Monroe Twp HS Piscataway HS Howell HS Morris Hills HS Pascack Valley HS John P. Stevens HS Gateway Reg HS Morris Hills HS Monroe Twp HS Cinnaminson HS Moorestown HS ALTO 1

Katherine Azan Allentown HS Lea Barone Charter-Tech HS Yohanna Bauerdorf Pemberton Twp HS Viviana Beckford Cranford HS Allison Bekas Saddle Brook MS/HS Emily Bekas Saddle Brook MS/HS Emily Brennan Hackettstown HS Angelena Browne Rutgers Prep School Joanna Calvo Rutherford HS Alyssa Campagna Audubon JR/SR HS Ilana Chalom Livingston HS Amelia Collins Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Jacquelyn Conforti Red Bank Reg HS Marissa Dionne Newton HS Gianna DiTucci Wayne Valley HS Emily Douglass Cherry Hill HS West Marissa Forster Overbrook Senior HS Priyal Garg East Brunswick HS Riya Gupta Millburn HS Shraddha Hariharan John P. Stevens HS Zaria Katz Westfield Senior HS Nithya Kumar Monroe Twp HS Samantha Lampson Charter-Tech HS Juyoung Lee Bergen Co Academies JoAnn Liu West Morris Central HS Lucia Magri Camden Co Tech School Paige Min Bergen Co Academies Adya Mohanty Mahwah HS Omara Morales Leonia HS Maya Muthuramalingam N Burlington Co HS Grace Petersen Chatham HS Brianna Petrella Cinnaminson HS Riley Roback Overbrook Senior HS Ava Silverman Cedar Grove HS

Faith Sirdashney Eastern Reg HS Rebecca Stocknoff Morris Hills HS Sanjana Sureshbabu Robbinsville HS Abigail Swaney Haddon Twp HS Talia Tardogno Red Bank Reg HS Susannah Taylor Ridgewood HS Morgan Tencza Cedar Grove HS Alexa Vierschilling Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Lorelai Waka Howell HS Michelle Yang Fort Lee HS Sara Zerilli Red Bank Reg HS ALTO 2 Ella Arnauer Cherry Hill HS West Maeve Barclay Hawthorne Christian Acad Julia Buonacquista Middletown HS North Maddie Bustamante Montville Twp HS Yuna Chung River Dell Reg HS Victoria Coey Immaculata HS Alyssa Dionne Newton HS Gretchen Fix Warren Hills Reg HS Justyanna Fortna Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Cassie Fox Belvidere HS Jenna Freitas Lyndhurst HS Arianna Granda Morris Knolls HS Zoe Hack Hillsborough HS Emily Huguenin Howell HS Arianna Joseph Gateway Reg HS Varsha Karthik John P. Stevens HS Kathy Kim Tenafly HS Micaela Kraker Rutgers Prep School Kaitlyn Lazorchak Hunterdon Cent Reg HS Dist Sheikh Mahmud Egg Harbor Twp HS Caelen Mahoney Saddle Brook MS/HS Julia Malczynski Roxbury HS Zoe Maroko Howell HS Kaylene Munem Kinnelon HS Lydia Nisita Westfield Senior HS Samantha Perez High Point Reg HS Izzy Ramirez Howell HS Olivia Rebernik Roxbury HS Emily Rheinhardt Roxbury HS Elyse Rho Tenafly HS Misha'el Richardson Lindenwold HS Annalyse Rosario-Correa Overbrook Senior HS Elisa Saint-Denis Westfield Senior HS Caitlin Schwarz Hillsborough HS Rachel Seiden Westfield Senior HS Sumaiyah Siddiqui Ridgefield Memorial HS Natalie Slavin Audubon JR/SR HS Alexandra Smith Seneca HS Rebekah Soliman Mahwah HS Maya Sta. Ana Howell HS Samantha Thomas hawnee HS Allyson Vetter Egg Harbor Twp HS Taylor Wise Washington Twp HS Kyiani Womack Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS

APRIL 2020

TENOR 1 Michael Balestriere St. Augustine Prep School Cedrick Caballar Monroe Twp HS Jack Caldes Clearview Reg HS Isaac Chung Ridgefield Memorial HS Michael Chung Fort Lee HS Joseph Destra Washington Twp HS Julian Figueroa Morris Hills HS Jake Gebeline St. Augustine Prep School Joseph Greble Audubon JR/SR HS Ronan Green Chatham HS Benjamin Hahn Red Bank Reg HS Alex Iozzio Columbia HS Suved Joshi John P. Stevens HS Alexis Marini Woodstown HS Roy McGowan Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Finn McGurn Westfield Senior HS Jack McHugh Verona HS Matthew Meixner Westfield Senior HS David Patulot Carteret HS Aditya Phatak Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Liam Rust Sparta HS John Sayles Haddon Twp HS Spencer Scalamoni Roxbury HS Nathaniel Smith Gateway Reg HS Owen Strong Audubon JR/SR HS Samuel Tait Audubon JR/SR HS Spencer von Summer Ridgewood HS Alden Walker Haddon Twp HS Reidyn Wingate Piscataway HS Paul Wise Bergen Co Academies Caleb Zettell Freehold Twp HS TENOR 2 Julian Ade East Brunswick HS Vincent Bai Ranney School Matthew Blankley Red Bank Reg HS Paris Calderon Ridgefield Memorial HS Benjamin Carino Howell HS Christian Catong Howell HS James Cavanaugh-Gialloreto Robbinsville HS Tobias Chernesky Hunterdon Cent Reg HS Dist Daniel Chu Ridgefield Memorial HS Joseph Colaneri Jackson Memorial HS Zacchary Cruz Kittatinny Reg HS Ryan Daly Immaculata HS Shaan Desai Hillsborough HS Samuel Garcia Kittatinny Reg HS Jonathan Hajduk Belvidere HS Zachary Halteman Newton HS Andrew Hickman Millville Senior HS Justin Hong Leonia HS Lamonte Jordan No Burlington Co Reg HS Grant King West Essex HS Viraaj Kumar John P. Stevens HS Joshua Madera Westfield Senior HS Cristian Marrero Roxbury HS Joshua McCord Matawan Reg HS Dante Mejia Mahwah HS Arjun Menon Howell Home School James Minardi Kinnelon HS Takahito Mori Bergen Co Tech HS

APRIL 2020

Joseph Muscarelle Ramsey HS Ian O'Neill Red Bank Reg HS Lars Olsen West Morris Central HS Aishik Palit Westfield Senior HS Mukund Ramakrishnan John P. Stevens HS Tyler Redmond West Morris Central HS Efrain Roman Kittatinny Reg HS Matteo Rosales Saddle Brook MS/HS Aditya Roy Chatham HS Paolo Saludades Moorestown HS Samuel Sanchez Saddle Brook MS/HS Jack Schutzenhofer Red Bank Reg HS Reid Shriver Lower Cape May Reg HS James Siasoyco Bergenfield HS Christopher Simon West Morris Mendham HS Rahul Singh John P. Stevens HS Nathan Todd No Burlington Co Reg HS Joseph Tremitiedi Parsippany HS Ahir Verma Watchung Hills Reg HS Gianni Vivas Cranford HS Robert Wiliams Millville Senior HS Maximilian Wisnefski Cranford HS Ray Zhang East Brunswick HS BASS 1 Jacen Abbott Paulsboro HS Omar Abdallah Roxbury HS Rashaun Ashley East Orange Campus HS Luke Barry Westfield Senior HS Steven Burns Roxbury HS Evan Centofanti Hillsborough HS Philip Chun John F. Kennedy Mem HS Jason Collins Gateway Reg HS Matthew Conlon Hillsborough HS Joseph Coyne Cranford HS Peter Cuddihy Cherry Hill HS East Robert Cuff St. Augustine Prep School Robert Dobies Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Nathaniel Eck Chatham HS Olaoluwa Fawole Columbia HS Jackson Flower East Brunswick HS Kyler Ford Haddon Twp HS Owen Gavigan Hillsborough HS Kevin Gilroy Hanover Park HS Mario Giordano Ridgefield Memorial HS Mark Green Millville Memorial HS Dashiell Green Chatham HS Varun Karry John P. Stevens HS Justin Kim Ridgefield Memorial HS Ryan Kim Ridgefield Memorial HS Matthew King Audubon JR/SR HS Daniel Klimko Cranford HS Noah Kopla Cranford HS Joshua Lemma Roxbury HS Matthew Madonna Lyndhurst HS Qingshi Meng Rutgers Prep School Vincent Mora Westfield Senior HS Ayden Mossmann Mahwah HS Michael Munzer Bridgewater-Raritan HS Rishikesh Nayar Hillsborough HS Ayush Patel John P. Stevens HS Anthony Paterno Parsippany Hills HS

David Petrov Roxbury HS Gerard Rabulan Immaculata HS Benjamin Russell Woodstown HS Michael Sagedy Cherry Hill HS West Joseph Shan W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Miles Silverstein Columbia HS Ryan Spadafina Vernon Twp HS Daniel Stein No Valley Reg HS/Old Tappan Garrett Vanni Kittatinny Reg HS Elton Vaz John P. Stevens HS BASS 2 Daniel Andrade Westfield Senior HS Casey Beidel Bergen Co Academies Jonathan Bekas Saddle Brook MS/HS Sean Bray Haddon Twp HS Mason Catrambone Williamstown HS Russell Chandler Gateway Reg HS Daniel Chung Shawnee HS David Cruz Robbinsville HS Philip Duncan Hawthorne Christian Acad Charlie Garretson Westfield Senior HS Thomas Gilligan Ramsey HS Jacob Hachey oxbury HS Syr Hadley Millville Memorial HS Alfred Jones Williamstown HS James Kandathil Piscataway HS Justin Kurbansade Roxbury HS Eric Kwon Fort Lee HS Malhar Lakshman Bridgewater-Raritan HS Nathaniel Laude Pemberton Twp HS Ian Lertola West Morris Central HS Aaron Lockwood Mahwah HS Brandon Luckenbaugh Hillsborough HS Jeffrey Luk Holmdel HS Matthew Malsbury Roxbury HS Andrew McCauley Saddle Brook MS/HS Joseph Negron Roxbury HS Samuel Orr High Point Reg HS Zachary Orr Morris Hills HS Michael Pyo Newark Academy Asher Shectman Cranford HS Leo Shim Leonia HS Justin Siochi Monroe Twp HS Michael Sorkin Millburn HS Matthew Taddei Ridgewood HS Gavin Tomasco Morris Hills HS Hrishikesh Vasudevan No Brunswick Twp HS Shrish Vellore John P. Stevens HS Owen Walor Holmdel HS

TEMPO

PICCOLO Kathrin Schumacher

CONTRABASS CLARINET

Kittatinny Reg HS

Anthony Tellez

Arianna Reischer Eastern Reg HS Ashley Jin Bridgewater Raritan HS Katrina Lin Summit HS Audrey Yang Princeton HS OBOE Abigail Lee Parsippany Hills HS Tiffany Chao W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So

Timothy Chen

FLUTE

Parsippany Hills HS

Columbia HS Southern Reg HS

Eb SOPRANO CLARINET Lillian Tsai

Bridgewater Raritan HS Bb CLARINET

Daniel Ketter Fair Lawn HS Daniel Zeng Watchung Hills Reg HS Jihyung Kim Cherokee HS Annie Wang Piscataway HS Eunice Koo Tenafly HS Christian Lee Acad at Englewood Nathan Zhong John P Stevens HS Benjamin Swinchoski Biotechnology HS Zach No Rancocas Valley Reg HS Eb ALTO CLARINET Matthew Cipriaso

Montgomery HS

Monroe Twp HS

Bb BASS CLARINET

West Milford HS

EUPHONIUM Steven Sack Matt Veal

Morris Hills HS West Orange HS

ALTO SAXOPHONE Yun Hyon Kieran Corcoran

Metuchen HS Ridgewood HS

TUBA Zachary Solano Wesley Sanders

Roxbury HS Vernon Twp HS

TENOR SAXOPHONE Tristan Ly

STRING BASS

Washington Twp HS Aidan To

Parsippany Hills HS

BARITONE SAXOPHONE James Narayanan

BASSOON Seth Peiris Amanda Rutkowski

Ben McLaughlin

SOPRANO SAXOPHONE

ENGLISH HORN Tyler Gurth

South Brunswick HS

BASS TROMBONE

Watchung Hills Reg HS TRUMPET

Emmanuel Ramos John F Kennedy Mem HS Ryan Yu No. Highlands Reg HS Carlos Hernandez John P Stevens HS Dhruv Banerji South Brunswick HS Shriyaus Lingam John P Stevens HS Samarth Sitwala John P Stevens H FRENCH HORN Samantha Strickland Thomas Viola Thomas McGrath Niobe Tsoutsouris Sonny Ball

Bridgewater Raritan HS West Essex Reg HS Princeton HS Millburn HS Point Pleasant Boro HS

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BATTERY PERCUSSION Mayank Paliwal Aayush Gupta Shreyes Varde Cameron Kalik Johnny Xu

John P Stevens HS John P Stevens HS John P Stevens HS Bridgewater Raritan HS John P Stevens HS

MALLET PERCUSSION Matthew Vibora Joshua Fabricant Riya Sharma

Absegami HS Monroe Twp HS Monroe Twp HS TIMPANI

Gautam Namjoshi

Ridge HS PIANO

Tiffany Yang

No Highlands Reg HS

Vaishak Krishna Bridgewater Raritan HS Nathan Hansen Point Pleasant Boro HS Rishi Patel W Windsor-Plainsboro HS No Cristina Sarrico Watchung Hills Reg HS

Sage Ji Bergen Co Tech HS-Teterboro Matthew Miller Seneca HS

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APRIL 2020

Ashley Ko

Montgomery HS FLUTE

Karina Yang Ridge HS Rebecca Hsiao Parsippany HS Chloe Nam Ridgewood HS Addison Chu John P Stevens HS Mamata Bhangale South Brunswick HS Sarah Jung Tenafly HS Hannah Lee East Brunswick HS Abigail Lim Ramsey HS Seehanah Tang Holmdel HS Celine Hong Acad of the Holy Angels Sojung Kim Palisades Park Jr/Sr HS Ellen Wu W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So

Newark Academy South Brunswick HS South Brunswick HS Ridgewood HS

ENGLISH HORN Winston Lee

Wayne Valley HS BASSOON

Casey Delsandro Lucas Wang Samhita Tatavarty Rachael Ngai

Chatham HS Ridgewood HS Ridge HS John P Stevens HS

Eb SOPRANO CLARINET Alice Yang

Bridgewater Raritan HS

Bb SOPRANO CLARINET Joseph Yoon No Valley Reg HS-Demarest Colin Ly Washington Twp HS Jonathan Yu Scotch Plains-Fanwood HS Alan Wang Watchung Hills Reg HS Alex Cha Westfield HS Richard Zhu Cherry Hill HS East Jason Zhou Bridgewater Raritan HS Matthew Kang No Valley Reg HS-Demarest Katie Tan Watchung Hills Reg HS Isaac Yi Bergen Co Tech HS-Teterboro Ethan Ju South Brunswick HS Andrea Lim No Valley Reg HS-Old Tappan Ashton Ahn Cherry Hill HS East Colin Merkovsky Dumont HS Arthur Ang John P Stevens HS Allan Zhang Lawrenceville School Tim Liang Princeton HS Sewon Kim W Windsor-Plainsboro HS So Aidan Zhao Ridge HS Derrick Yu John P Stevens HS Daniel Zhang Watchung Hills Reg HS Barak Dosunmu Moorestown HS Jenny Fan Princeton Day School Seung Hee Rhew Ridgewood HS

APRIL 2020

Kelly Yao Dareen Bakr Hannah Zhang Antonietta DiDonato

John P Stevens HS John P Stevens HS John P Stevens HS New Egypt HS

Bb BASS CLARINET Shaurya Gunderia Abhinav Vayyeti Christopher Seo Christopher Hyon

South Brunswick HS John P Stevens HS John P Stevens HS Metuchen HS

CONTRABASS CLARINET Rachel Blume

Conor Daly Joseph Wentworth Timmy Chen Edward Mistretta Aditya Chakrabarti Julia Irizarry Jimmy Chen Gabriel Ruszala Zachary Soricelli

SOPRANO SAXOPHONE Roxbury HS

ALTO SAXOPHONE Anna Konrad-Parisi Phil Balint Suvan Sundaresh Ryan Newell

Verona HS Shawnee HS John P Stevens HS Kittatinny Reg HS

TENOR SAXOPHONE Ryan Huh Joanna Saxon

John P Stevens HS Wayne Valley HS

BARITONE SAXOPHONE Sreekar Vishwanathan Elijah Spadea

John P Stevens HS Triton Reg HS

TRUMPET Max Tennant Nicholas Salerno Jonathan Xavier Stanley Lim James Lobb Joshua Shen Kishore Madhav Matthew Schaefer Drew Borek Anthony Paterno Nicholas Del Rosso Alex Kim Rick Wallert

Westfield HS Howell HS South Brunswick HS West Orange HS Kittatinny Reg HS Bridgewater Raritan HS South Brunswick HS Watchung Hills Reg HS Allentown HS Parsippany Hills HS Bergen Co Acad Ridgewood HS Wayne Hills HS

FRENCH HORN Aprina Wang Westfield HS Nikhil Sampath Montgomery HS Garrison Huddleston Glen Ridge HS Daniel Laird Millville Sr HS Maximillian Ansonoff Fair Lawn HS Brian Herman W Morris Mendham HS Ben Watkins Watchung Hills Reg HS Joseph Sutton Egg Harbor Twp HS

Westfield HS Parsippany Hills HS John P Stevens HS North Arlington HS John P Stevens HS Colonia HS Bridgewater Raritan HS West Essex Reg HS Jackson Mem HS

BASS TROMBONE David Montgomerie

Pascack Hills HS

Paulie Kemmerer

OBOE Ruthie Gu Shreyas Kanwar Rachel Wang Andrea Loo

TROMBONE

Eb ALTO CLARINET

PICCOLO

Howell HS

EUPHONIUM Joshua Park Joseph Linneman Ishan Bogetto Jeremy Chen

John P Stevens HS Hammonton HS Bridgewater Raritan HS South Brunswick HS TUBA

Thomas Barlow Shivdev Rajendran Luke Armstrong Dan Daly Kabir Zama Patrick Gallagher

Pascack Valley HS John P Stevens HS Steinert HS Moorestown HS South Brunswick HS Westfield HS

STRING BASS Mark Hubertus

Millburn HS

BATTERY PERCUSSION Vincent Egan Christine Castellano David Cho Craig DiGiamarino Patrick Flynn

West Orange HS Egg Harbor Twp HS John P Stevens HS Lenape Reg HS Jefferson Twp HS

MALLET PERCUSSION Elizabeth Tota Andrew Marino Ryan DeCesare

Monroe Twp HS West Essex Reg HS Cinnaminson HS TIMPANI

Josh Conklin

Ridge HS PIANO

Bridget Wang

Kinnelon HS

TEMPO

New Jersey Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Education 2019-2020 NJMEA Recipients New Jersey All-State Orchestra

New Jersey All-State Mixed Chorus

Daniel Son Ridgewood High School Sponsoring Teacher: Kristi Geronimo

Anna Rehberg Montville Township High School Sponsoring Teacher: Kristen Markowski

Kelvin Zheng East Brunswick High School Sponsoring Teacher: Arvin Gopal

Olivia Leto Mahwah High School Sponsoring Teacher: Lynn Morneweck-Fuld

New Jersey All-State Band

Justin Hong Leonia High School Sponsoring Teacher: Kerry Michael Dunn

Benjamin Swinchoski Biotechnology High School Sponsoring Teacher: Carol Swinchoski

Garrett Vanni Kittatinny Regional High School Sponsoring Teacher: Patrice Morrell Kane

Andrea Lim Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Sponsoring Teacher: Amy Wilcox

NJMEA Master Music Teachers New Jersey All-State Jazz

Susan Mark Rosa International Middle School

Ian Hurrel Livingston High School Sponsoring Teacher: James Hegedus

Nicole Snodgrass Cherokee High School

Governor's Award Ceremony is scheduled for June 26, 2020 at the Trenton War Memorial TEMPO

APRIL 2020

New Jersey Music Educator’s Association Proudly Announces

“The 2020 State Marching Band Ratings Festival” “19th Annual” A unique opportunity for your Marching Band to perform in a Festival (rating only) setting. Quality Evaluation! Local Bands! Enthusiastic Audiences! State Sponsored! Non-Competitive! One time commitment! State Marching Band “Ratings” Festival Saturday, October 17, 2020, 4:30 pm: Wayne Hills High School Contact: Matthew J. Paterno 973-317-2060 (mpaterno@wayneschools.com)

Don’t miss out on this interesting addition to your present Marching Band activities! Sign- ups begin MARCH 1, 2020!

APRIL 2020

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APRIL 2020

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APRIL 2020

CJMEA-Region II

April 2020

Grants for PD!

What’s Happening!

If you have a great idea for Professional Development for your music staﬀ, you should apply for the CJMEA PD Grant. The application and other details can be found at www.cjmea.org

Congratulations to our High School and Intermediate Region Honor Ensembles. We have had a very successful season and we believe the students had a musically fulﬁlling experience. Our bands, percussion ensemble, orchestra, and choirs had stellar performances. I’m grateful for our high school division chairs and ensemble managers who organized these tremendous events for our students. I’d like to thank our incredible conductors for sharing their time and talents with our students. Percussion Ensemble: Fernando Meza, University of Minnesota, Orchestra: Gordon Tedeschi, East Brunswick, Retired, Wind Ensemble: Dr. Joseph Higgins, Rowan University, Symphonic Band: Donna Cardaneo, South Brunswick High School, HS Honors Band: Nicholas Santoro, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Treble Choir: Dr. Amy Voorhees, Susquehanna University, Mixed Choir: Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School

4-Year Scholarships It is a wonderful accomplishment to successfully audition into a High School Region Honors Group. It’s especially impressive when students are able to do this four years in a row! This will be the 4th year that we will oﬀer three $1000 scholarships to graduating seniors who have been members of a region ensemble all four years of high school. The scholarship application is available on our website. Please encourage your seniors to apply for these scholarships. The application deadline is April 1, 2020.

Diversity and Urban Outreach CJMEA is hosting our very ﬁrst Diversity and Urban Educational Outreach event on Friday, May 8, 2020 at 5 pm. If you know of any educators who may be interested in being a part of this initiative please tell them to register for the event at our website. Stay tuned for more details.

APRIL 2020

At the end of January, CJMEA held our Intermediate Band, Choir, Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble auditions at Community Middle School in Plainsboro, NJ. I’d like to thank our division chairs, managers, and auditions chairs for all of their hard work leading up to and on the day of auditions. Special thanks goes to Brian Woodward at Community Middle School for hosting our auditions. Our Intermediate Concerts were a huge success. We are grateful to our conductors: String Orchestra Dr. Tomasz Rzecsycki, Princeton Day School, Chamber Orchestra, Nate White, Freelance Ensemble Artists of NJ, Wind Ensemble Cheryl Floyd, Hill County Middle School, Retired, Symphonic Band Scott Collins, West Windsor-Plainsboro, Percussion Andrew Veiss, South Plainﬁeld, Treble Choir Charles Hartung, Collingswood MS, Mixed Choir Christopher Henke, Kittatinny HS. We are very sad that we had to cancel our Elementary Honor Ensembles due to the Coronavirus Outbreak. While we wish we could have proceeded as planned, in order to ensure the safety of our students and our CJMEA members, we felt this was the right decision to make. We look forward to hosting these events next year Also always, please do not hesitate to contact me or any other member of the CJMEA Board with questions, comments, or concerns. 71

TEMPO 1

SJBODA - REGION III Scholarship Winners! Congratulations to Nathan Hansen (Point Pleasant Borough HS) who received the 2020 SJBODA orchestra scholarship and Desiree Biczel (Highland Regional HS) who was the recipient of the band scholarship. We wish these students and all of our seniors continued success in their future endeavors.

Chamber Festival Our 13th Annual Chamber Ensemble Concert was held on February 4th at Penns Grove HS. The ensemble coaches were Brass: Andrew Ennis (Bishop Eustace Preparatory School), Percussion: Tom Maioriello (Clearview Regional HS), Sax: Anthony Nigro (Philadelphia School District), Woodwind: Robin Soden (Pleasantville School District), Clarinet: Christine Macaulay (Cherry Hill School District), Flute: Megan Carroll (Cairn University and RutgersCamden University), and Tuba/Euphonium: Tyler Wiernusz (Clearview Regional HS). Jonathan Porco (Monongahela MS) coordinated this successful event and Ken Rafter (Penns Grove HS) was our TEMPO host.

2020 April TEMPO

Articles inside

2019 - 2020 New Jersey All-State Ensemble Musicians

Arts Education Data Project Accelerates from Partnerships with CMA Foundation and The Music Man Foundation

Arts Advocacy Spotlight: Katy Brodhead, Lisa Vartanian & Dennis Argul

Creating a Case for Creativity, Shawna Longo

Who Should Use Conversational Solfege Upper Levels (3 & 4), John Crever

Ask the Expert: What's the Deal with Nylon Guitar Strings, Jayson Martinez

Rethinking Middle Level General Music: Five Democratic Principles to Enhance Student Engagement, Stephanie Cronenberg

Expanding Access to Culturally Relevant, Student-Centered, and Inclusive Music Education Through Modern Band, Bryan Powell

Reconsidering Some of the "Whys" of Music Education, Marissa Silverman

The 11th Annual New Jersey Young Composers Competition Finals, Andrew Lesser

Ten Websites and Uses in the Elementary General Music Classroom: #10-6, Amy Burns

NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble, Jayson Martinez

Why Arts Education for Every Child? Lisa Vartanian

Editor's Message - Tribute to Tom Mosher