VOLUME 75, No. 2
JANUARY 2021
IN THIS ISSUE
2021 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ARTICLE TOPICS: Inclusion/Diversity/Equity/Access Elementary Technology Tips Distance Teaching NJMEA AWARD INFORMATION
The Official Magazine of the New Jersey Music Educators Association a federated state association of National Association for Music Education
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Volume 75, No. 2 http://www.njmea.org
JANUARY 2021
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS AND NJMEA BUSINESS
2
President's Message - Patrick O'Keefe
4
Editor's Message - William McDevitt
6
News from Our Board of Directors
Editorial Policy & Advertising Rates...74
10 President-Elect Updates - Lisa Vartanian
In Memoriam.................................. 70-71
14 Advocacy and Administration - Dennis Argul
NJMEA Awards Information................66
20 2021 NJMEA VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
Past-Presidents......................................74
34 Increasing Access Through Popular Music Education - Andrew Krikun, Bryan Powell
President’s Message................................2
38 Teaching Music for Social Justice - Frank Abrahams
Round the Regions......................... 68-69
Advertisers Index & Web Addresses....75 Board of Directors................................73
Resource Personnel............................. 72
42 Culturally Responsive Music Education - Vanessa L. Bond, Ph.D. 46 Armando Bayolo's LAST BREATHS- Thomas McCauley 52 Process Over Product - Dr. Joseph Montelione 54 Coming to Terms Together - Dr. Nicholas DeMaison 58 Six Technology Tips Every Elementary Music Teacher Should Know Amy M. Burns 62 Integrating Technology in the Guitar Classroom - Jayson Martinez 64 Shifting Away from Survival Mode - Shawna Longo 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/
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 75, No. 2, JANUARY 2021 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
FORMS AND APPLICATIONS Please go to njmea.org Click on the desired activity for downloadable copies of all their forms & applications
EMAIL/ADDRESS CHANGES Please go to nafme.org to record email and address changes.
president’s message Patrick O’Keefe patrickaokeefe@gmail.com Website: http://www.njmea.org
Happy New Year and welcome back! I hope the winter break served as the much needed time to recharge after a particularly volatile and challenging first half of the school year. Since our return to school in September, we have all been faced with different experiences, from remote learning, to some version of hybrid, and in many cases, back again! While the conditions of our first several months were certainly not ideal, the music educators of the state continue to support, challenge, and inspire our students in new ways. Please continue to read below for some NJMEA updates and highlights.
ning, the work has continued virtually in communications with the NEB and NAfME. The conference originally planned to take place in Hartford this year has been postponed until 2025, however you may have seen communication regarding another virtual professional development opportunity being hosted by the Eastern Division that will take place April 22 - 24. Stay tuned to our social media for updates and communications regarding this event. Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access You may remember the formation of our IDEA committee as a part of the strategic plan. Initial goals of this committee were to evaluate past and current practices and trends around representation and access in a variety of our offerings in an effort to inform decisions and programs moving forward. The bulk of this first phase involved a large data dive into the students that have historically made up our All-State ensembles and the schools that participate. Thank you to Robert Hamm, supervisor of Arts Education at East Windsor Regional School District, for collecting, compiling and analyzing this data. In the coming months, including at our February Conference, we will be sharing findings and trends as strategy continues to develop around what we can do better. What programs can we develop and offer that may be more inclusive? How can we support schools, teachers and students throughout the state in participating in our festivals and ensembles should they choose to? These are important conversations that we will continue to have, and welcome your input.
February Conference It is my hope that by the time you read this address, you will have already registered and made plans to attend our 2021 Virtual Professional Development Conference scheduled for February 18-20. Of course the last eight months have left me feeling oversaturated at times with webinars, meetings and virtual PD, however I am so excited to help present this collaborative project to feature best practices from educators throughout our state and region. Thank you for your consideration in attending, as it is our objective to offer a platform to reconnect with colleagues and refuel each other in a time when new strategies are especially welcome. Please also be reminded that should you not be able to attend any sessions live, they will all be available for viewing or revisiting asynchronously following the conference. This will allow you to attend more sessions than ever before, and save you from having to prioritize which ones to see during each hour.
President Elect Eastern Division In our next edition of Tempo, as well as through Tempo Express and social media, you will begin to see information about our next election for President-Elect of
While the pandemic has limited the travel that would usually be involved in Eastern Division meetings and planTEMPO
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NJMEA. Thank-you to the selection committee and those of you that took the time to nominate your colleagues. As in the past, the election process will take place through a link sent to your email. I encourage you to take the few minutes to participate in selecting the candidate that you think can best help to lead our organization forward.
of remote and hybrid learning. Nothing can replace the time we spend making live music in person with our students, but I am inspired by the innovative strategies our music educators are developing in its absence. Please reach out to me (patrickaokeefe@gmail.com) if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions.
Keep In Touch On behalf of NJMEA, thank you so much for all you are doing for your students and communities. New challenges face us every day as the educational landscape has continued to swing between the many different variations
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editor's message William McDevitt wmcdevittnjmea@gmail.com Website: http://www.njmea.org
I have been attending NJMEA Conferences for almost 40 years. I know what some of you are thinking and NO - I didn't go as a toddler! For a little bit of historical perspective . . . Years ago, when the conference was nowhere near the size that it is today, it used to travel between the three Regions of the State. Each Region would have the opportunity to host the Conference and All-State Bands every three years. A large hotel/conference center would be chosen and then the majority of the staff would be chosen based on the location. A few decades ago, for a number of reasons, a decision was made to keep the conference in one location. East Brunswick was determined to be the perfect spot. It was easily accessible from the NJ Turnpike. The Hilton had a large number of rooms. Rutgers was close by and was willing to assist in hosting All-State Bands. There were plenty of meeting rooms to accommodate our needs at the time. There was plenty of parking. The cost was reasonable. Conference and All-State staff no longer needed to rotate through the Regions. Then an awful thing happened - it started to become hugely successful! It grew to the point that The Hilton could no longer accommodate our needs. We came up with a solution. We partnered with the Ramada Inn down the street. It had a good number of meeting rooms that allowed us to expand our number of offerings. It did have its drawbacks - mainly transportation. We ran shuttles all day, back and forth. Some people drove over there, but when they returned to the Hilton there were no parking spaces left. As we were looking for new sites, an opportunity presented itself. The Hilton began a partnership with the Towers. Each year after that, we rented empty floors of the Towers for four days and adapted them to our needs. We were, however, at the mercy of the Towers. If they sold an empty floor, we were out with no options. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. Of course the elevators were always a problem. The conference continued to TEMPO
grow and so did the number of attendees. The result became a lack of available parking spaces. We purchased spaces to keep them open and it still didn't work. For all of the years that I helped at the Registration Desk, the number one complaint was parking. The second was a lack of reasonably priced dining options that were onsite or close enough to not lose the coveted parking space. We did an assessment of the situation and decided that it was truly unfair to our membership to continue what we were doing. Between the elevators, the parking, the lack of food, the cramped exhibit area, the inability to have a keynote or general session, and the rising cost of the hotel rooms and meeting spaces we decided it was time to clear up all of the problems as much as possible. Another opportunity presented itself and we made the move to Atlantic City. It was nice to not have to worry about parking, crowded spaces, lack of dining establishments, etc. I can't wait for the time that we return to inperson conferences. It is such a joy to see some people that I only see once a year. It is such a joy to hear live music presented by students from our own state. It is such a joy see colleagues invigorated by the professional development opportunities that would never be available within their own district. While I know that everyone is tired of Zoom meetings and online classrooms, I believe that this year's Conference presents an amazing opportunity for online Professional Development. If you can't attend the sessions when they are being presented live, you will have the opportunity to view them later - at your leisure. But you have to register!!! Follow the instructions in the TEMPO Express and at https://njmea.org/conferences to register. Browse through the sessions that are listed in this edition. There is definitely something for everyone. Music teachers are resilient. We have always adapted to whatever has been thrown at us and made it a success. We will gather together again shortly! 4
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Keep Up-to-Date with all of the latest covid information and regulations for the Arts in our schools at: www.artsednj.org/covid19 JANUARY 2021
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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION
News From Our Board of Directors Choral
Festivals
Donna Marie Berchtold
firesongwed@gmail.com
With all great consideration, we have to make the decision to cancel the 2021 NJMEA Middle School Choral Festivals which we had planned to take place in the spring of 2021 at both Rowan and Rutgers Universities. This past fall, we had hoped we could still host this year's NJMEA Middle School Choral Festivals for the students. We wanted to be that sparkle of light at the end of the tunnel for your school children. However, with careful consideration of the Pandemic, that cannot be the case for this upcoming year. Karen Blumenthal, my AWESOME committee member, and I still have all of our files, and we plan to step forward in preparation for 2022! Let us pray that the world will heal, and our students will be taking the stage in the choral festivals once again. We will miss seeing all of you, and hearing your fabulous choirs this year. Thank you to our University hosts, Dr. Dammers, Dr. Thomas, Judith Nicosia, and adjudicators Charles Bass, Dr. Williams, and Dr. Cates for their past support. We look forward to scheduling dates at Rowan and Rutgers in the future and seeing all of you again! Wishing you all the very best in health, and continued success in your school music programs. Note: With future planning - The application forms are on the NJMEA web site; however, they can also be found in the January edition of TEMPO Magazine each year. A maximum of ten (10) registrations will be accepted at each site. The Registration Fee per school group will be $150.00 for either site. Each participating choral group will receive written and aural evaluations by the adjudicators, along with a plaque from NJMEA which recognizes the commitment and involvement by the school, its chorus, and the director(s). Any schools interested in participating in either of these events in 2022, should be sure to complete the application form in next year’s January issue of TEMPO magazine, or online at www.njmea.org. Anyone with questions or concerns may contact Donna Marie at: firesongwed@gmail.com, or 609-226-7751 (cell)
Retired Music Educators Kathy Spadfino
kspadeb@aol.com
Retired music teachers are feeling for all of you that are still in the classroom, trying to figure out how to do something that remotely feels musical. We support NJMEA and the February convention – I just hope we can figure out how to attend with zoom! I enjoy seeing you share good ideas on the NJMEA Facebook page and lots of other posts. Keep communicating with each other! We are, as always, available for anyone who would like some mentoring and kind, encouraging words. Please contact me at KSpadEB@aol.com, and I can put you in touch with someone in your particular area. I look forward to a better year in 2021!
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THE NEW JERSEY MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION a federated state association of NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for MUSIC EDUCATION
News From Our Board of Directors Special Learners
Maureen Butler
maureenbutlermusic@gmail.com
A new calendar year traditionally is a time to reflect on what has gone on before and to make resolutions for the future. As educators, each January presents us with a good time to evaluate the educational growth of our students. But in a school year that’s been uniquely challenging for teachers and students, it’s even more important that we do so. How have your special learners been handling the demands of in-person, hybrid, and virtual learning? Have you been able to develop lesson plans and activities that take into account their special needs? If you feel that you need some additional strategies, here are three suggestions: 1. Check out the Special Learners and Music group on Facebook where you’ll find ideas and resources. 2. Explore the many webinars available at NAfME.org. 3. Plan to join NJMEA’s virtual conference in February, where workshops will help you develop skills to better incorporate the modifications and accommodations your students need. As always, contact me at the above email address if you have questions about special learners, or if you’d like to see a specific topic addressed in TEMPO.
Technology
Dr. Andrew Lesser
andrew.lesser@yahoo.com www.andrewlessermusic.com YouTube: Professor Lesser
Greetings, and Happy New Year! As we continue to navigate the challenges brought to us by these strange and unique circumstances, I truly hope that your passion for music and teaching has stayed strong through the winter. Technology continues to play a major role in shaping the current educational landscape and will no doubt be a significant factor in the future of our industry. Please continue to monitor the NJMEA website for updates concerning events, resources, and information that serves you and our community. Our Professional Resources page contains a plethora of ideas for distance learning, websites and other virtual resources for all aspects of music education. We are currently in the process of creating professional development opportunities for teachers with music technology programs to network, share ideas and curriculum, and provide a source of support for each other. Be on the lookout for some Tempo Express emails soon! Additionally, the pre-registration date for the 11th Annual NJMEA Student Tech Expo, which will be held virtually this year on Friday, May 21, begins on January 11th. I hope to see many of your students’ submissions for this great opportunity. For more information, please check under the “Festivals” tab on the NJMEA website. 2020 was no doubt a difficult year, but I’m looking forward to all the opportunities that 2021 will bring to all of us. As always, feel free to contact me if you wish to share any technology information, including anything that you would like to see sent out to our music educator community through Tempo Express. I wish you health, happiness, and a year filled with the joy of music! Finally, I want to personally wish all of you good health and safety as we continue to forge ahead through this crisis. TEMPO
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CHAMBER ENSEMBLES
CONCERT BAND, PEP BAND
JAZZ ORCHESTRA
DREXEL
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UNIVERSITY CHORUS
WHERE PERFORMING ARTS COME ALIVE! For information on auditions, performance scholarships, and our numerous choral and instrumental ensembles, please go to: drexel.edu/performingarts All ensembles and scholarships are open to non-music majors
JANUARY 2021
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President-Elect Updates Lisa Vartanian Paramus School District lvartanian@paramusschools.org
Greetings and Happy New Year to everyone! In this report, I will share some stories from presenters at the National Association for Music Education’s Leadership Forum in November. I also am including an interview I conducted recently with our colleague Jayson Martinez at Arts High School in Newark. At a time when we all continue to struggle with the effects of COVID-19 on our lives and our work, I find comfort and inspiration in the determination of music educators to keep finding creative and effective ways to connect with our students and put them on a path to success and fulfillment. Stay safe and keep up the great work!
NAfME LEADERSHIP FORUM On November 4 and 5, 2020, I had the opportunity to attend the National Association for Music Education’s Leadership Forum. As always, I left inspired by the many outstanding presentations from incredible music educators and leaders around the country such as Anne Fennell, Michael Stone, Marc Greene, and Timothy Bupp. I want to highlight two workshops I attended. Our Hero’s Journey Anne M Fennell, M.Ed. K-12 Music Program Manager, SDUSD, San Diego, CA, CMEA President-Elect, NAfME Immediate Past Innovations Council Chair Anne Fennell gave the keynote to start the Forum, entitled, “Our Hero’s Journey.” I will summarize her points, but I implore you to visit her website and read the full report. It took my breath away, and I think you will feel the same after you read it. She shares that music teachers are the real inspiration in the story, “Our Hero’s TEMPO
Journey,” Supervising Music and the Visual, Performing Arts, and 21st Century Life and Career programs for the district, I can say, with certainty, that all teachers are heroes in this journey. Ms. Fennell takes us on a journey through the process of teaching through the pandemic, and presents teachers with several badges. She says that “what keeps us on our path is our beliefs and that we passionately care for music education.” The first badge she presents is the Badge of Courage. Teachers, no matter what was sent your way, you “mustered the courage and became the computer genius, tech support, counselor, teacher of teachers, learner, creator, guide, and overall musical magicians while you encouraged everyone to share and give.” You also earn the Badge of Perseverance because no matter what, you “climbed onward to do what was right for your students.” You also earn the Badge of Resilience. “You learned about who you were, what you can do, and what is possible.” Anne ends with a challenge. She asks about the ending of the story. “If you have integrated your new knowledge and grown to live a new life, then YOU will receive the title or Badge of Master because you became the master of both worlds with newfound freedom and expansiveness for all. Courage, Perseverance, and Resilience are already yours. You are in charge of how your story ends.” Read the full keynote in Anne’s blog, https://www.annefennell.com/blog Creating a Music Program that Uses Contemporary and Traditional Ensembles and Instruction to Reach All Students Timothy Bupp Music Supervisor, Spring Grove, PA. In this presentation, Timothy Bupp challenges all of us to create music programs in our schools that reach 10
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all learners and that reflects our communities, which is essential to students. Mr. Bupp recommends that if you are interested in creating a modern band program, start with ukulele in 4th grade, followed by guitar, keyboard and drums in 5/6 grade. In 7/8 grade, add bass and voice and by the time students enter high school, they can take classes like modern band, songwriting, and applied instruments. He concluded his session by encouraging the audience to make music education relevant to your community of learners. By doing so, you will create excitement and enthusiasm for music. Through this presentation, I thought about many school districts and teachers that are already implementing new programs in their schools such as one of my colleagues, Jayson Martinez. A few years ago, I met Mr. Martinez when I served on the Victorian Foundation grant committee to help provide funds to innovative arts programs in the Newark School District. Through the grant process, I was honored to visit Newark Arts High School. Around every turn, in every room, I was in awe of the level of arts instruction that was taking place. As I entered one of the music rooms, Mr. Martinez worked with students on classical guitar followed by a piece from Metallica. These students were immersed in what he was teaching them. They were excited to play us an excerpt from what they were learning and more. Mr. Martinez gets it, I thought. He found a way to create a program that reaches his students, and he has given his students the excitement and enthusiasm for music that we all hope to bestow. In November, I had a chance to sit down with Mr. Martinez and ask about his music journey and what inspires him as an educator and lifelong learner.
ARTS ADVOCACY SPOTLIGHT NJMEA MEMBER: JAYSON MARTINEZ Arts High School, Newark, New Jersey What is unique about the Arts High School guitar program? The guitar program at Arts High School is a tiered program where students are exposed to a variety of genres and playing styles. Unlike other school guitar programs, which focus primarily on classical technique and repertoire, our program also offers other styles including flamenco, jazz, pop, and rock music. Moreover, each year JANUARY 2021
our midterm exam includes a performance component from the jazz standard repertoire, while the final exam includes a solo from a famous rock tune. Every graduating student presents an adjudicated recital which highlights these various genres as part of their solo and ensemble performance. An example of a recent student performance included classical solo pieces from Francisco Tarrega and J.S. Bach, a jazz solo excerpt from Barry Galbraith, an ensemble work by flamenco duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, and a heavy metal song by Metallica. As a result of this expanded musical spectrum and teaching methodologies, students are more engaged in their musical studies while diverse learning needs are met. Magnet schools such as Arts High School are unlike charter or private schools. Although they belong to the local public school system, they differ in that students are not automatically zoned into their residential schools. This allows for students across the city that show a talent and interest in the arts to audition, and if accepted, enroll in our magnet school. The Newark Arts High School offers students the opportunity to ignite their artistic passion by majoring in music, dance, visual art, television production, and drama. The interdisciplinary studies in which our students participate enable post-secondary matriculation to many of the best conservatories, colleges, and universities in the country. The curriculum for our guitar department was founded on an ethos to provide innovative and contemporary material for music and the arts. Our program includes the most academically rigorous, industry-relevant qualifications designed to support our aspiring artists. For instance, we have partnered with the U.K.’s Rock School LTD in order to provide the students with the best resources for contemporary music, which also prepares them to qualify for graded music exams and certifications that are honored in leading conservatories. We have also partnered with the Royal Conservatory’s music program, in order to provide students with the leading classical pedagogy that is studied worldwide. The Royal Conservatory is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world, providing the definitive standard of excellence in curriculum design, assessment, and performance training. (cont on next page)
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How does the expansion of alternative instrumental ensembles engage the diverse learning needs of students? As an educator for over two decades, I have found great personal satisfaction in providing comprehensive and inclusive music-making opportunities to students within non-traditional ensembles. For instance, when I taught at the elementary and middle school levels, I had great success directing my World Music Ensemble, which included African percussion and guitar. Currently, as the guitar teacher at my alma mater, I have come full-circle by providing students with the musical knowledge that my teacher instilled in me. Thus, my own musical path has been paved by a non-traditional music setting. Traditional music ensembles have historically consisted of the big three: band, orchestra, and choir. However, demographic shifts in student populations and diversified musical interests have led to the creation of alternative instrumental ensembles such as ukulele, guitar, steel drum, mariachi, and modern band programs in schools. There are ongoing debates within the profession that offering multiple ensemble opportunities may weaken the traditional band, orchestra and choir programs. As I do acknowledge and respect both philosophical viewpoints, I aver that providing diverse music offerings within a school can instill passion, offer choice and give students the tools to create music while encouraging them to continue their exploration even after they leave our ensembles.
One of my current projects for the NJMEA is leading our NJ Honors Guitar Ensemble in a virtual project, which is graciously sponsored by the Augustine Foundation. This initiative is a collaborative effort with 13 other MEA’s around the country to produce virtual guitar ensemble videos, with the hopes of inspiring each and every state to include the guitar in their own all-state events and festivals. Our NAfME Guitar Council has teamed up with the Guitar Foundations of America in order to produce three levels of educational guitar videos for aspiring guitarists worldwide. The first level, Foundations, is a weekly series for beginning classroom guitar programs. The second, Revolutions, is a weekly series for intermediate and advanced classroom guitar programs. The third, entitled Global Vision, is a monthly hour-long delve into various interesting guitar-related topics hosted by our staff. Above all, I strive for our guitar programs and ensembles to maintain a standard of excellence. This is accomplished by making our visibility a priority through student performances in feeder schools, community venues, and State MEA festivals. In sum, my work is based on the belief that performance drives future enrollment, continued parental support, and community involvement. Jayson Martinez, M.Mus; M. EdLd NAfME Council for Guitar Education NJMEA Chairman of Guitar Education Essex County College - Professor of Online Music
As the NJMEA Chairman for Guitar Education and the NAfME Eastern Council Representative for Guitar Education, what are some of your accomplishments and highlighted moments? Perhaps my proudest accomplishment was conducting the NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble at our GuitarFest event. It was directed by my fantastic predecessor, Thomas Amoriello, and hosted by my college alma mater, New Jersey City University. Not only was the performance a spectacular event, but my own guitar professor, Dr. Ana Maria Rosado, was in attendance, which made the event even more special. A few months later, three of my students qualified for the All-National Ensembles Festival, which is hosted every year by NAfME and took place in Orlando, Florida. TEMPO
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Advocacy Dennis Argul dennisargul@gmail.com
On Monday, November 16, 2020, ArtsEdNJ sent a memo to All New Jersey Arts Educators, Administrators, Principals, Superintendents, Executive County Superintendents, School Board Members, Health Officers, Governor Phil Murphy, Commissioner of Health Judith M. Persichilli, Acting Commissioner of Education Angelica Allen-McMillan, New Jersey State Board of Education President Kathy Goldenberg, LEE Group, and the NJDOE Reopen Team. The memo provided updated guidance and key findings from the University of Colorado COVID-19 Aerosol Dispersion Study Preliminary Findings #3 November 2020. It provided important information relative to the following areas: Guidance for Instrumental Music (Wind Instruments); Guidance for Vocal and General Music with Singing, Theatre, Speech and Debate, and Dance; Rehearsal Space Recommendations; General Procedures; and Guidance Regarding HVAC for All Spaces. It also referred all to the following document: https://www.artsednj.org/wp-content/uploads/NJ-September-Ready-Arts-Ed-Guidance.pdf If you have not yet read and reviewed the information provided in this document, I would suggest that now it a good time to do so. As we approach the season when budgets are discussed for the next academic year and, at the time of this writing, there are concerns from the membership regarding the role of music education and music educators in our various districts and schools, using the information included in this document can be a resource and tool as we continue to advocate for our craft and programs. Here are the September Ready Key Principles: 1. Sequential Arts Education Must Continue for ALL Students in ALL Instructional Models. As defined by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts and reaffirmed with the June 2020 adopTEMPO
tion of these standards by the New Jersey State Board of Education and outlined in The Road Back, Restart and Recover Plan for Education, sequential arts learning aligned to standards must be maintained regardless of the instructional delivery models (in-person with restrictions, hybrid, or in the event health consideration require, remote). Arts educators demonstrated the ability to provide continuity of instruction during the Spring of 2020. This provides a level of confidence in the ability of New Jersey’s 8,000 arts educators to operate in any model, with the proper planning and professional development. 2. Proper Staffing and Support Must Be Provided to Allow Continuity of Instruction Based on Health and Safety Requirements. Arts Education programs will require the proper staffing and support to ensure continuity of instruction. This includes maintaining certified arts educators to provide sequential instruction, materials and supplies to allow for the instruction based on health and safety requirements, recommendations, and best practices. 3. Arts Educators and Administrators Must be Included in the District Planning. Arts educators and arts administrators have been closely reviewing and staying up to date on all of the latest research, strategies, and best practices both nationally and internationally. The collective knowledge will be a critical asset to school administrations and board members as they prepare to reopen schools this September. 4. Schools Must Prioritize the Making and Creating of the Arts Together. While there are many aspects of arts education that have been successful in remote environments there is one very critical aspect that was not: creating dance, music, theatre or visual art together. This is what students identified as missing the most when they were suddenly out of their schools. As districts contemplate various models of return, when the students are in school, the emphasis should be placed on creating artistic works together and focus on those artistic elements that cannot be done remotely. 14
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5. Social and Emotional Learning Needs of Students, Faculty, and Staff Must be Addressed in All Aspects of Instruction. As outlined in The Road Back, Restart and Recover Plan for Education conditions for learning must address “social and emotional and environmental factors that can impact educators’ capacity to teach and students’ capacity to learn.” Arts Education plays a critical role in supporting the social and emotional needs of students. Schools should be intentional so that educators are prepared to successfully embed transformative social and emotional learning into instructional practices in the arts. 6. Professional Development Must be Provided. In order to be most effective in the new environments when our schools reopen, and as outlined in The Road Back, Restart and Recover Plan for Education, our educators must be afforded every opportunity, and necessary resources, to engage in professional development in relevant areas to engage in meaningful instruction. 7. New Jersey Cultural Community Resources Should be Utilized for Instructional Support. New Jersey’s cultural organizations play a critical role in the education of our students. From assembly programs, field trips, artist residencies, and collaborative projects these organizations provide extended educational experiences in the Arts, as well as other core content areas. As our schools reopen, they should look for appropriate opportunities for cultural organizations to continue to contribute to the educational landscape.
tral to any arts education activity, no matter the age and ability of the student or the environment in which the learning takes place. The arts, with their strong emphasis on teambuilding and self-reflection are supremely suited to reignite students’ interest in learning through collaboration, while simultaneously fostering creativity, critical thinking, and communication. Arts education nurtures the creation of a welcoming school environment where students can express themselves in a safe and positive way. Celebrating our ability to come together as educators and students is vital to creating a healthy and inclusive school community. The arts, through a rich partnership among certified arts educators, teaching artists, and community arts providers, play a valuable role in helping students and their families build and sustain community and cultural connections. Arts education is part of a well-rounded education for all students as understood and supported by federal and state policymakers. As defined in ESSA, “music and the arts” are part of a well-rounded education. Every state in the nation recognizes the importance of the arts as reflected in rigorous PreK-12 state arts standards. Forty-six states require an arts credit to receive a high school diploma, and 43 states have instructional requirements in the arts for elementary and secondary schools. As noted in Arts Education for America’s Students: A Shared Endeavor: “An education without the arts is inadequate.”
The September Ready 2020 document also includes the value of Arts Education: It is imperative that all students have access to an equitable delivery of arts education that includes dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts that supports their educational, social, and emotional well-being, taught by certified professional arts educators in partnership with community arts providers.
Finally, in a statement from Arts Education is Essential (June 2020) Consortium of National Arts Education Organizations: The healing and unifying power of the arts has been evident as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country. We have seen and heard it play out through works of art on sidewalks, shared musical moments from porches, in plays and dance performances, and every other imaginable iteration of art making. As our state and schools work through multiple challenges in the years ahead, arts education must remain central to a well-rounded education and fully funded to support the wellbeing of all students and the entire school community.
Teaching and learning will never quite be the same in our post-COVID-19 world. However, our commitment to provide rich and varied educational experiences remains unwavering. The arts have played an important role in these tumultuous times and will continue to do so for all students, including the traditionally underrepresented, those with special needs, and from low-income families. Here’s why: Arts education supports the social and emotional wellbeing of students, whether through distance learning or in person. Self-awareness, self-efficacy, self-management and perseverance, social awareness and relationship skills are cenJANUARY 2021
Now, perhaps more than ever, we need to all be strong and determined individual arts advocates. Strong for our own programs, schools, districts and communities, and determined to provide our students with the arts education they deserve.
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Administration Dennis Argul dennisargul@gmail.com
Happy Winter everyone! I hope this article finds you healthy and happy! To highlight some of the work of our Music Administrators in the field, I plan to bring some of their stories for us all to learn more about their journeys and their craft. For this edition of Tempo, I have interviewed Dr. Laura Craig, Supervisor of the Performing Arts for the Bridgewater – Raritan Schools. Laura, you and I worked together a lot this summer on the September Ready Task Force, can you describe what your role was on that team and what did you learn from the experience? That was such an intense time. Here we were in the middle of an unprecedented crisis trying to provide resources, guidance, and whatever support we could to all of our colleagues across New Jersey as districts were grappling with what arts education would look like in these virtual and hybrid settings. I had the privilege of working alongside a large group of amazing music educators (yourself included!) on the K-12 General & Choral Music committee of the task force. I shared the co-chair responsibility with Lisa Vartanian, who has been an incredible mentor and colleague to me for several years, and I always learn so much working alongside Lisa. Despite the challenging circumstances and immense time crunch, it was incredible to witness the creativity, ingenuity, and determination of that group of teachers. There were so many unanswered questions and yet we were proud of the work we accomplished. What are some of the learnings from the summer that you were able to bring to your district and faculty? The biggest takeaway from that work over the summer was that we were going to need to focus on what we CAN do this year, rather than what we can’t do. Yes, there are incredible restrictions and limitations right now. I certainly did TEMPO
and do not dismiss those challenges. When we started the year, there was space for naming and acknowledging those limitations and for venting those frustrations. There was a fair amount of crying. I can’t imagine it has been different in other districts. The losses feel substantial right now, and they are even more marked because as music teachers there is a huge personal investment and emotional connection to our students and to our work. That’s ok. The crying is ok too, I think, because it’s real and it’s where we are right now. I hope it helps teachers recognize that if the challenges are so difficult for us right now, it can only be harder on our students who are feeling the loss of their ‘normalcy’. But we can and we are continuing to do incredible things for our students and for music education. The landscape has changed so dramatically, though, that we cannot compare what we are doing now to anything from ‘before’. So many teachers feel discouraged and feel as though their teaching is not meeting their own expectations - and I really understand and empathize with this struggle. My “supervising” - whatever that may mean - is not meeting my own expectations these days, either. But just because the goals are different right now does not mean they are less important or worthwhile. I continue to believe that we will take all that we have learned (even if we didn’t really ask to learn it) during this time to improve and build upon our programs and our teaching practice in incredible ways in the years to come. We, along with our students, will come through this with a renewed appreciation for the simple and incredible experience of making music with others. Of being a part of a greater whole within an ensemble, class, or team. Of levering individual skills and talents through a collaborative process that inspires growth and persistence and values many different perspectives and ideas. Can you tell me a little bit about your journey to becotheming Supervisor at Bridgewater-Raritan? Where did you teach? Had you been an instructional leader before this position? 16
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I’m a Pennsylvania transplant to New Jersey. After my undergrad and a year of teaching in Pittsburgh, I relocated to Bayonne and taught K-8 General Music and Chorus and was heavily involved with the theatre program there. I moved into my first supervisor role in Bayonne as well, as the supervisor of the Academy programs that were implemented at Bayonne High School. I came to Bridgewater-Raritan in 2017 to assume the role of Supervisor of Performing Arts. You recently completed your Doctorate as well. What did you study and how do you feel this degree is bringing your leadership abilities to the next level? I have my Doctor of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership. My research centered around the elementary classroom and how we can work to create and sustain learning environments that are inclusive of students of all gender identities. I’m not sure that completing my dissertation or my doctorate is or will bring my leadership to the “next level” - but I did learn a great deal through the process. Since becoming Supervisor at BWR, have you made any changes, or updates in the department? What kinds of alterations have you made? What is your vision with the department? In B-R we have a five-year program evaluation process, and I led my department through that process last year. We have an incredible team of educators here, and most of the time all I have to do is get out of their way (or figure out how to clear the way for them) and then stand back and watch the magic happen. But we are excited to build upon our existing strengths here. Our program evaluation committee developed comprehensive recommendations for the growth and development of the performing arts department, most of which are nicely timed with the release of the new 2020 NJSLS for Visual & Performing Arts. Our big picture goals are to increase access and opportunity in the performing arts for the students of Bridgewater-Raritan and to ensure that our programs support all types of learners and address their needs in a relevant and meaningful way. Now in the age of Covid, while it may feel our work is stalled, I think these times may reveal an even greater path to increasing that opportunity for all students. Even in the face of the challenges this year, we were able to implement a few of our recommendations already, including the addition of a classical guitar program at the high school. There are now two sections of high school students studying music, developing skill on an instrument, and exJANUARY 2021
ploring composition and improvisation. Prior to this year, we only offered our traditional ensemble courses in grades 9-12, so this is a big change that provides opportunity to more students in our large, comprehensive high school. I’m excited about this new addition and so impressed and proud of the work the teachers are doing with the new course. I just can't wait to see where we can go from here. Can you share what your strategies are for music/arts advocacy in your district and community? To me, arts advocacy is a three-part process. Evaluate, Educate, and Celebrate. Most of the time, you are doing all three of these things simultaneously, and one is never more important than the others. You take stock of your programs, the perceptions, and the priorities in the community and in the district, and the areas where there is the potential for future growth and increased opportunity for students. You work to educate your community and stakeholders about the value of arts education for ALL students, and about the aspects of an arts program that get less public attention than performances. And, of course, you proudly celebrate the arts - the students, the teachers, their work, and the way in which the arts help to shape and enhance a school, a district, and a community. Celebrating, of course, is the easiest, and the most fun! The public nature of concerts, performances, and exhibits lend themselves to important publicity and recognition, but true advocacy demands more than the celebration of these programs. While public performances are an essential aspect of an arts program, they will not be the reason a program gets funding or support. This comes when the work is put into ensuring your arts education program truly exists for ALL students and is an essential part of a child’s holistic education. I believe that a community that supports and values an arts education program is one that understands that opportunities for students to explore and create in a first grade music class are just as important as the performances of the top high school ensembles at the spring concert. What are aspects of being a Supervisor that you have learned through experience that you may not have necessarily studied in your training? Well, while I am a supervisor, I’m an educator, first. I think the interesting thing about teaching is that we all come to it with our own lived experiences of what it was to be a student. Most of us who have become music teachers had 17 TEMPO
positive experiences in our music programs when we went to school, and of course we are going to be driven by those experiences and in many cases looking to emulate those positive experiences for our own students. It is sort of like becoming a parent. Before you have your own kids, your experiences growing up shape how you think you will parent, or how you view other parents and their choices. But of course once you have your own children, who are their own tiny little human beings that have individual and unique needs, you may be guided by those principles and predispositions, but most of parenting is responding to somebody else’s needs and choices, not your own, and just figuring out what actually works. And so as a teacher or as an administrator, it’s critical to reflect on the fact that something that maybe made sense for you and what you experienced going through school may not be the perfect approach for the actual students sitting in front of you today. And we can pay homage to the experiences of our past, we can honor what was great, we can reflect on what maybe turned some kids away, or led to some challenges, and we can recognize that the kids in front of us today are not the same as the kids we were when we were sitting in the classroom. And so it is right and it is good for things to evolve and for us to constantly be considering the needs of our actual students, not the needs of our imagined future students or what our own needs were when we were students. So, I think the answer to your question is that the most valuable lesson I have learned is that our experiences are important as they help us learn, but we should not let experience or past practices become an obstacle to change or blind us to different possibilities. I would have likely answered this question the same way even before Covid, but of course we can look at everything that is happening right now. Nothing in my education or experience prepared me to support teachers and students through these months of virtual and hybrid learning due to the Covid pandemic. During most of the spring and summer, we had more unanswered questions than ever before - and it was so difficult to not have those answers or that clear guidance for my teachers. We have no choice right now but to embrace the unknown, the new and the different, and to let go of some of our old practices that may not make sense for our actual students right now.
When I transitioned into administration, I struggled with feeling disconnected from students. There are all sorts of challenges in this role, but I still mention this as one of the biggest challenges because it helped me quickly identify just how important it was for me to try to maintain that connection, somehow. I actively seek opportunities to connect personally with students and their families. I insert myself into the high school choir rehearsals when I really need to be around students making music the most (and I have a very gracious and welcoming colleague in our high school choir director John Wilson, who allows me to crash his rehearsals from time to time). And nothing is more rewarding for me than visiting and singing or playing along with an elementary music class. As I am saying this out loud, I realize that this is a bit selfish of me! But it makes me feel more ‘whole’ as an educator when I maintain that connection to students, which in turn probably makes me more effective at my job and more attuned to the needs of students - which is, after all, the “why” of our work.
What are you most challenging and, in contrast, most rewarding experiences as a Supervisor thus far?
For more information, please visit: www.njmaa.org
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The New Jersey Music Administration is excited about the upcoming meetings and the relevance of the topics. Here are the NJMAA meeting dates and topics are the following: December 11: SEL Crosswalk Facilitator: Bob Morrison, ArtsEdNJ February 5: Collegiate Connection Facilitator: Joe Akinskas April 16: Engaging the Community: Ideas for Building Community Support Facilitators: Lisa Vartanian and Donna Sinisgalli June 4: Traversing the ‘New Normal’: A Reflection on 2020-21-Roundtable Facilitator: Jonathan Harris, NJMAA President If you are in a district where your are supervised by a ‘non-arts’ administrator, please share this information with them, and encourage them to reach out to NJMAA for more information and any assistance they may need.
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WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY
Wells School of Music
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DEGREE PROGRAMS PERFORMING ENSEMBLES CONCERTS ANNUALLY
PURSUE YOUR PASSION
at WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY musicinfo@wcupa.edu | wcupa.edu/music
All Steinway School
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TEMPO
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION available at: https://njmea.org/conferences 20
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2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference List of Sessions Listed below are sessions, clinicians, and session descriptions as of December 1, 2020
Data Storytelling for Music Educators Rachel L’Heureux Director of Marketing, MusicFirst
Learn accessible data modeling techniques designed to help you effectively communicate student achievement to stakeholders. Using free data modeling and design tools, you'll learn how to create compelling presentations and advocacy documents.
Five Ways for Students to be Creative with MusicFirst Robin Hodson Education Manager, MusicFirst
Want to engage your students will creative music-making? Then join us for this exciting session which will review five powerful software tools made for student engagement with sequencing, audio editing, composition, beat-making, podcasting, loops, recording, and more! Sponsored by: MusicFirst
Cloud-Based Tech Tools for Virtual & Hybrid Learning in Music Education Robin Hodson Education Manager, MusicFirst
There are lots of options when it comes to tech tools for virtual learning. Learn tips & tricks to utilize these software tools to their fullest potential, streamlining your workflow and maximizing student engagement. Sponsored by: MusicFirst
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Distance and Hybrid Strategies for Teaching Music Theory & Composition Marjorie LoPresti Digital Content Manager, MusicFirst
Embrace the "new normal" and welcome opportunities to individualize music learning and expression through theory and composition activities. This session will combine best practices in distance learning with strategies for flipped classroom and blended learning. Sponsored by: MusicFirst
Tech Tools for Sight Reading and Performance Assessment Dr. Jim Frankel Director, MusicFirst
Discover software tools that will build sight reading and performance skills through aural training and increasingly rigorous exercises, as well as automated assessment to help you target problem areas and increase your ensemble’s confidence with new repertoire. Sponsored by: MusicFirst
The MusicFirst Software Suite for Virtual & Hybrid Learning Dr. Jim Frankel Director, MusicFirst
Join us at this exciting session to learn about MusicFirst Classroom and the suite of integrated software for music education. Cloud-based and compatible across all devices (including mobile!), these software solutions are available to aid student learning in notation, sight reading, performance assessment, ear training, music theory, and more! Sponsored by: MusicFirst 21 TEMPO
2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference List of Sessions - continued
Music Software Integrations for Google Classroom
Air On a G Suite: Google Tools for Music Education
Dr. Jim Frankel
John Mlynczak
Director, MusicFirst
Managing Director
Use Google Classroom? Join us for a deep dive into software integrations that work seamlessly with your school's LMS! Sponsored by: MusicFirst
Google Suite for Education provides a range of tools that can be used by music educators to create more creative and productive classrooms. This session will provide an overview of essential Google tools for music, present applications in the music classroom, and introduce integrated music software.
Building Community and Sustaining Growth During COVID
Retaining the Tech-Savvy Generation
Dr. Lucy Chen Director and Head of Music Programs, Basie’s Monmouth Conservatory of Music
John Mlynczak
The presentation will discuss key strategies on community building in the virtual environment, engaging students, parents, faculty, and donors, as well as new collaborative opportunities for community music schools in the post-pandemic recovery.
How do we utilize technology to recruit and retain music students? This session will discuss current trends in student technology, demonstrate how to seamlessly integrate music technology lessons into a music class at any level, and provide a range of solutions for utilizing technology to increase student engagement and retention.
Managing Director
Meaningful Assessment with Technology
Adapted Music: Differentiation for All Learners
John Mlynczak
Lauren Shanahan
Managing Director
Adapted Music Teacher
Assessment in education is valuable when part of a constant cycle of positive feedback and growth. This session will demonstrate several models for assessing musical growth in a positive and meaningful way and how to communicate with students on any device, anywhere.
The session will focus on ways to adapt music instruction for students with disabilities in the public school system. This includes general music, as well as performance ensembles. Key components of special education will be covered, as well as how New Jersey implements them.
Noteflight Learn for Composition, Recording, and Assessments
Equity, Diversity, & NJMEA
John Mlynczak
Katherine Broadhead Cullen
Managing Director
NJSMA Urban Liaison & Supervisor of Visual & Performing Arts, Newark
With full integration for Google Classroom and other popular Learning Management Systems, thousands of included musical scores, and both composition and performance assessment, Noteflight Learn is the ideal platform for teaching music. This session will demonstrate lessons at all levels as well as provide free trials for all attendees. Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
Join the conversation to explore ways NJMEA can better support equity and diversity. In this session, participants will discuss the action steps needed to increase student access and participation, support music educators from diverse backgrounds, and promote culturally-responsive teaching practices across NJ music classrooms.
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Arrangement, Improvisation, and Accompaniment for Flexible String Orchestra Bryan Charles Wilson Cellist. Composer. Educator. Author.
Teachers will learn through a flexible reggae string orchestra piece how to educate students on arrangement, improvisation, and accompaniment.
Kiss Your Ex (Music Program) Goodbye: How to Revolutionize Your Program, Please Your Administration, and Spark Joy in Your Teaching Schedule
Turning Drummers Into Percussionists! Chris Colaneri Band Director/Percussion Specialist, Berkeley Heights, NJ
This hands on workshop is not only a refresher course of your percussion methods class from college but an in-depth look at the six components of the “Total Percussion” approach to turning drummers into percussionists. Instruments covered: Snare Drum, Mallets, Timpani, Traps, World Percussion, and Drum Set. Sponsored by: JW Pepper, Event Percussion, Oxford University Press, Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey
Middle School Orchestra Teacher, Franklin Township
Transitioning K-12 Music Courses Online During COVID-19: Music Teacher Experiences Around the World
Mike Aragones
Argine Safari
Elizabeth Nowik
Middle School Band Teacher, Franklin Township
Kyle Fairbanks Middle School Band Teacher, Franklin Township
Jennifer Ketrow Middle School Guitar/General Music Teacher, Franklin Township
Keren Ocasio Middle School Orchestra Teacher, Franklin Township
Fulbright Distinguished Teacher/Choral Director, Pascack Valley High School
Join us to learn about music educators' experiences around the world (USA, Finland, Germany, France, Russia, and Armenia) teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these experiences have changed their view of the future of music education. Watch interviews, completed projects/ performances, and share your own experiences as well.
Kiera Radvanski Middle School Chorus Teacher, Franklin Township
Creating Diverse Performance Opportunities
Join the middle school music team from Franklin Township as they discuss how they translated their vision for a completely restructured program into a proposal that administrators and guidance counselors understood and supported. If you've dreamed of making changes but don't know how to start, this session is for you.
Miguel Bolivar
Tips, Tricks, and Activities for Remote Elementary Music Kody Andreas
Director of Bands, Highland Park MS/HS
Joe Bergen Executive Director, Mantra Percussion Inc.
Explore different ways to offer unique and varying experiences for your students and ensembles! This session will cover topics including: choosing diverse new repertoire, brainstorming alternative performance spaces, incorporating student input into the creative process; and finding ways to collaborate with composers, musicians, ensembles, and arts organizations.
K-4 General Music and 3-5 Chorus, Spackenkill UFSD
Learn how to create a safe-space for music while adapting your instruction to fit the remote model of learning. Topics include adapting games, movement experiences, virtual instruments, remote elementary chorus, attention grabbers, lesson transitions, and more.
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2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference List of Sessions - continued
General Music: Going the Distance
Percussion Methods Class Refresher from B to X (Bongos to Xylophone)
Greg Roman General Manager – Essential Elements Music Class
John Leister Percussion Teacher, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ, Retired Band Director and Principal, Freelance Performer
General music teachers have been thrown into the uncharted territory of teaching young students at home. Essential Elements Music Class, the powerful cloud-based teaching tool for K-5 music, features over 400 songs, listening maps, interactive games and activities and more, and works brilliantly with laptops, tablets and smartphones. Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
In this fast moving session, John will move from the staples of the percussion section to world percussion instruments that are becoming more and more common in our repertoire. You will leave with ideas and exercises for your next rehearsal or class.
Equip Your Choir with Tools for Music Literacy Emily Crocker
Digital and Blended Learning Strategies for Modern Band
Vice President of Choral Publications (retired)
Bryan Powell Director of Higher Education Initiatives, Little Kids Rock
You Think Sight-Reading, They Think FUN! FUN for the teacher, too! Follow a prescribed sequence and see the reading (and fun!) develop. This session includes techniques and materials to introduce and develop music reading skills in beginning middle school choirs. A packet with handout and sample materials included. Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
This session will identify and demonstrate how teachers can use the most engaging, comprehensive, and interactive music tools found online to reach students of all levels during any time. As a new-found part of today's education, participants will become aware of how to make distance/remote learning beneficial to everyone.
Literature that Educates and Entertains
Music for Diverse Learners: Social Emotional Learning
Emily Crocker Vice President of Choral Publications (retired)
Angela Guerriero Associate Professor/Music Therapy Clinical Director
Emily Crocker shares her ideas on the best music for middle school treble, mixed and combination choirs and gives tips on programming and adapting published arrangements for your choir’s unique needs. Also included, suggestions on getting your music published and exposed to a wider audience. (Includes music packet) Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
Jodi Jianniney Music Educator, Garnet Valley School District, PA
Andrew Vensel Music Educator, Middletown Area School District, PA
Social emotional learning is complementary to music education, especially the education of students with IEPs. Many music therapy techniques are also applicable in the music classroom. A music education and music therapy perspective will be presented, along with the overlap between the fields and professional safety for the music educator.
Using Ukulele and Technology in Modern Band Bryan Powell Director of Higher Education Initiatives, Little Kids Rock
Come and explore the beautiful marriage between using technology and the ukulele! Participants will leave the session with a multitude of free and resourceful ideas to use in their classrooms. Popular music is a powerful tool for generating interest in music and this workshop will help teachers harness that power! TEMPO
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2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference List of Sessions - continued
StringSpeak for the Non-String Major
Rhythm - The First “R”
David Eccles
John Gronert
Director of Orchestras, The Lovett School
Clinician, Ed Sueta Music Publications and Band Director, Perth Amboy Schools
Identifying and understanding the differences and similarities in beginning band and beginning string class instruction will help those with a limited background in strings overcome instructional challenges. Practical aspects of bowing and rehearsal strategies will also be explored. Resources for effective string orchestra rehearsing will also be presented. Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
Unlock the Power of Your Low Strings David Eccles Director of Orchestras, The Lovett School
The rhythmic and harmonic power of the string section resides in the cellos and basses. This session will explore everything low string related. From strings, to bows, to fingerings, the major technical and pedagogical approaches will be discussed. Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
One of the biggest challenges facing all music educators is developing music reading skills. John will show you how to use number systems, word rhythms and syllables to maximize your students’ success. He will also demonstrate a step-bystep approach for establishing rhythm reading accuracy and improving sight reading skills. Sponsored by: Ed Sueta Music Publications, Inc.
Rhythm - Easy as Pie! Leena Harris Clinician, Macie Publishing Company
Students can repeat rhythms that you clap, tap or sing for them. Have you ever noticed children are able to clap rhythms independently but cannot play or sing those same rhythms in a song? With her colorful rhythm pie charts, Lenna will present a fun, proven method for teaching rhythm. Sponsored by: Macie Publishing Company
The Digital String Class: Powerful Tools for the 21st Century String Music Educators
Flipgrid: Easily Exchanging and Creating Videos with your Students
David Eccles
Rina Sklar
Director of Orchestras, The Lovett School
Whether it's online, in-class, or blended learning, we can continue to teach orchestra in these unpredictable times. Essential Elements Interactive (EEi), an incredibly powerful instructional and assessment tool for teachers, can help you create an adaptable curriculum with many resources to make the most efficient use of your instructional time. Sponsored by: Hal Leonard
The End Is The Beginning: Utilizing Reverse Planning Joe Akinskas Adjunct Professor-Rowan University
Why Reverse Design?: This interactive session will begin with examples of the need and purpose for reverse design, coupled with participants implementing the components into a semester learning plan.
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Clinician, Macie Publishing Company and General Music Teacher, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District
The pandemic has thrown us into a new world of distance teaching and required us to search for the best, most effective online platforms for staying connected with our students. Rina will demonstrate Flipgrid, a free platform that will enable you to easily create and exchange videos with your students. Sponsored by: Macie Publishing Company
Passing the “Audition”: Strategies for Applying and Interviewing for Teaching Positions Jonathan Harris Supervisor of Related Arts, Northern Valley Regional HS District
In this session, you'll hear from experienced music administrators about the techniques that can help make your job interview a success. Demo interviews will be used to model and discuss these techniques. 25 TEMPO
2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference List of Sessions - continued
Remote Instruction In And Out Of The Recorder Classroom
Remote Music Responding Activities Based on Social Emotional Learning (SEL): Elementary
Rina Sklar
Sangmi Kang
Clinician, Macie Publishing Company and General Music Teacher, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District
Assistant Professor of Music Education, Westminster Choir College of Rider University
School closures demonstrate the value and necessity of being able to teach remotely. Whatever your teaching scenario, you can teach recorder in a fun and enjoyable way! Rina will present ideas for distance and hybrid classroom learning as well as a fun website. Recorders and trial codes supplied. Sponsored by: Macie Publishing Company
Devon Barnes Leigh Huber Sam Scheibe Kelly Zuzic Can music teachers continuously foster students’ social-emotional learning while teaching remotely? Social-emotional learning (SEL) receives more attention during this pandemic because many students are isolated from their classmates. These remote music responding activities emphasize selfawareness, social-awareness, responsive decision making, selfmanagement, and relationship management based on SEL for elementary music students.
Recruiting and Retention: There’s NO Time Like The PRESENT! Peter Loel Boonshaft Professor of Music, Hofstra University
Facing the challenges of today’s educational environment, our ability to recruit and retain our students is as crucial as ever. To “get” and “keep” students we must adapt to our present situation with renewed and targeted efforts to make certain our students are involved and motivated, as they sense progress and find success. Sponsored by: Alfred Music
Let's Critically Create: Nurturing the 21st Century Skills for Social Change Sangmi Kang Assistant Professor of Music Education, Westminster Choir College of Rider University
Values of equity and diversity empower students to devote their lives to social change. With musical repertoire describing various existential and social questions, participants will critically create musical outcomes demonstrating problem-solving skills and will extend the discussion to the BLM movement. Examples for elementary and secondary classrooms will be provided.
How We Teach Is As Important As What We Teach: Especially Now! Peter Loel Boonshaft Professor of Music, Hofstra University
What we need to teach is exactly the same as it has always been. How we deliver those same things is the challenge. But with every challenge comes enormous possibilities if we change our approach. This session will explore many specific ideas to do just that! Sponsored by: Alfred Music
Transitioning From Music Student to Music Teacher Robert Pispecky Supervisor of Music, Edison School District, Retired
This session will provide practical information for future and novice Music Educators about making the transition from music student to music teacher. The expectations of an inexperienced educator are often very different from the reality of being a music educator- even if the job they land is their “ideal”.
Performance - Mantra Youth Percussion Joe Bergen Ensemble Director
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2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference List of Sessions - continued
Recruit, Retain, RESULTS in Female Band Directing Jenna DiSalvio Band and Orchestra Director, Egg Harbor Township School District
Deborah Gianuzzi Band Director, Sparta High School
WBDI members Jenna DiSalvio and Debbie Gianuzzi return for a session centered around the support and advocacy of female band directors. Session will be focused on how supporting aspiring, new, and current band directors, and demographics to showcase where divides occur and strategies on how and where to make changes.
Spark Creativity in your Instrumental Ensembles Mike Vecchio Music Education PhD Student, University of Michigan
This session will provide tools and strategies for instrumental ensemble directors (elementary, middle school and high school levels) to help students meaningfully engage in creative music making. Topics will include student collaboration through musical conversations, sequence of teaching improvisation and examples of collaborative composition projects, all within the instrumental setting.
Alone-Together: Strategies for Musical Growth and Community Building in the Virtual Music Classroom Dr. Jeremy Wiggins Assistant Professor of Music, Coordinator of Choral Activities and Graduate Studies
The pandemic has left music educators transitioning their instruction online. The shift in pedagogy has been difficult for directors who have had to quickly adapt how they teach, assess, and connect with their students. This session presents teaching strategies, useful technology, and collaborative activities that promote musical growth and community.
One Musician’s ‘Trash’ is Another Musician’s Instrument: A Composition Unit in Social Justice for the General Music Classroom Edward Easse General Music/Choir Teacher
In this hands-on session, educators will be presented with the materials for a composition project unlike any other. Creating, collaborating, discussing, and reflecting, with regard to composition and themes of social justice, are all keys to making this a truly meaningful unit for all.
Shades of Success: Reflections on Statewide Participation with Equity Considerations Robert J. Hamm K-12 Supervisor for Arts Education, East Windsor Regional School District
Participants in state wide and region level ensembles gain valuable experiences through hard work and dedication. In today’s world, are these groups truly representative of all students? Are we being culturally responsive to our community? We will share the work of the NJMEA IDEA committee, and discuss actionable next steps.
80 Strings, 2 Hands: Teaching Techniques for Group Ukulele Instruction. Ian White Music Teacher, Kingwood Township School.
Imagine a class full of students, ukes in hand. Each child bursting with excitement, ready to learn the ukulele. Learn how to harness their enthusiasm with solid procedures, planning and teaching techniques. Learn what to teach, and how to teach it. No ukulele experience needed, come as you are.
Teaching Brass? Gilles Bernard Assistant Professor of Music, New Jersey City University
From early to advanced concepts of music performance on brass instruments, this refresher on brass techniques will cover essential information to help you guide your students toward a successful approach to playing a brass instrument.
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Beethoven Meets Spiderman: A Lesson in Social Justice
One Great Tool for All Your Teaching in the Cloud
Dr. Lisa DeLorenzo Professor of Music Education
Kevin Mead
Dr. Marissa Silverman
SmartMusic is known for helping teachers with accompaniment and assessment. Now entirely cloud-based, SmartMusic includes tools like Sight Reading Builder and Compose so teachers always have the right tool for the job. This clinic explores all of SmartMusic so you can become familiar with it and unleash your students’ potential. Sponsored by: Make Music, Inc.
MakeMusic Inc., Certified Clinician
Associate Professor of Music Education
Who would pair Beethoven with Spider-Man? Curiously, they share similar characteristics in their struggle for social justice. This session is a lesson for middle school students. It characterizes a musical hero from the past with a present-day action hero. Music, of course, plays a central role in the teaching process.
Working Together: Improving Middle Level General Music Through Collaborative PD
Scoring and Arranging with Finale
Stephanie Cronenberg
Kevin Mead
Assistant Professor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
MakeMusic Inc., Certified Clinician
Anqi Tang Doctoral Student, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Learn how easy it is to compose, arrange, edit, transpose, listen to, and print your music with Finale. Learn the tricks that make this process faster and more enjoyable so you can get back to teaching music sooner. Converting scores to MusicXML and import to SmartMusic to guide student practice. Sponsored by: Make Music, Inc.
Kristin Bungert Music Teacher, Ridgefield Park, NJ
Kiera Radvanski Music Teacher, Franklin Township, NJ
Jackeline Ovalle Music Teacher, Texas
Get Your Students to Compose in the Cloud with SmartMusic
This panel discussion will share the experiences of three music teachers who participated in a year-long professional development project during 2019-2020 designed to improve their 5th-8th grade general music classes. The teachers will discuss why they participated, curricular changes, successes and challenges, and the impact of COVID-19.
Kevin Mead MakeMusic Inc., Certified Clinician
SmartMusic is known for helping teachers and students with accompaniment and assessment. Now entirely cloud-based and with a composition tool called Compose and its newest functionality, SmartMusic provides the opportunity for students to write, share, and practice their music on nearly any device. Enhance your students’ musical routine with SmartMusic. Sponsored by: Make Music, Inc.
Fertile Ground: A Framework for Middle Level General Music Stephanie Cronenberg Assistant Professor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
This session introduces the Fertile Ground Framework, a tool designed to guide teachers in revitalizing their 5th-8th grade general music classes. The Framework unites the middle level concept and the National Core Arts Standards. Participants will engage in a curricular activity and then analyze the activity using the Framework.
A Guide to Higher Adjudication Scores Frank L. Hughes. Sr Retired Director of Bands, Toms River HS North
Rehearsal tips, repertoire selection, things to NOT do. Sponsored by: Music Management Associates TEMPO
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Teaching Music to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
True Colors: Score Study and Marking the Music with Color
Maureen Butler
Dr. Eric Posada
Workshop clinician; Retired
Visiting Professor of Choral Music
Music educators are increasingly teaching more children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This workshop will give you insight into the unique characteristics of children with ASD, as well as strategies, activities, lesson plan modifications and accommodations that you can use in your elementary music classroom. and in virtual settings as well.
Score study and preparation are essential to success in the rehearsal. Directors play and sing through the score, identify potential problems, write IPA, practice gesture, and listen to recordings. Utilizing choral scores, Dr. Posada will demonstrate how marking it in color will make it manageable and lead to efficient rehearsals.
Trombone Technique - Troubleshooting Common Problems for the Elementary, Middle and High School Trombonist
From Lord of the Rings to Brahms: Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass
Justin Halat
Visiting Professor of Choral Music
Music Educator
The trombone technique session is intended to focus on developing a good foundation for young trombone/brass students. The clinician will offer insight and exercises to develop proper tone, flexibility and technique throughout the instrument.
The Neurodiverse Music Classroom: Using Strengths of Special Learners and All Students Brian J. Wagner-Yeung NYSSMA Special Learners Chair
Neurodiversity is a fairly new trend focusing on incorporating strength-based learning in the classroom, and celebrating students’ different brain levels. This session will focus on creating a neurodiverse classroom by incorporating positive niche construction in musical environments. Such examples include: strength awareness, universal design for learning, and creating environmental modification.
Dr. Eric Posada Ola Gjeilo’s style is distinct and the result of an amalgamation of cinematic and classical influences with sacred and secular elements. Sunrise Mass was composed with one eye on the big screen and one in the direction of Brahms, Britten, and Bach. Posada will divulge the inspiration for Gjeilo’s masterwork.
Stay Gold: Five Core Tenets for Building a Choral Program Dr. Eric Posada Visiting Professor of Choral Music
Inheriting a program is challenging. Success is defined as creating a culture that fits one’s vision, core values, style, and students. It is important to stay true to one’s self while building a program. Dr. Posada will focus on five core tenets that will build, motivate, and innovate your program.
Intentional Choral Warm-Ups: Skill Building & Accountability
Perform Forever: Philosophy & Motivation in Your Program
Dr. Eric Posada
Dr. Eric Posada
Rehearsals begin with warm-ups that range from breathing and vocalizing to stretching and movement. Let's ask: Have our warm-ups grown stale? Can these skills transfer to our repertoire? Am I consistently assessing and giving feedback? Through warm-up exercises, Dr. Posada will identify each skill while diagnosing issues and proposing solutions.
Visiting Professor of Choral Music
A concise and profound philosophy is difficult to articulate. What is yours? Can you recite it in twenty words? Which values are at the center of your music program? Using championship coach Pete Carroll’s “Win Forever” philosophy, Dr. Posada explores the creation of a philosophy that'll sculpt, motivate, and innovate. JANUARY 2021
Visiting Professor of Choral Music
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DJ101: An Intro for Teachers to Capture Student Interest
What's New at Q: New Resources from QuaverMusic
Tyler Adel
Khalid Daniels
Band Director & Music Technology Instructor, Harrington Park School
Director of Sales
QuaverMusic is always growing to meet the needs of teachers. We develop resources based on feedback from teachers and students to create fun, engaging tools and projects. Take a look at what’s new and how teacher suggestions evolve from a concept into content for you and your students! Sponsored by: QuaverMusic.com
Participants will discuss and demonstrate the skills involved with DJing and how it can increase student participation. We will cover strategies to teach DJing in a classroom setting, including curriculum and scheduling considerations. Experienced or not, come learn how DJing, as a musical activity, can benefit students in your school!
Tech for the Music Educator - "Not Another App Presentation"
Build a Badge
Derek Rohaly
Shawna Longo
Instrumental Music
Music Teacher, Hopatcong Borough Schools
Too often music educators are pushed to use technology because it is a requirement on a teacher evaluation form. Technology should help make teachers’ jobs easier, not more complicated. This session will demonstrate that it is possible to use technology in a meaningful way for you and your students.
Do you feel like you are stuck in a rut with assessing? Or, do your students lack ownership of their learning? Then, music badges might just be what you need! Creating music badges can help organize your instructional process while getting your students excited for benchmark assessment days!
Conducting Gestures Suitable for Beautiful Singing
Creating Interactive Music Classrooms and Choice Boards for Any Learning Environment
Dr. Derrick L. Thompson Visiting Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities
Shawna Longo Music Teacher, Hopatcong Borough Schools
How do choral conductors communicate beautiful singing? In this session, Derrick Thompson will provide participants with non-verbal conducting gestures that will allow your choral ensembles to produce a beautiful well developed sound. This session will also highlight the role of a choral conductor and how beautiful singing is viewed.
Amy Burns Music Teacher, Far Hills Country Day School
Everyday we see new posts about Interactive Classrooms and Choice Boards to support distance learning. But, how do they do it? Focusing on Google Slides and Canva, this workshop will take you through the process in simple, easy-to-do steps where you will leave ready to try it out for yourself!
Teacher Favorited, Student Approved Jeron Stephens
Teaching Guitar With Technology
Director of Choral Activities at Melvin H. Kreps Middle School
Shawna Longo
Come sing some of the best repertoire that has driven my students to JWPepper to find more songs like them. This session will explore repertoire perfect for new and growing choral programs that want to perform high quality music that students will love. This session is middle school student approved!
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Music Teacher, Hopatcong Borough Schools
No matter whether you are teaching in school, via distance learning, or a blended learning model, you can leverage technology to teach guitar. Through the lens of composition, performance, recording, and production, students will develop a deeper connection to playing the guitar and increase their skills at a quicker pace. 30
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The Interactive General Music Classroom Shawna Longo Music Teacher, Hopatcong Borough Schools
Have you ever found yourself wondering - with so many resources out there, where do I begin? This workshop will present practical teaching examples and best practices in using interactive content and resources. Expand your curriculum and your student’s excitement for music using these tips and tricks for integration and organization.
Body, Soul, and Spirit: Leading Rehearsals that Inspire Expressive Music Making Benjamin James Druffel McMurry University, Abilene TX; Director of Bands
This clinic, for conductors of both instrumental and vocal ensembles, will introduce attendees to rehearsal techniques that encourage both the conductor and students to free themselves of inhibitions and inspire expressive musicianship through Body, Soul, and Spirit. A short conducting workshop focusing on expressive gestural vocabulary is also included.
Technology to Support Elementary Music
Caruso Approach for Brass Musicians
Shawna Longo
Dr. Joseph Montelione
Music Teacher, Hopatcong Borough Schools
Director of Bands, Florida Tech University
Are you looking for practical and simple ideas for tech-based instruction through distance learning? Are you looking for new ideas to update your elementary music classes? Thinking about including more technology? In this session, we will explore numerous free and inexpensive ways to bring more technology into your music classes.
Bring your instrument and go through a series of exercises that are proven to be an effective tool for success. Brass students hit the preverbal wall that prohibits them from advancing toward their musical goal, or they develop unhealthy playing habits. Caruso's approach will help improve range, endurance and sound.
Women Who Give a 'Voice' to Women's (or Treble) Voices
Daniel Farr
Dr. Eric Rubinstein Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education
In an effort to promote gender equality, conductors are striving to find repertoire that supports inclusive programming. This reading session is intended for directors of women’s or treble choirs who are searching for repertoire that will empower their singers. Additional discussions will include pedagogical application, programming options, and cultural considerations.
Band Arranging 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Arranging and Rescoring Music for Concert and Marching Bands Benjamin James Druffel
Grad School: Do I Go and How Will I Know? Doctoral Graduate Teaching Associate
Alexander Gonzalez Doctoral Graduate Teaching Associate
Former classroom teachers and current doctoral students Daniel Farr and Alexander Gonzalez will provide insight into the graduate school experience. Topics will include timing, process, areas of study, benefits, and drawbacks. The session will conclude with an open forum for attendees to pose questions and share experiences.
THANK YOU
MusicFirst
McMurry University, Abilene TX - Director of Bands
This clinic will introduce directors to easy tips they can use to create arrangements for concert bands, marching band winds, and small chamber groups that suit the individual and unique needs of their students. Rescoring existing music within copyright guidelines will also be discussed. JANUARY 2021
for your contributions to the 2021 NJMEA Professional Development Virtual Conference 31 TEMPO
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New Jersey Young Composers Competition Finals
Video Games in the Music Classroom
Andrew Lesser
Music Director, Burlington City Public Schools
Andrew Lesser
Music Director, Burlington City Public Schools
Students who have been chosen as finalists for the 12th annual New Jersey Young Composers Competition will participate in a interview and critique held by a professional composer. Awards will be presented along with a performance of each piece.
The purpose of this seminar is to investigate the educational possibilities of video games designed to teach musical knowledge and skills in an elementary school classroom environment. Selected games will be discussed discussion and demonstrated to ascertain their effectiveness in reaching educational objectives.
Demystifying the Sight-Reading Process
Cross Curricular Integration in the General Music Classroom
Timothy Kaiser
Andrew Lesser
Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Arizona Bands
Music Director, Burlington City Public Schools
This presentation outlines a year-long approach to teaching sight-reading fundamentals, including strategies for incorporating sight-reading practice into the daily rehearsal plan.
The seminar will explore the relevance and value of utilizing cross-curricular integration by placing in context each core subject area outside of the arts. This will also be linked to the current NAfME standards in each aspect of general music, including music theory, composition, music history, music performance, and technology.
REED Between the Lines: Improving Your Clarinet Section by Correcting Commonly Overlooked Problems Miles DeCastro Repair Technician, The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam
Conference Registration
Christine Hoerning Professor of Clarinet, The Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam
Session Schedule
Faculty members from the Crane School of Music give an overview of often-overlooked clarinet equipment/repair problems, from the perspectives of repair technician and artisteducator. A properly functioning instrument, combined with a proper equipment will make your clarinet section unstoppable. Don't let disrepair and faulty equipment cause frustration for your clarinets! Sponsored by: Eastman Winds/Strings
Session Information
available at:
https://njmea.org/conferences
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Increasing Access Through Popular Music Education: A Case Study of the Pop/Rock Ensemble at Bergen Community College Andrew Krikun, Bergen Community College Bryan Powell, John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University
Music education in public schools struggles to include diverse populations and has often inadequately addressed issues of access, inclusion, and equity for traditionally marginalized groups. Often, the ensembles present in school music programs are limited to bands, choirs, and orchestras that focus on Western European art music traditions. Even in schools that include jazz and popular music repertoire, music making in these ensembles are often taught using traditional pedagogical approaches. Music education is at a critical moment in its evolution. If music educators seek to expand access to music participation for all students, then they need to diversify the types of musical experiences that are offered in schools. Recent scholarship indicates that the inclusion of popular music ensembles in schools can increase the diversity of students participating in school music while providing increased opportunities for participation for traditionally marginalized populations (Clauhs & Cremata, 2020). An examination of the practices and pedagogies used in these popular music ensembles can shed light on how music programs might integrate some of these approaches in an attempt to increase the diversity of their student participants. What follows highlights the popular music ensemble at Bergen Community College, tracing the history of the ensemble and suggesting ways in which other ensembles might increase the diversity of school music programs. Community Colleges and Contemporary Music Education Although two-year public community colleges have been in existence for over one hundred years and currently enroll almost half of the undergraduate student popuTEMPO
lation, very little research has been devoted to their role in the democratization of the music education curriculum in higher education. Historically, public community colleges in the United States have played an important role in the development of the college music curriculum, establishing the first post-secondary music programs in jazz and popular music, opera, music business, and music technology. Beginning with groundbreaking junior college music programs in Los Angeles during the 1930s that introduced popular music and opera into the curriculum, as well as Max Kaplan’s pedagogical innovations at Pueblo Junior College in Colorado in the early 1940s, these often-marginalized institutions have offered opportunities for students diversified by factors including race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and previous academic background to pursue music studies when traditional four-year colleges and universities had stringent barriers, including audition requirements and financial obligations (Krikun, 2017). Bergen Community College Bergen County Community College (BCC) is a twoyear college located in Paramus, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. Bergen County Community College currently offers three Associate degrees with a focus on music: an Associate of Fine Arts degree in Music with concentrations in Classical/Jazz Music Performance, Popular Music, and Music Production for students planning to transfer to a four-year college music program; and two Associate of Applied Arts vocational degrees in Music Business and Recording Arts. One of the musical ensembles that Bergen County Community College offers is the Pop/Rock Ensemble. The current director of the Pop/Rock Ensemble is Andy Krikun, who created 34
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the class in 2004. Former directors include Will Fulton, Bryan Powell, and Sony Tiwari. The Pop/Rock Ensemble The Pop/Rock Ensemble (PRE) was started at the suggestion of one of Krikun’s colleagues at BCC, the late composer Ron Mazurek, who founded Bergen’s electronic music program in the previous decade. Student enrollment in the BCC music ensembles dwindled after the college removed ensemble participation and applied music courses as requirements for students seeking their Associate’s degree in Music. Before the creation of the PRE, the only performing ensembles were the BCC Jazz Ensemble (which was comprised of six musicians primarily made up of senior citizens) and the BCC Chorus. With the launch of the PRE and the revision of the music curriculum to require ensemble courses, enrollment grew and currently, the PRE enrolls between twenty and thirty students each semester. The ensemble is open to the approximately 100 music majors at BCC, as well as nonmusic majors from across the campus. The BCC Pop/ Rock Ensemble was one of the first college popular music ensembles in the Northeast to be offered as a for-credit course. The ensemble has performed both on campus and in off-campus venues showcasing a diversity of musical styles including contemporary pop, rock, Latin, hip hop, R&B, EDM, heavy metal, country, folk, and classic rock. The ensemble welcomes all levels of musicians from beginners to advanced and includes students from a wide diversity of musical and cultural backgrounds. Many ensemble alumni have gone on to pursue careers in the music industry, performing in local and national venues. The students have performed in a variety of themed events including “Bergen Performs Jersey,” a tribute to New Jersey based musicians as well as tributes to Michael Jackson, Sly Stone, Stax Records, Broadway, Motown, John Lennon, and the Summer of Love. Guest artists have included a diverse group of master musicians including jazz trumpeter/arranger Steven Bernstein, R&B/Soul vocalist Vaneese Thomas, Latin musician and BCC alumnus Kiki Bello, and Native American poet John Trudell. To assist the current director, in 2018, the college hired Divinity Montijoa to act as a student tutor. As a young woman with a diverse ethnic and musical background, Divinity provides important additional perspectives. JANUARY 2021
In what follows, we review some aspects of the PRE that set it apart from most collegiate ensembles, especially with regard to encouraging access for all students and expanding the diversity of participants. Auditions In contrast to many collegiate music ensembles where students must play contrasting pieces from a standard repertoire of music, the Pop/Rock Ensemble at BCC is open to any student who signs up; no audition process required. The decision to not hold auditions comes from to the desire to include as many students as possible. Doing so removes barriers to participation for students without traditional musical proficiency. This inclusive approach to music participation is in line with Glen Carruthers (2006), who argued for increased access to music programs as a way to promote lifelong learning and cautioned against discriminating against willing participants through auditions or applications. Carruthers stated that audition requirements that exclude students from participation places schools at odds with “current mainstream philosophies of lifelong learning where everyone is encouraged to participate to the best of one’s ability” (p. 7). Repertoire Selection The music repertoire performed by the PRE is largely chosen by the students. Sometimes the repertoire reflects a theme (e.g., “musicians from NJ”), and other times the repertoire is chosen simply because the students like the song and want to learn how to perform it as a band. Bringing students into the decision-making process when selecting music for the ensemble democratizes the process and allows the musical experiences to be culturally relevant to the students since they are given the opportunity to have a voice in the repertoire selection. As music educators seek to facilitate musical experiences that are culturally responsive, a good first step is to have a discussion with the students about their musical goals for the class and the types of music that they want to play or sing. Student Songwriting Another difference between the PRE and many music ensembles is the inclusion of original songs written by students. Rather than recreating music written by others, 35 TEMPO
popular musicians typically work together to create new material. Students in the PRE often also participate in BCC’s Songwriting Workshop, a course where students work on their original compositions through a series of group and solo activities. These students can then bring these songs into the PRE for the class to learn and perform as a group. Students also have the opportunity to create original material from scratch in their ad hoc bands. And even when covering songs written by others, PRE students determine the arrangement of songs, allowing them to possess voice in making musical decisions. Rehearsals During rehearsals for the PRE, musicians use different types of iconic notation including chords charts, tablature, and lead sheet notation when learning and performing music. Since the students also create the arrangements of the songs, they consistently add and edit parts on existing lyric sheets and chord charts. The faculty member of the PRE serves more as a facilitator than a traditional director. Unlike many music ensemble directors that run rehearsals and make many of the musical decisions, the PRE “director” often takes a step back and allows the students to figure out musical solutions themselves. George Boespflug (2004) advocated for this approach to popular music education and stated, “Rather than being the authority figure at the front of the room, the teacher becomes more of a facilitator, monitoring musical and lyrical content and student interaction and stepping in as needed to help coordinate the collaborative composition process” (p. 196). By allowing students to take ownership of the rehearsal process, the PME facilitator can leverage the potential of incorporating informal learning practices and peer mentoring into ensemble rehearsals. Implications This brief overview of some of the practices of the Pop/Rock Ensemble at Bergen Community College provides several implications for the music education profession. First, in order to increase diversity among student participants in our music ensembles, we need to consider diversifying the types of ensembles that we include in our school music programs. Adding popular music ensembles TEMPO
can attract students who might not otherwise participate in school music programs. Secondly, the incorporation of student leadership in the form of repertoire selection, song arrangements, and rehearsal processes can democratize the music classroom and connect school music programs with the musical lives of the students. To be clear, the incorporation of popular music ensembles into the school music curriculum should not be seen as a replacement for the traditional bands, choirs, and orchestras; the field of music education is large enough to support all of these ensembles and more. The incorporation of popular music ensembles, and other ‘non-traditional’ ensembles such as electronic music, guitar and world music ensembles, can widen the door to music participation for all students, especially those not currently participating in school music programs (Powell, Krikun, & Pignato, 2015). Works cited Boespflug, G. (2004). The pop music ensemble in music education. In C. X. Rodriguez (Editor), Bridging the gap: Popular music and music education. Reston VA: The National Association for Music Education. Carruthers, G. (2006). Universities and the musiclearning continuum. International Journal of Community Music, 4, 1-17. Clauhs, M., & Cremata, R. (2020). Student voice and choice in modern band curriculum development. Journal of Popular Music Education, 4(1), 101-116. Krikun, A. (2017). Historical foundations of popular music education in the United States. In Brennan, M., Moir, Z., Kirkman, P., Rambarran, S. & Smith, G.D., The Ashgate research guide to popular music education. Farnam, UK: Ashgate. Powell, B. J., Krikun, A. & Pignato, J. (2015). ‘Something’s happening here!’: Popular Music Education in the United States. IASPM@Journal, Spring 2015.
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Contact us: 973.655.7610 musauditions @ montclair.edu John J. Cali School of Music Montclair, NJ 37 TEMPO
Teaching Music for Social Justice Frank Abrahams Associate Dean and Professor or Music Education Westminster Choir College of Rider University Lawrenceville, New Jersey
The Dean at my University always begins his greetings to new students with “Everyone has a story.” He then tells his story and encourages the participants to share their autobiographies. I often begin my account during the 1960s. I attended high school and college when the country was in an unpopular war, when there were sit-ins and other protests throughout the country. This period of history was when songs of protest such as Bob Dylan's “Blowin' in the Wind” and Peter Paul, and Mary's “If I Had a Hammer” filled the airwaves, LP collections, and school choral folders. Pete Seeger wrote “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “This Land is Your Land” during this time. These were songs everyone knew and sang; they have since become standards and part of our American folk music history. Now, times are not so different. Like Americans in the 1960s, people are again in the streets of cities across America. They are again protesting injustice, though this time in more focused ways. Today, we champion the Black Lives Matter movement, abhor police violence, and bring into focus the fact that Black people’s ability to walk the streets is compromised for fear police will kill them. Music Education and Social Justice How should music education respond to such issues of social justice? While we have an ethical responsibility to address social justice issues, social justice is not a unit in the music curriculum or a stand-alone assignment for a single class. Music education for social justice is a philosophical perspective that should permeate the entire program in classroom lessons, ensemble concerts, and class assignments. Might students in our music classes be writing protest songs? What musics should we include for listening lessons? Some of the popular songs that children listen to outside of school address issues of social TEMPO
justice. What idiomatic and non-idiomatic musics by Black composers might we include? There are many definitions of social justice. While various definitions address unique aspects of the work of social justice, one that I like is from the literature on relational justice. Pompeu Casanovas and Marta Problet (2008) define relational justice as "the justice produced through cooperative behavior, agreement, negotiation, or dialogue among actors in a post-conflict situation" (abstract, para. 1). The authors embrace identity, diversity, justice, and action. These descriptors are cornerstones of good teaching and consistent with 21st-century cooperation, critical thinking, creativity, and communication skills (Battelle for kids, 2019). Such acts of “negotiation” also nurture the cognitive processes of musical imagination, musical intellect, musical creativity, and music-making through performance (Abrahams & John, 2017), which is consistent with the anchor standards and domains addressed in tolerance.org materials. Nonetheless, we need to ensure that music teaching and learning remain the core of how we engage with social justice issues within our music classrooms. After all, we are music teachers and have a responsibility to teach music. Our lessons still need to be grounded in musicspecific objectives and rich in engagements with music. Our task, then, is to uncover the abundant opportunities our subject matter offers to engage with concepts of identity, diversity, justice, and action. How does one teach with a social justice philosophy? Parker Palmer (2017) writes that we teach who we are. To train for social justice, teachers must come to terms with their own understandings of racism, equity, diversity, inclusivity, and democracy. What are their strengths? What are their biases? How can they assure students that their preferences will not disadvantage them? By whose authority can teachers decide what the goals of socially 38
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just music education should be? The imperative work teachers must do to fill the gaps in their own education, research the history and context of the materials they are presenting, find their “blind spots,” and emotionally prepare for the times when their blind spots may be called out. They need to build a respect and rapport with their students so that students feel comfortable voicing when something lands wrong. Next, teachers need to know who they are teaching. To do that, I ask my students to make a 5-7 minute, “Who Am I?” video. While some record the video in their rooms, others take me on a virtual tour of their neighborhood. I meet their cat, grandma, and see their elementary school, church, and more. It allows me to place them into a context and draw some themes about who they are, where they come from, and the journey that brought them to my class. Some grew up in diverse neighborhoods, while others did not. Some students don’t have access to technology or a dedicated place to study, practice, and work. I like to design lessons that address various learning preferences and styles and account for who has access to technology, their socio-economic status, and more. The video gives me the chance to plan more sensitively and appropriately. Sometimes, I ask them to remake the video a year later to see how they have changed. That is often eye-opening and provides a terrific assessment. Next, teachers must consider social justice goals for the students. How might the experiences students have in my music class impact their future growth? Teachers don’t have a crystal ball, but they can hope that their class helps their students be socially conscious, committed to ethical practice, and strong advocates for racial equality. They can support the rights of all people and show empathy and compassion for those of under-represented populations. I want my students to recognize and accept their responsibility to stand up to exclusion, prejudice, and injustice and to speak up courageously and respectfully when they see that someone else has been a victim of bias. I am hoping students will be agents of change that ensure equity and ethical behavior. In short, I argue for humane and civil dispositions. However, these are my values and may not be consistent with my students' religious teachings, family values, or personal perspectives. Furthermore, like teachers in every subject, I don’t have the autonomy to decide curricula. Teachers must consider external political structures that mandate parameters JANUARY 2021
and traditions that may not represent the teaching population. Embedded in the discussions I have with students as part of the music lesson, includes dialogue that helps students recognize and counteract stereotypes and relate to each other as individuals rather than groups’ representatives. I hope that they use their musical gifts to denounce and combat racism at all levels, poverty, homelessness, and issues of access. I do that by providing students with musical experiences that model ethical behavior and a commitment to repair the world. I want all students to rebel against hegemonic structures that delimit actions and attitudes contrary to their conceptions of the humane, ethical, and just. Together, I want us to choose, share, and embrace music representing all students. The COVID19 pandemic has caused us to interact with each other in different ways. Still, what follows is a sample lesson for middle school students that embeds relational justice issues into the pedagogy. Social Justice in Action General Music Lesson Plan (for face-to-face instruction in the classroom or remote instruction online) Title of Lesson: A Music Encounter for Today. Grade Level: Middle School Learning Goals: What Learners will Be able to do (behavioral): Students will name 3 Black composers with a success rate of 80%. Understand (cognitive): Students will recognize the social injustices in society as exemplified by current events and analyze musical responses to the issues. Encounter (experiential): Students will examine their own personal (and perhaps private) emotional responses to social justice issues that impact them. Construct meaning (constructivist): Students will come to empathize with the issues of oppressed and under-represented people, as represented in music that addresses social justice issues. 39 TEMPO
Focusing Question In what ways will students deepen their understanding of social justice issues in society and realize how music can bind people together in positive ways? Online Learning Outcomes 1. To foster learner autonomy and independence. 2. To instill learner responsibility for knowledge acquisition and mastery. 3. To encourage creative and divergent thinking. Materials Resound: Black History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plS0Ejtj6gI&ab_ channel=OfficialResound Ten Great Black Composers To Know https://www.king.org/ten-great-black-composers-toknow/ Margaret Bonds – Ballad of the Brown King https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQE-S3b4FA0 Freedom is Coming – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOZaXN5bKH8 Siyahamba – Mwamba Children's Choir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1KZbMprW8U For teacher reference: Social Justice Standards: The Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/2017-06/ TT_Social_Justice_Standards_0.pdf Process Partner: (Honor THEIR world by beginning with an experience students bring to the lesson. Include time for students to collaborate and respond through sharing and discussion.) The teacher poses the following prompt: “Think about a time when you or someone you know, may have felt oppressed, mistreated, bullied, or disadvantaged. As you are comfortable, share with the class in the classroom, or post your comments in an online discussion board.” Present: (Sequence the lesson steps. Take the learnTEMPO
ing from THEIR world to the world of the classroom. Present or have students find the information and allow time for students to practice and respond. Engage critical thinking, problem posing, and problem-solving. The teacher monitors a discussion of the student experiences and connects them to current oppression today, guiding the conversation to racial injustices happening now. Together, they define social justice. As a class, with the teacher, or on their own at home, students read the article and watch the videos included in “Ten Great Black Composers to Know” as an example of these composers’ brilliance and excellence despite oppression in various societies, contexts, or eras. As they read and watch, ask students to think about why some consider these composers “great” and why we should know them. Share answers in a class discussion or small groups in a chat room or singly on a discussion board. What themes emerge from the debate? Do issues of social justice arise? What are they? As a class in the classroom or online, watch “Black History” by Resound. As an extension, students listen to “Ballad of the Brown King” by Margaret Bonds or they learn to sing “Freedom is Coming” and “Siyahamba,” which are South African protest songs. There are multiple versions of each on YouTube. What themes of social justice emerge from these musical examples? Share with the class in the classroom, in small groups in a breakout room, or singly on an online discussion board. Personalize: (Make the learning personal to the students. Provide opportunities for students to create and be musicians. Encourage musical thinking and innovation. Students choose one (1) of the following or suggest an appropriate alternative: 1. Singly, in small groups in the classroom, or in breakout rooms online, students make a musical playlist of music by 10 contemporary Black composers or performers of any genre that they feel everyone should know. They make a video explaining why they chose the playlist's selections and how social justice themes are present. They post their video on an online Discussion Board. Remind students of the school-based context of the activity and ask them to find radio-edits for songs that may have language that is not appropriate for school. 2. Students compose an original song that expresses 40
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their personal feelings connected to a social justice theme for today. They share with the class in the classroom, at a synchronous class meeting online, or as a video. 3. Students propose to their teacher an additional alternative to the list above for them to complete. If approved, they complete the project. Perform: (Communicate and share the new learning as students perform through concert presentation, demonstration, or exhibition. Using ZOOM or other online platforms, invite parents and friends to an “open house” to share the work completed. For each presentation, students share (connect) how the lesson impacted their views of social justice. After, students meet with the teacher, in the classroom or online, to share and process how this lesson impacts their commitment to social justice and set a social justice agenda for future music classes.
it can provide musical experiences that nourish students’ social and emotional needs in ways that are supportive and nurturing. As their teacher, I can try to model those behaviors in the musical experiences that we find meaningful and design together. The music class should be a safe place where students have opportunities to work collaboratively on projects that engage their musical imaginations, intellect, and creativity in pieces of music that teach them to work cooperatively together and blur socially-constructed boundaries that seek to keep us separated. It is a place where there is space for them to share and perform for each other. References Abrahams, F., & John, R. (2020). Planning instruction in music online supplements. Chicago: GIA. Abrahams, F., & John, R. (2017). Becoming musical. Chicago: GIA Publications.
Assessment Formative The teacher monitors the quality and focus of student contributions to discussions either in the classroom or online. Summative Teachers assess the quality of each child's contribution to the final “performance.” Perhaps the teacher develops a rubric to quantify this assessment. As an exit ticket, students list 3 Black composers studied in the lesson. Integrative The teacher formally reflects on the following questions: - In what ways did the lesson meet the learning objectives? - In what ways did the lesson meet the online learning outcomes? - In what ways might the teacher strengthen the lesson the next time they teach it?
Battelle for Kids (2019). Framework for 21st century learning. http://static.battelleforkids.org/documents/ p21/P21_Framework _Brief.pdf Casanovas, P. & Poblet, M. (2008). Concepts and Fields of Relational Justice. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-855699_21. Social justice standards: The teaching tolerance anti-bias framework. https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/ files/2017-06/TT_Social_Justice_Standards_0.pdf McCarthy, B. (1980). The 4MAT system: Teaching to learning styles with right-left mode techniques (2nd ed.) Wauconda, IL: About Learning, Inc. Palmer, P. J. (2017). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life (20th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Conclusion A school music program cannot solve all the world’s problems. However, teaching for social justice enables teachers to connect to Black Lives Matter. In addition, JANUARY 2021
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Culturally Responsive Music Education, Now More Than Ever
Vanessa L. Bond, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Music Education Rowan University Glassboro, New Jersey
It seems impossible to talk about any aspect of teaching right now without addressing the elephant in the room: the multi-ton weight of COVID-19 anxiety on our shoulders. We, as a broader society and more specifically as a community of music educators, are experiencing a collective trauma. Whether a preservice teacher entering a classroom in the teacher role for the first time or a veteran of 20 years, we are all novices in navigating what it means to teach during a pandemic. We must acknowledge the personal strain we face as educators. Because of this, I want to hold that acknowledgement in dialectic with also viewing this moment as an opportunity -- an opportunity for heightened awareness of our practices and our values. Most have had to rethink the status quo of the classroom. A virtual space has required new tools, new pedagogical strategies to foster engagement, and document achievement. Teaching in person is only possible within limited conditions of musicking, such as singing outdoors only, using bell covers and physical distancing, or pushing into classrooms on a cart. In a hybrid context, a teacher must negotiate multiple spaces and pedagogies. The pandemic has also heightened awareness of student anxiety and inequities in our systems that have been present long before. While at a distance, we have been brought closer to each other, in a sense, by entering students’ home spaces. We were not invited, but, by necessity, into their homes we go. More than ever, perhaps, we are made aware of students’ varied academic and social-emotional needs, and the systems that privilege some while oppressing others. More than ever, a responsive approach is needed in our classrooms. Culturally responsive education Culturally responsive teaching is a mindset. It is an approach to teaching that encompasses pedagogy, curTEMPO
riculum, climate -- all facets of working with students, families, and communities. Referenced in many ways, such as culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, culturally sustaining pedagogy, I have (see Bond, 2017; Bond & Russell, 2019) and continue to use “culturally responsive education” as an umbrella term to refer to a commitment to student academic success by teaching to and through students’ strengths, the development of intercultural competence, and the raising of a critical consciousness about one’s field and our sociopolitical contexts1. As a framework that sees and validates the whole student, and acknowledges the potential conflict between students’ cultural lenses and the structures of our educational system, cultivating a responsive mindset can help us meet students’ needs in these challenging times and in our future. I offer the following strategies as an entry point to becoming more responsive as an educator. Explore identities and raise awareness of implicit bias Culture is positioned front and center in this approach to acknowledge and validate how varied norms and life experiences influenced by cultural identities shape one’s worldview, means of communication, and social mores. I am purposeful in presenting identity in plural form; each of us identifies in a variety of ways (e.g., gender, race, class) and, in that sense, are multicultural beings in and of ourselves. An initial step of this work is to turn inward, make conscious, and explore the many ways in which you identify yourself. After better understanding your cultural frame(s), consider how that frame has shaped your experiences and outlook on the world. 1
In doing so I am building off of Ladson-Billings (1995) initial defini-
tion primarily.
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• What feels “normal” in your day-to-day experiences? • In which social situations are you most comfortable/ uncomfortable? • What are your expectations for gender roles, relationships with time, or physical space? In thinking through these questions, you may begin to uncover your implicit bias, your unconscious attitudes and beliefs that shape your response to others. Implicit bias is within us all, even if you have an orientation toward social justice and equity. As participants in our society, we are conditioned by the messaging that surrounds us. By recognizing and exploring our implicit bias we can be aware of our cultural programming and manage our responses in a way that honors the cultural frames of others. Know and build relationship with students A fundamental aspect of culturally responsive education is acknowledging and validating students’ experiences, identities, and funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 2005). A necessary first step in adopting a responsive frame, therefore, is knowing the students in your care. • What are their strengths? • In what ways do they identify? • What teaching and learning strategies are embedded in their communities? • With which genres and ways of making music are they most comfortable? These are questions that cannot be answered without student input (i.e., we should not be making assumptions based on visual evidence) and it is unlikely that students will be explicit without an established rapport. Devoting time and energy to building those relationships is of paramount importance. As a part of or in addition to that process, teachers need to create opportunities to gather information about students in direct and indirect ways. In the current context, this may prove especially challenging as you may not be in the same physical space or able to communicate with them synchronously in any capacity, but it is still possible. For example, you can use a direct approach to data gathering through a digital questionnaire. I send a Google form to students every couple of weeks in which I ask for direct feedback and JANUARY 2021
contextual information: • What are you enjoying most about our class currently? • What are you enjoying least? • Please share any aspects about your home learning environment that might influence your work/experience in this class. • In what ways have you experienced music in your community? Collected information allows me to adjust class logistics, instructional delivery, and content based on their feedback in a way that meets their ever-changing needs. I also use assessment opportunities that help me learn about students indirectly. For example, I have established a dialogue journal with each student in which they are required to respond to specific prompts related to our course content. Because we use a Google document, I can respond to their entries via the commenting feature and it has become a way to have a personal conversation with each student asynchronously. In addition, students create a musical identity podcast in which they select meaningful pieces of music and narrate the importance of the specific examples in their lives. Although it is never requested in the prompt, students have shared a great deal with me in these moments, including information about their emotional health, family structures, feelings about performance, and school experiences outside of the music setting. In this, and in other assessment examples, I strive to provide feedback via the video commenting feature whenever possible. By using this or the audio-commenting feature in Google Classroom, Canvas, other learning management systems or online tools (e.g., Flipgrid), we can lessen the psychological distance in building relationships with students and ensure the tone of our feedback is communicated accurately, as well as provide feedback that students are more likely to apply to future work (Ice et al., 2007). Use students’ cultural tools Learning about students is a constant endeavor. Culture is fluid and students’ identities will shift over time. In addition, building your own intercultural competence will be a lifelong pursuit as you strive to expose yourself to cultural experiences lived by your students in order to “widen your interpretation aperture” (Hammond, 2015, 43 TEMPO
p. 58) and analyze behaviors through various cultural frames. Because it may seem overwhelming to familiarize yourself with the many cultures present in a heterogeneous classroom, Zaretta Hammond (2015) suggested to “focus on the roots of culture” at which there are similarities in worldview and values. Hammond identified two cultural archetypes, collectivism and individualism, as a starting point to understand a student’s general cultural orientation. Characteristics of collectivism include an emphasis on group success and harmony, interdependence, and a relational approach to learning (i.e., through group interaction and dialogue). The vast majority of the world’s cultures are or lean collectivist, including African American, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. In contrast, individualism heralds independence, individual contribution, self-reliance, competition, and a technical approach to learning (i.e., through individual study and reading) (Hammond, 2015), and is the dominant culture in the United States. One should take caution not to overgeneralize, but viewing the classroom in light of these archetypes might help disrupt the frame of individualism (and whiteness) through which many of us teach and/or were taught to teach. In planning lessons, one might consider how selected strategies align with collectivist characteristics. • Are students given opportunities to work collaboratively? • Are you encouraging dialogue between peers as a means to construct knowledge? • Using group-focused games, call and response, story, rituals, and routine? • Building on students’ experiences and culture from a musical perspective, what ways of being musical are valued in your classroom? • Is notational literacy the primary focus or only one means to musicking? • Are various genres and cultures represented, and if so, how are they represented and experienced? Reflecting on these questions can help us consider the ways we are building on students’ cultural tools in order to increase access and connection to the content for all.
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Develop (sociopolitical) critical thinking A necessary and sometimes overlooked component of responsive education is the raising of a critical consciousness in students. Developing critical thinking, “thinking that attempts to arrive at a decision or judgement only after honestly evaluating alternatives with respect to available evidence and arguments” (Hatcher & Spencer, 2006, p. 1), is a lauded educational goal, one that is viewed as crucial for cultivating independent musicianship (Garrett, 2013). In a responsive framework, one is led to use critical thinking skills with a sociopolitical lens through which we “challenge the status quo of the current social order” (Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 160). Put more plainly, we question how and why things are as they are. For example, in my work with preservice teachers we look at the publishing industry and question the nature of knowledge. We challenge what is considered to be the “truth” by highlighting the decisions made behind what information is deemed valuable, what information is shared, which composers are given access and promoted, and how such decisions made by those in positions of power influence the field of music education and, ultimately, students’ experience in music classrooms. In PK-12 settings, one might lead students to adopt a critical perspective by taking time to encourage conversations that reveal the Eurocentric view of music that tends to prevail in school music experiences. For the youngest learners, this might be a conversation about instrument classifications. Rather than presenting the orchestral instrument family alone, one can lead students to discover how the majority of instruments in the world will not fit into the categorization of winds, strings, percussion, and brass. This may lead to a broader discussion of why applying Eurocentric systems and norms to other cultures of musicking is inappropriate. After facilitating this discussion, in developmentally appropriate language, of course, a teacher could introduce the Sachs-Hornbostel classification system (e.g., aerophone, idiophone). For middle school students, one might problematize which music is shared (typically) in music class and how it is described. For high school students, a discussion about the function of notation could be stimulating. Why is notation used? What other systems of notation exist outside of the Western European frame? Does notational literacy equate music literacy? Although sociopolitical critique could be connected to a specific activity, ideally,
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one would work to infuse this manner of thinking into everyday classroom interactions and discussion. Final thoughts The pandemic has required our flexibility and adaptability, pushing us to let some things go so we can focus on what is truly important to us. As we re-evaluate what we do, how we do it, and why we do it, let us use this forced juncture point to catapult us into new ideas and redouble our focus on meeting the academic and socioemotional needs of the students. A responsive mindset can be a guidepost to better serve the students through this turbulent era and beyond. For further reading:
Works cited Bond, V. L. (2017). Culturally responsive education in music education: A literature review. Contributions to Music Education, 42, 153-180. Bond, V. L., & Russell, J. A. (2019). Music teacher educator perceptions of and engagement with culturally responsive education. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, (221), 7-28. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/bulcoures musedu.221.0007 Garrett, M. L. (2013). An examination of critical thinking skills in high school choir rehearsals. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(3), 303317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429413497219
Bond, V. L., & Russell, J. A. (in press). Culturally responsive pedagogical/andragogical context knowledge: A proposed framework for music education. Journal of Music Teacher Education.
Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin.
Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin.
Hatcher, D. L., & Spencer, L. A. (2006). Reasoning and writing: From critical thinking to composition (3rd ed.). American Press.
Lind, V. R., & McKoy, C. L. (2016). Culturally responsive teaching in music education: From understanding to application. Routledge. McEvoy, C. A., & Salvador, K. (2020). Aligning culturally responsive and trauma-informed pedagogies in elementary general music. General Music Today, 34(1), 21-28. https://doi. org/10.1177/1048371320909806
Ice, P., Curtis, R., Phillips, P., & Wells, J. (2007). Using asynchronous audio feedback to enhance teacher presence and student’s sense of community. Online Learning, 11(2), 3-25. http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/ olj.v11i2.1724 Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. doi: 10.3102/00028312032003465 Moll, L., Gonzales, N., &Amanti, C. (2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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Armando Bayolo's LAST BREATHS: Inhaling and Exhaling with Others Thomas McCauley John J. Cali School of Music Montclair State University
What responsibilities do large ensembles and their conductors have to examine present-day circumstances? What present-day issues are worthy of this kind of examination? Whose stories do we tell and why? These weighty questions are ones which must be considered by teachers responsible for the musical education of young people through the medium of the large ensemble. As each teacher/conductor, ensemble, and circumstance is often quite different, the answers to the questions above cannot be standard or universal. But it is in these different circumstances and situations, and often because of them, that unique and sometimes profound musical and educational experiences occur. This was the case with the Montclair State University Wind Symphony’s experience with Puerto Rican born, Cuban composer Armando Bayolo’s Last Breaths. For readers who may not know, Bayolo has been commissioned by prestigious entities such as the Aspen Music Festival, Harvard University, the Minnesota Orchestra, the American Composers Forum, and the Consortium for a Strong Minority Presence, and his music has been performed around the world. Importantly, Bayolo is no stranger to creating socially conscious works including music dedicated to climate change (Wide Open Spaces, 2013), school violence (Elegy: Sandy Hook, 2012), and fate and inevitability (A Kind of Standoff, 2006). Before the atrocious murder of George Floyd focused more of white America’s attention on the inequality in our current system of justice and community policing, in 2014, Bayolo began expressing his dismay in music about the deaths of unarmed African Americans at the hands of the police including Eric Garner, John Crawford, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Kimani Gray, and Jonathan Ferrell in Last Breaths. Originally written as a chamber work for baritone solo, bass clarinet, trumpet, and TEMPO
trombone, the large ensemble version of Last Breaths was commissioned by: The College of New Jersey Wind Ensemble, David Vickerman, conductor (leader) Arizona State University Wind Ensemble, Jason Caslor, conductor Gustavus Adolphus College Wind Orchestra, James Patrick Miller, conductor Gustavus Adolphus College Office of the Chaplains Limestone College Wind Ensemble, Patrick K. Carney, conductor Montclair State University Wind Symphony, Thomas McCauley, conductor California State University Stanislaus Wind Ensemble, Stuart Sims, conductor University of Maryland Wind Orchestra, Michael Votta, conductor University of Georgia Hodgson Wind Ensemble, Cynthia Johnston Turner, conductor University of South Florida Wind Ensemble, John C. Carmichael, conductor Instrumentation: Solo baritone (amplified) 2 flutes (flute 1 doubles piccolo) 2 clarinets Bass clarinet Soprano saxophone Alto saxophone Tenor saxophone Baritone saxophone 2 horns Trumpet in C Tenor Trombone 46
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Bass Trombone 2 percussion: Glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, bass drum, kick drum, snare drum, suspended cymbal, floor tom, conga, whip, brake drum, four tom-toms, timpani. Harp Piano
INHALING LAST BREATHS When viewed next to current wind band composers, Bayolo certainly seemed an unusual choice for a commission. Yet this is what initially drew me to the project. Dr. David Vickerman, who, at the time, was the Director or Bands at The College of New Jersey, asked if I would be interested in helping to commission a version of Last Breaths for winds and a soloist. After researching the Divided into 7 separate movements, Last Breaths is ap- piece—more on the music later—I agreed to be a part proximately 12 minutes in length. Each movement of the commissioning project. The newly commissioned names one of the victims of police violence, followed by version of Last Breaths arrived via pdfs in 2016, and I the victim’s date of death: made a mental note to program the piece when the right opportunity presented itself. I. Eric Garner, July 12, 2014 That opportunity arrived in the form of an invitaII. John Crawford, August 5, 2014 tion from the College Band Directors National AssociaIII. Trayvon Martin, February 26, 2012 tion (CBDNA) to perform at the National Conference IV. Eric Garner, July 12, 2014 (reprise) at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona on ThursV. Sean Bell, November 25, 2006 day, February 21, 2019. No large ensemble in our School VI. Kimani Gray, March 9, 2013 of Music had ever received an invitation to perform at VII. Jonathan Ferrell, September 13, 2013 a national convention. We were thrilled by the prospect of traveling across the country to showcase our school to college band directors and administrators from across Every movement centers around the last words America. As is the case with national conferences, proof each victim. grams need to be submitted well in advance of the conference, so I began thinking deeply about what we should Movement 1 - Eric Garner, July 12, 2014 play and why we should play it. Two things became fairly Text: “I can’t breathe!” clear to me: Movement 2 - John Crawford, August 5, 2014 Text: “It’s not real…” Movement 3 - Trayvon Martin, February 26, 2012 Text: “What are you following me for?” Movement 4 - Eric Garner, July 12, 2014 (reprise) Text: “I can’t breathe!” Movement 5 - Sean Bell, November 25, 2006 Text: “I love you…” Movement 6 - Kimani Gray, March 9, 2013 Text: “Please don’t let me die!” Movement 7 - Jonathan Ferrell, September 13, 2013 Text: None
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1. I wanted to showcase music by composers who may not be as well known to the wind band community and, 2. I wanted to play music that meant a great deal to my students and myself so that, perhaps, that meaningfulness might translate to our listeners during the concert. With those goals in mind, I began creating a program for the conference. Another factor to consider was, quite frankly, the ability and experience-level of my group that year (20182019). The ensemble recording I submitted to CBDNA for consideration (from 2017-2018) was populated by many seniors, and 7 graduate students. However, the ensemble I would be taking to Arizona was quite a bit younger and less experienced. So, I had to find a way to present our ensemble in the best light possible while, at the same time, programming music worthy of presenting at CBDNA. This harkened my thinking that, if the mu47 TEMPO
sic we played meant a great deal to the students, perhaps that love and enthusiasm might overshadow the fact that we would likely be one of the youngest ensembles to appear that weekend, and translate to something beyond, and more important than, an error-free performance (which we had no chance of delivering). It was not long into the programming process that the idea of Last Breaths began flooding my mind. Having been to many CBDNA national and regional conferences (and having had a group appear at a regional conference in 2012), I was familiar with the repertoire often presented. Indeed, Last Breaths would be something unique and, dare I say, maybe a bit of a shock to the attendees. Therefore, I decided that Last Breaths would be the emotional center-piece of our CBDNA program. Next, I began selecting pieces (from as many composers who were not as well-known as they should be) to complement, highlight, introduce, and help the listeners to recover from the highly emotionally-charged, centerpiece of the program. Programming is an organic, creative process in which I find that, if I simply give it time and enough space, the program often selects me. And so, the following program revealed itself:
Al-Jabril Muhammad, soloist Al-Jabril Muhammad is a Graduate Student majoring in Vocal Performance
Letter from Home Aaron Copland (1900-1990) arr. Brian Belski Return to the White City Tom Davoren (b. 1986)
While I could easily write a detailed essay about nearly every one of the above works, their composers, and how deeply I felt about them, I’m afraid that will have to wait for another time. I am more compelled to discuss our experiences with Last Breaths. By August 2018, I submitted our program to the CBDNA National Conference organizational committee. After pressing “send” that day, I prayed that I could help bring my ensemble to where we could play the program I just submitted. I would need to lead an entire group of strangers to a place of trust that often takes several years to achieve. I had four months to do it. Because the CBDNA conference was held February Ankrovag Fanfare (from A Jack Stamp Suite) 19-21, and because our semester break lasted until JanuBruce Yurko (b. 1951) ary 21, I had less than a month to put the final details in place before we departed for Arizona. That meant the bulk of the rehearsal preparations needed to take place Husa during the Fall semester (September – December). This David Maslanka (1943-2017) also meant that my group would be preparing repertoire In memory of Karel Husa and David Maslanka for the Fall semester and, at the same time, preparing the CBDNA program. Quite a tall order for any university Harriet ensemble. O’Neal Douglas (b. 1963) I. Araminta’s Escape BREATHING, OR THE LACK THEREOF II. Stranger in a Strange Land The music of Last Breaths is centered around the vo III. Moses cal soloist; ideally a male baritone. Quite coincidentally, the previous Spring I had served on an audition panel Last Breaths to select soloists and small ensembles for an annual onArmando Bayolo (b. 1973) campus concert. There, I listened to a young man sing an extremely moving spiritual, in a setting by Undine Smith I. Eric Garner, July 12, 2014 II. John Crawford, August 5, 2014 Moore (titled, Watch and Pray), which speaks of the selling of family members into slavery. When considering III. Trayvon Martin, February 26, 2012 who might be a good fit for a soloist on Last Breaths, that IV. Eric Garner, July 12, 2014 (reprise) singer, Al-Jabril Muhammad, leapt to mind. I contacted V. Sean Bell, November 25, 2006 VI. Kimani Gray, March 9, 2013 Al-Jabril, spoke to him about the piece, and about my plans for it, including the performance at the CBDNA VII. Jonathan Ferrell, September 13, 2013 TEMPO
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National Conference in Arizona. He was thrilled about the prospect of both learning the music, and about travelling across country to perform it. We immediately scheduled a series of one-on-one sessions when he and I could sit with the piece and go through it together. In the meantime, Al-Jabril set about learning the piece both on his own and with his private studio teacher, using a recording of the premiere performance conducted by David Vickerman as a starting point. When Al-Jabril did rehearse with the full ensemble, and after we felt comfortable working with one another, it became clear that we were on the precipice of something profound. Once rehearsals began in September, the students in the group, excited by the prospect of a trip out west, dove into the repertoire with both feet just as I’d hoped. To begin the rehearsal process on Last Breaths, I felt it more important than usual to introduce the group to the piece in a very deliberate fashion. We didn’t play it at all during the first rehearsal; I began by simply reading Bayolo’s program note: In December, 2014, a grand jury in New York declared police officer Daniel Pantaleo not liable in the choking death of Eric Garner, a street vendor of “loosey” cigarettes who posed no violent threat to officer Pantaleo or those around him and was killed in a display of police arrogance and brutality that is sadly all too common (especially against African Americans) in the United States of America in the 21st century. A month before, the town of Ferguson, Missouri, a subdivision of St. Louis, a city close to my heart, exploded in sometimes violent demonstrations when another grand jury acquitted police officer Darren Wilson in theshooting death of Michael Brown, who was unarmed. The Ferguson riots were not only an explosion of rage from an increasingly marginalized community, but also proved a demonstration of the increased militarization of police forces in the United States. I do not tend to write a lot of specifically political pieces, but the events above are merely a drop in an increasingly bloody bucket, and angered a lot of people, including myself. In Last Breaths, I join my voice in the outcry against these growing injustices. The piece began as a much more straightforward set of songs for Loadbang, with whom I’d been trying to find a collaborative project for some time, but by December, 2014, after the Ferguson riots and the Eric Garner decision, I needed to join my voice to the growing outcry, however humbly. in 2016, my friend and Great Noise Ensemble colleague, David Vickerman, asked me toprepare a large ensemble version of it for his On Justice and Peace project. This piece is the result. JANUARY 2021
Last Breaths sets the last words of six young men killed by police in the last ten years. I hope it honors their memories in some small way, and it is to those memories, along with countless others’, that this work is dedicated.
Upon hearing the above, we listened to David Vickerman conducting the premiere performance. Afterward, you could hear a pin drop in the rehearsal room. No one spoke for a while. We all sat and tried to wrap our heads around what we experienced. From that moment on, everyone involved was “all in.” EXHALING LAST BREATHS I invited Armando Bayolo to campus several weeks before our departure to critique our playing, as needed. In addition to working with the Wind Symphony, he also coached some student composers. During rehearsal, we played the piece through and, at the conclusion, waited for Bayolo’s reaction. After he gathered himself, the composer’s satisfaction with what he experienced was obvious and emotional. Bayolo enthusiastically complimented our efforts and, after making a few adjustments with regard to instrument/vocal balance, the rehearsal ended. We continued to refine Last Breaths and our entire program until our departure on February 19, 2020. It bears noting that, in 2019, Arizona was not known as a hotbed of liberalism. This fact was not entirely lost on me as I prepared to transport my band of mostly eastcoast born and raised, mostly blue-stated young musicians to a place that awarded all of its eleven Electoral College votes to Donald Trump in 2016. Because it was important that our audience—both at the CBDNA conference and at the high schools we toured—understood why Last Breaths mattered, I added the following note to the printed concert program: Although I have not attended every CBDNA national conference, my guess is that there have been very few pieces performed that focus on the subject of social justice. I believe that if the “band world” is to remain relevant, we must, among other things, play music that reflects the times in which we live. We programmed and perform this amazingly dramatic piece today not to imply that every police officer has violent intentions, because of course that is not true. Instead, we seek to raise awareness of the violent nature of our American society, and the toll that violence takes on the youth of our country. And, while not every police officer is a 49 TEMPO
killer, it is also true that not every young, black man in a sweatshirt is a threat! In a country that loudly and proudly touts its Christian roots, it would serve all Americans, from every race, creed, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background, to remember the words and actions of the founder of that religion, and…to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We performed the program at two different high schools prior to the CBDNA conference concert; once at a local high school near our university, and the other at a high school in Mesa, Arizona, just a few miles away from the conference site. Each attempt was better than the last. And our performance at the CBDNA National Conference was something no one there, either on stage or in the audience, will soon forget. Bayolo’s Last Breaths brought everyone to their collective, metaphorical knees. The final movement of the piece (“Jonathan Ferrell, September 13, 2013”) asks not for the ensemble to play, however for them to set their instruments aside, stand on their feet, face the audience, and raise their hands above their heads as if surrendering…and to remain silent for an extraordinary amount of time (approximately 90 seconds). The silence alone causes a fair amount of unease, both in the performers and among the audience. However, because this “sur-
render” movement is preceded by “Kimani Gray, March 9, 2013”—which employs Kimani Gray’s last words (“Please don’t let me die!”) as its only text—the deafening silent final movement becomes all the more uncomfortable and palpable. During the last moments of the work, while turned with my hands in the air facing the audience, I realized the impact of the piece that day in that room. Amidst the eerie quiet, muffled weeping emerged from members of the audience. To say that it was difficult not to “break character” and begin weeping myself is an understatement. As is sometimes the case with live, musical “happenings”, reproductive recordings, whether audio or visual, can sometimes not completely capture the intensity of the moment. While there is a very well-produced video recording of our CBDNA National Conference performance, it can neither fully reproduce nor capture the emotions in the room that day. However, here is the link to the archived version of the concert: https://banddirector.com (see the website’s “Concert Band” heading). Our collective experience with Armando Bayolo’s Last Breaths is a good example of what can happen when a moment in time, a group of dedicated people, a work of art, and a common goal come together; extraordinary things often can and, in this case, did happen.
w
Bachelor of Arts in Music Bachelor of Arts in Music (combined with a second major) Bachelor of Music Education Bachelor of Music in Performance For Open House and Audition dates, go to: www.gettysburg.edu/sunderman
www.gettysburg.edu/sunderman
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MARCH IS ®
Learn about this year’s direction for Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®), as we focus on lessons for second- and fifth-graders that help them learn elements of music through some classic children’s songs in English and Spanish. The lessons and songs, however, can be shared at many levels. All are available without charge to teachers for their use during MIOSM and beyond. Read about this year’s theme and the direction for Music In Our Schools Month in years to come; obtain lesson plans and other resources; and take part in the Biggest School Chorus in the World with American Young Voices by visiting nafme.org/MIOSM. Follow the hashtags #MIOSM and #MusicTheSoundOfMyHeart on Twitter and Instagram. Questions? Call 1-800-336-3768 or email memberservices@nafme.org.
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Process Over Product:
The Importance of Teaching "How to Practice", not "What to Practice" Dr. Joseph Montelione
Educators struggle each day with balancing the need to produce results with finding the time to dive deeper into the intricacies of learning how to play an instrument. To help bridge the gap, educators expect students to go home each day and practice. But what is practicing and how effective is it? Why is an educator asking a student to practice? – to help speed up the learning and execution of their band music?...to memorize scales for the sake of assessments?...why? With enough time, anyone can learn a musical instrument—but how well? The question is can I instill a thirst of learning to grow in my student’s mind? The answer is yes! But how? In my studio, I make sure to teach my students how to practice before I can expect them to know what practice. Getting students to practice is a challenge because most do not know how to practice. Just because students have been playing their instrument for a couple of years, doesn’t mean that they know how to practice. Students may get a result, but how well does the information stick? For example, a young principal trumpet player struggles with playing the last note of the first movement of Holst’s First Suite for Band—a c above the staff. So, the student goes home and tries to play that note repeatedly until he can produce the note. However, repeating something ad nauseum and potentially getting that note once or twice does not mean it will translate into the student being able to play that same note consistently, accurately, in tune, with a good sound, and nuance. I have found that the best students are always thinking about ways to improve how they play. Imagine an ensemble of all “best players”. Believe it or not, you can have this! A good strategy to convert all of your players to become the “best” player is to instill in them the concept that the value of learning music is not about any one particular note (product) but the training of the mind to think musically (process). This is accomplished by teaching students how to practice. So how does an educator teach students how to practice and focus more on the process of learning? There are a myriad of practice tips and strategies available, but many of them center around “what” to play. “What” to practice is a vital component to the learning process, however too much emphasis TEMPO
on the “what” will only yield short-term results. Paying closer attention to “how” they practice the “what” will yield a longterm sustainable outcome. So, how do the best musicians improve the quality of their performances and train their minds to think musically? Teaching students how to practice involves helping them understanding how to manage two different kinds of thought. For most, practicing for students involves figuring out some sort of concept or musical passage. What happens when students cannot figure something out? Most become frustrated and put their instrument away, become frustrated and choose not to practice, or worse become frustrated and possibly quit forever. When learning to play a musical instrument or a passage of music, challenges can be a daily occurrence. I typically begin by explaining to students that when they practice, they will use two different types of thought—what I like to call Attached and Detached. If a student can maneuver between both types of thought processes, then there is hope that a student practicing can avoid frustration as a daily occurrence. Attached Thought What I like to call attached thought is a thought process where most students think they can be the most effective. Attached thoughts involve an alert state that centers on the most important information blocking out all distractions. This can be a highly effective way to problem solve. However, this thought process can also become a problem in itself. I have found that my students become too attached to whatever they are trying to fix, that they themselves become the roadblock to the solution. Detached Thought Enter detached thought processes! A detached thought process is a state of repose. This mental rest isn’t a shutting off of the thought valve per se, it is more of allowing the mind to be open to a broader perspective. A detached state can and most often happens while engaging in other activity, such as a long walk or even as simple as standing up, stretching or walking out of the room. Detached thought creates an envi52
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ronment for the mind to “let go” allowing the subconscious to aide in the creation of a solution that the attached thought process might have been blocking out.
focus intently on the solution to the exact problem, why that one problem is occurring, and how to efficiently create a solution.
Attached-Detached Thought I explain to students that a musician must use both forms of thought while practicing. The detail-oriented nature of attached thought processes forces the music student to dig down deep to find the true nature of the problem while the detached thought process helps them become open to new information, make broader connections thus allowing for unanticipated insights to occur. Students instinctively will focus intently on the problem (or more specifically what they are currently producing). For example, they are learning to play a scale, but they keep missing notes. Over the course of time most students will play the scale multiple times hoping that the more times they do it the better it will be. Unfortunately, in most cases, they get too attached, then frustration sets in. The best thing to help a student in this case is to express the importance of discovering a solution over concentrating on the problem—doing it multiple times without concern for how they are playing the scale will not find a solution, it will only reinforce a bad habit. Instead, have the student focus all their attention (attached thought) on discovering a solution to the problem. Have them play the scale and (good or bad) ask how they achieved it. Then have them do it again, but instead of having them focus on getting the right notes, have them focus on a new approach to getting the note, i.e. use less air, raise the soft palette, balance the shape of the tongue arch with the forward momentum of the air, etc. Then, before the point of frustration, have them detach from their instrument and allow the brain space to engage in potential different perspectives that will lead to a permanent solution. When students use the attached thought process in a healthy way (i.e. focusing on solutions, practicing before the point of frustration), balanced with a detached thought process, they will be able to achieve a lot more in a smaller amount of time without the frustration. By focusing on the “how”, I am training the student to discover solutions that will ultimately lead to better more consistent life-long results.
4. Then after say 10-15 minutes of focusing intently, set another timer for say 5 minutes. During these five minutes, go out of the practice room, walk down the hall, grab a drink of water, allowing the brain to create new pathways for potentially new solutions and then come back.
So how can educators teach students to learn how to use both types of thought processes? 1. Identify and write down no more than 10 issues. 2. Instill that while there may be 10 issues (or more), tell students to direct their attention to only one of them. During Attached Thought Process, do not allow the student to get distracted by the other nine issues—only focus on the solution to one problem at a time. 3. Set a timer and use the Attached Thought Process to JANUARY 2021
5. Practice for another 10-15 minutes on finding the solution to the same problem without any distractions and then put the instrument back in its case. 6. Then either come back later in the day or start fresh again the next day. Practicing is not about producing the scale or playing the notes on the page perfectly (at first!). In the early stages of developing musical and technical skills, it is about developing new thought patterns. In order to develop new thought patterns, educators have to create an environment where the process to discover is more important than the result. The discovery (new thought pattern) will then be able to be applied to any other musical or technical area, not just that particular piece of music or technique. For example: recall the earlier example of the trumpet player playing “the high c”, when he is practicing to get “the high c”, he is not focusing on producing the note, he is discovering a new process that will allow him to play the note in the most efficient way possible, creating new thought patterns that will allow him to be consistent in any assigned piece. Final Thoughts What is the point of practicing? Is it to produce familiar musical thought patterns or create new ways to think? The purpose of practicing is to program the brain to create new ways of solving problems and to use this process to continue to expand the mind artistically for a lifetime of music enjoyment. Teaching “how to practice” is the first step toward providing students the tools they will need to begin the journey of learning a musical instrument. In the next two articles of this threepart series, I will discuss the next steps in developing a process over product practice mindset: the four types of practicing and developing a practice plan. Joe Montelione has been on the trumpet faculty for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, New England Music Camp, National Trumpet Competition, and Music Academy International’s Trentino Music Festival in Primiero, Italy. He is currently on the faculty of Florida Tech University where he teaches trumpet and directs the jazz band. 53 TEMPO
Coming to Terms Together Dr. Nicholas DeMaison Director of Orchestral Studies John J. Cali School of Music Montclair State University
What exactly is an orchestra1 good at? This question assumes an orchestra is good at something, and that the something an orchestra is good at is essentially unique, otherwise the orchestra as a social practice would have been abandoned long ago. Further: it must be that I/we (still) care about the uniqueness of orchestral engagement, because there are few collectives outside of professional sports that are so expensive, require such an absurd amount of training of its membership, demand such specific and not terribly versatile spaces to work in, and (perhaps most egregiously) subsist on a group of technologies that are between 100 and 500 years old. In what other sphere of life do we strive for mastery of 200-year-old technologies? Yet, when our musical lives vanished in a disorienting flurry of forced abandonment due to COVID-19, it felt like a deeply acute loss. Why? We have not lost music. The idea that “humans can lose music” lands logically impossible. We are human, therefore we music. It’s just that right now, it’s more complicated. Please note: I don’t just mean that making music together has become more complicated because we cannot gather. At a faculty meeting of the John J Cali School of Music, a representative from a student organization called Musicians for Social Justice2 raised a number of concerns to the faculty. One that struck me in particular (yet again) was the issue of representation. The point was (is), quite simply, that representation matters. It matters if the composers we program are culturally homogenous or not. As we know, the banding together of a mixed body of wind, brass, percussion, and string instruments, tuned in equal temperament (etc.) was a social practice TEMPO
cultivated in aristocratic Europe, and the body of literature extracted from said practice is, therefore, not exactly one of diverse authorship. The possibilities for representation within pre-1900 classical composers, is, to say the least, limited. If we are working solely from within this received canon, is it possible to overcome the problem of inadequate representation? Sometime after that meeting, a professional violist friend of mine introduced me to the Instagram account @OrchestraIsRacist. I’m not so naïve as to think that the Classical-Industrial-Complex isn’t inherently racist, but reading such a long stream of personal narratives brought home for me in a different way just how hard it can be to be a person of color striving to achieve within classicallyoriented musical-social spheres. The kinds of discussions being initiated here are not the kinds of discussions that have been readily or openly held in the classical music world. So given the above, we have two crises we all must address, both of an existential nature: a.) we cannot gather together to make music, and b.) even if we could gather together, we would find ourselves in the rather dubious business of attempting to forward what has been a pervasively racist institution. I submit here a path forward, one embraced at Montclair State this fall, and one that, given a degree of persistence beyond the pandemic, I believe can address both crises for better and in the long run.
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Non-Gathering Have you watched Olympic Synchronized Diving? It’s worth an excursion down a YouTube rabbit hole. It’s beyond beautiful and mind-boggling that two people can do that together. For my money, it’s more impressive than Pairs Figure Skating because while two figure skaters do their best not to fall, two divers are never not falling. Imagine a tier of Olympic Synchronized Diving for, say, teams of ten divers diving from a really wide platform. That would be phenomenal! What about a team of 90 divers? Or another brief thought experiment: Google has over 10,000 engineers who are, on average, organized into teams of 30. Individuals within teams work along the same schedule of development to role out new features. Imagine wherein for Google to roll out a new feature, the development team had to enter code while typing in perfect synchronicity for, say, 48 minutes. Then imagine the scenario wherein the development of a more complex feature required, let’s say, three teams simultaneously working together. Imagine 90 developers typing code in perfect synchronicity for an hour. That image turns out to be the opposite of 90 divers diving in unison, evoking something more along the lines of dystopian corporate nightmare. This is exactly what orchestras3 are good at: thinking, communicating, and acting in synchronicity (without, hopefully, evoking a corporate dystopian nightmare, or risking multiple simultaneous spinal injuries). Unfortunately, as we ALL know by now, the one thing that even the best internet-based communication platforms are truly dreadful at is…synchronicity. I am prepared to hear all of the counter-arguments about how platforms attempting to deal with synchronicity problems are “getting very close.” Bassist Mark Dresser, who has been working in telematic performance for the last twenty years acknowledges, “Do I see telematics as a replacement for live performance? Of course not.”4 On the Getting Started page of the newly developed Rehearsal Live Share platform, the developers state: “The holy grail for this type of feature is to have a full ensemble singing, playing and - most importantly hearing - together as if they are in the same room…We realized that the holy grail, as cool as it undoubtedly would be, is really more of a performance experience.”5 These platforms may be getting very close, but I would submit that “getting very close” is not enough of an approximation to justify JANUARY 2021
the continued pursuit of the art form. In a Zoom-based future, the orchestra as we have known it does not exist. In addition to continuing in-person instruction as much as possible by way of a number of logistical interventions (rehearsing in rotations of no more than 15 students, in chunks of time no more than 45 minutes long with gaps in between, AND working with larger groups in outdoor spaces like the MSU Parking Garage6), the Montclair State University Orchestra is undertaking two much lower-profile aesthetic interventions. I regard both of these, essentially, as experiments. The first experiment is a remote recording project of Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together.7 The piece consists of a written out bass line and a series of instructions for how musicians are to move to and from playing the bass line into a set of guided improvisational gestures derived from the bass line. For the improvisational gestures to work properly, the bass line, which is continuously running 16th notes throughout, must be essentially metronomic. For our process, we will have one student record the bass line on the piano. This track will be shared with the rest of the orchestra; players will record themselves playing a metronomic duet with the bass line. Rzewski notes the piece is usually performed with eight to ten players; we will try it with around fifty. This project mitigates a number of problems inherent in the Zoom-orchestra recording projects attempting to simulate “traditional” orchestral practice (i.e., attempting to “replicate what an orchestra is good at”): • Intonation discrepancies have the opportunity to be minimized as players will be listening to the actual sound of the part they are trying to synchronize with. • Because the piece is designed to sit so squarely “on the grid” (rhythmically speaking), achieving an acceptable degree of rhythmic unison should be manageable…and… • Because the piece is designed with sharp outlines that are “smudged” by way of personal improvisation, the aesthetic does not call for perfect synchronicity throughout. Achieving an “acceptable degree” of rhythmic unison is all we are after. • Because the piece is designed in modular sections, it is not necessary for any one student (other than the pianist) to provide a continuous recording of the entire piece, which would be daunting even for undergraduate music majors. All students can work in 55 TEMPO
small chunks over the course of the semester. And further, because the piece functions better as a piece when players come in and out of the texture at will, it allows for the possibility of editing out individual passages when, invariably, a fire truck passes by the home of a student making a recording. If so inclined, we could generalize on the parameters that ought to make this project succeed, and it would be possible to create another project, perhaps original to the ensemble, exploiting the above qualities. What other types of projects might succeed in the absence of synchronicity? The second such project we are undertaking this fall involves a much more open-ended (but guided) improvisational format. It demands a high degree of listening and creative response, along the lines of pieces presented in Pauline Oliveros’ Anthology of Text Scores,8 or like group-sing improvisational-arrangements regularly workshopped by Alice Parker.9 This project will be realized in small groups of musicians working together over a platform where they can hear each other while recording themselves, which means that it will be fundamentally non-metric. The final product will be a conglomeration of small group exercises based on simple parameters: limited groups of notes and the concepts of foreground/ middle ground/background. I think of this kind of improvisational (or semiimprovisational) ensemble performance as “performing with agency.” The basic musical demands placed on the performers are similar to those of a notated score: execute your own part while listening to the parts of others. Bring all that you have learned to the table and share it with the group. Only the details of execution change. And this kind of embrace of the new is at the heart of the tradition of the orchestra and at the heart of American music making.10 Prior to Hector Berlioz, orchestras played exclusively the music of their time and their place. Berlioz looked a generation back to champion the music of Beethoven…and since then we have allowed ourselves to linger within Berlioz’s Beethoven-Centric worldview. In my own move from working almost exclusively in contemporary music back towards the traditional orchestral world, this is a dilemma I have often wrestled with: the canon matters, but how much? What could it do to our TEMPO
understanding of the canon if large “classical” ensembles developed a practice of making original music?11 The Radical Cultural Benefit of Agency If musicians perform with agency, they are performing with their own voice. Scholarship uncovering the long-suppressed voices buried beneath the received canon is absolutely necessary,12 but is it not at least as necessary to amplify the voices and personalities of our time and our place? In so doing, the question of equity is not just one of “representation” but of “presentation.” What I am attempting is not musically revolutionary, but were it to be adopted on a wide scale, might be socially revolutionary. Guided improvisational work is central to the pedagogical practices of Orff, Kodaly, and Dalcroze but somehow it feels subversive in the social context of a large-ensemble performance environment, as though such improvisational undertakings were to be abandoned once music makers knew how to read notation. Why should one’s ability to read notation fluently equate to the inability to make one’s own sounds?13 Learning to read does not lead one to ignore the urge to speak. Why does the knee-jerk mindset of classical training that compels us to hear things as “right or wrong” rule our vision of the entire cultural phenomenon? If we are to address the racist nature of the Classical-IndustrialComplex, is not opening a space for every person in the room to have a voice a reasonable place to start? After all, it was hearing the individual voices of the Musicians for Social Justice (the voices of my students) that forced me to finally confront the real social nature of the musical practice I so deeply love. I admit that this semi-live, very surreal semester feels like the best possible time to try such an initiative, not only because our practical situation compels us to do so, but also because there is no pressure for us to present a well-polished “classical orchestra” to an audience expecting exactly that. The public health stakes are too high. The aesthetic stakes induced by this social isolation are wide open, and have perhaps indirectly yielded a safer, more open-minded time for us to potentially fail in our first undertaking. And is not the embrace of potential failure central to education? Beyond the specifics of large group improvisation, I am lobbying for the cultivation of malleable artistic practices, practices that grow along with our practicing 56
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of them, and practices that do not call themselves diverse because there happen to be a variety of skin tones performing Beethoven, but practices that are diverse because of the variety of voices they are able to amplify simultaneously. We will return eventually to more normalized music making. In the course of the education of our students, they will still have ample time to practice being ensemble musicians in the traditional sense. Ongoing scholarship around the world will bring us new lost voices to better represent diverse historic viewpoints. But an already anachronistic art form that persists in upholding a pervasively racist worldview will not continue to be valued in our society. Let us dive together…
https://rms.biz/support/196
5
https://www.today.com/video/hallelujah-music-students-have-choir-practice-in-parking-garage-91306053918 6
Rzewski has made most of his scores available for free online. The score for Coming Together is available here: https:// imslp.org/wiki/Coming_Together_(Rzewski%2C_Frederic) 7
Oliveros, P. (2013). Anthology of text scores. New York: Deep Listening Publications 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEhMt7OzDCk
9
See also: Lewis, George E. “Improvised Music after 1950: Afrological and Eurological Perspectives.” Black Music Research Journal, vol. 22, 2002, pp. 215–246. JSTOR, www. jstor.org/stable/1519950 10
Relatedly, Seth Colter Walls wonders aloud why it isn’t already the case that orchestras embrace improvisation: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/arts/music/classicalmusic-orchestra-improvisation.html 11
In this article I use “orchestra” as shorthand for any music ensemble, instrumental, vocal, or mixed of any cultural tradition. Sometimes, however, I refer to the phenomenon of the Western Classical Orchestra specifically. 1
A short article about the group: https://themontclarion.org/news/musicians-for-social-justice-persist-with-paneldespite-zoombombing/ also, their public Facebook: https:// www.facebook.com/groups/MSUMSJ/ 2
And again, I use “orchestra” as shorthand for “large ensemble of musicians.” 3
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/arts/music/ black-mozart-joseph-boulogne.html 12
For more, see a discussion between composer/performer Sam Pluta (University of Chicago) and composer/trumpet player Peter Evans about the current generation of new music performers moving freely between notated and improvised music: http://archive.wetink.org/archive-03/future-visions 13
https://jazztimes.com/features/columns/mark-dressermichael-dessen-play-telematic-music/) 4
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Six Technology Tips Every Elementary Music Educator Should Know When Teaching in an Ever-Changing Atmosphere Amy M. Burns NJMEA Early Childhood Chair Far Hills Country Day School amywillisburns@gmail.com
Teaching during a global pandemic is not what many music educators were prepared for. It was not a course that was required for us to take during our undergraduate years. Many of us had perfected our classroom management styles over our years of teaching, but none of that pertained to teaching synchronously, asynchronously, online, hybrid, or in-person with numerous restrictions. Many of us feel like first-year teachers again. And, some just graduated and have no reference from their education degrees as to how to handle these new teaching situations. However, with that all said, New Jersey music educators are making it work and sharing their knowledge on various music education networks. Here are six technology tips that every elementary music educator should know to assist with teaching in a variety of ever-changing situations. 6. Logging in from a second device: Shawna mentioned a second monitor in her article, which I found so valuable when teaching remote or hybrid. In addition to this, logging in from another device is extremely helpful, especially if you can use a device like your mobile phone, which does not need your school or home internet to work. This assists the teacher in case the internet crashes on their teaching device because they can jump to their second device to continue teaching. It also assists with what the students are seeing on screen. I have heard many times from students that my screen is not sharing on their devices. When I am logged in from a second device, I tell them that I can see it on my other device and can then troubleshoot why they might not be seeing the shared screen. Finally, when I teach in my classroom, logging in from a second device helps my students see the visuals on my large classroom screen. Since my room has sightline concerns due to spacing out the students safely,
having an old laptop logged into Google Meets set up in front of the students with the sightline issues, while I teach using Google Meets, helps any online students, as well as in-person students who cannot see my screen, participate in our class activities. 5. Splitting the Screen on a Chromebook: Splitting the screen on a Chromebook, whether it is the teacher’s device or the student’s device, allows us to create and perform at the same time. For example, if we use Song Maker in Chrome Music Lab (https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/) with a virtual xylophone (https://playxylo.com/), the students can then create an ostinato with Song Maker in one tab and improvise a melody using the virtual xylophone in another tab. Students can use the Chrome Extension called Split Screen for Google Chrome (https://chrome.google.com/ webstore/detail/split-screen-for-google-c/dnollkdkikklp dganoecjcmmlddbennb?hl=en) so that when they want to split the tabs on their Chrome browser, they tap the extension and it automatically splits the screen (see figure 1). An alternative is to use the Chromebook’s ALT and bracket keys to place the tab on one side of the screen, and then open a new window with a new tab to resize it to fill the other side of the screen.
Figure 1: Split Screen Extension TEMPO
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4. Cleaning Up Videos: Since many of us are teaching with technology and with numerous restrictions, the rhythm/boomwhacker/recorder/body percussion playalong videos have been a must in our classrooms. While adhering to schools’ necessary rules and safewalls, it can become challenging to present a YouTube video in our remote, hybrid, in-person, or asynchronous classroom. Here are some workarounds, but please do try them before you use them with your students to make sure that they work and that they clean up the videos appropriately. • YouTube Premium – The best option is paying for this service. For a monthly fee, you can subscribe to YouTube Premium and have ad-free videos, videos that can be downloaded, and access to their music app. Though you can use a screen recording tool or a downloading site to bring YouTube videos to your hard drive or Google Drive, the Premium service will give you peace of mind when using the videos in your classroom setting. • ViewPure (viewpure.com) – ViewPure has been a consistently safe site for cleaning up YouTube links. You place the YouTube URL in their search bar and it will give you a new link to use in class that takes out advertisements, comments, and sidebar related items found on YouTube. Others work well. I mention this one as it has been continuously safe this school year, where others have had issues with hacking. • Google Slides – You can take a YouTube URL and insert it into a Google Slide by clicking “Insert” and scrolling down to “Video”. When you add the YouTube URL, the video will appear clean on the slide, with no comments or ads. • Cleaning Up YouTube URL Tips: There are ways to produce a cleaned-up version of a YouTube video. You can add “-” between “yout” and “ube” in YouTube’s URL. This will produce a new link with a video that has no ads, comments, and at the end of the video, it loops instead of playing another video. Or, you can click the “Share” button under the YouTube video, click “Embed” and only copy the URL found in the embed code. For example, only copy where it reads https:// to the end of that URL. That takes a little patience as you will copy the entire code first, and then edit it to just highlight the URL, but this works well too. When finished, you have a video with no ads or comments, and at the end, it will show a menu to other videos, but not automatically play other videos. JANUARY 2021
3. Setting Time Limits to Video Submissions: We smile when we see our students sending in their assignments or activities through various platforms such as Flipgrid (info. flipgrid.com), Seesaw (web.seesaw.me), etc. However, when we multiply the number of students by the amount of time each video is, we realize that we will be spending our entire weekend listening and reflecting on each video. We are dedicated music educators and we want to give each student their time, but we also have to stop and take time for ourselves. Therefore, set timing limits to any video submission you give to your students. In an app such as Flipgrid, you can set the recording time in the settings, listed under “Essentials”. Flipgrid gives you choices from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. In an app such as Seesaw, it does not give you timing options but currently allows students to record up to five minutes of video. When you cannot customize this, leave an instruction that you will only listen to the first minute of the video. They are welcome to record up to five minutes, but you will listen to the first minute so that you can give everyone a good amount of attention and feedback. 2. “Zooming” in Professional Musicians or Virtual Concerts: From teaching in various scenarios, many of us have now mastered the video communication platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Google Meets. Since we feel more comfortable using them then we did months ago, let us use these tools to bring in musical guests or listen to concerts. Last spring, I was able to contact my good friend, Anna Mattix, English Hornist and Oboist in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, to “zoom” into my classroom and demonstrate the instruments to my students. NAfME also has resources to find virtual concerts that can be found here: https://nafme.org/my-classroom/virtual-learning-resources-for-music-educators/ Finally, utilize music education networks to find more resources for inviting musicians to the classroom, taking virtual field trips, or finding virtual concerts. 1. Screen Recording Tools: Screen recording tools have become essential in an elementary music educator’s life. These tools assist us in creating tutorials and follow the bouncy ball videos, record us singing a song with lyrics, fingering charts, etc., and can be shared via a link, uploaded to a site or learning management system, embedded into a site, and more. Many of these tools are free. Some have time limitations; however, they are intuitive to use and help us connect better with our students. Here are some popular ones: 59 TEMPO
• Flipgrid (https://info.flipgrid.com/) – Flipgrid is owned by Microsoft and is free. You can create screen recordings and short videos up to 10 minutes in length.
• Loom (https://www.loom.com/education) - Free for educators to create unlimited videos. When the pandemic is over, educators will be able to create up to 45 minutes of content for each video. • Screencastify (https://www.screencastify.com/education) - Free for up to five minutes of video. The google extension makes it intuitive for all teachers and students to use effectively. • Zoom (https://zoom.us/education) - Free for educators and can create unlimited videos. In addition, if you click on the advanced tab when you share the screen, you can upload a PowerPoint file to be in the background. You can then record yourself on screen singing a song with the lyrics in the background. You can also advance the slides while singing so the words change when you sing the next verse or chorus. • WeVideo (https://www.wevideo.com/education/) - Free with limitations in timing and storage, but great for a cloud-based video editing tool as well as a screen recording tool. • Screencast-O-Matic (https://screencast-o-matic. com/) – Free with limitations of creating 15-minute videos or less.
Though there are more than just these six tips, I feel like these six have been most helpful to numerous elementary music educators over the past months. Remember to always stop and take time for yourself. In addition, find music education networks to bounce ideas off of, to find more resources, to share ideas, and to ask questions. Amy M. Burns has taught PreK-grade 4 general music for over 20 years at Far Hills Country Day School. She has authored four books on how to integrate technology into the elementary music classroom. Her recent publication titled, Using Technology with Elementary Music Approaches, (Oxford University Press, 2020), integrates technology into the approaches of Dr. Feierabend’s First Steps in Music for Preschool and Beyond, Kodály, and Orff Schulwerk. She has presented many sessions on the topic, including four keynote addresses in TX, IN, St. Maarten, and AU. She is the recipient of the 2005 TI:ME Teacher of the Year Award, 2016 NJ Master Music Teacher Award, 2016 Governor’s Leader in Arts Education Award, and the 2017 NJ Nonpublic School Teacher of the Year Award.
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Integrating Technology in the Guitar Classroom Using Yousician Jayson Martinez, M. Mus; M. EdLd NAfME/NJMEA Guitar Education Chair jmarti37@webmail.essex.edu
If you look back in time, piled up books and going to a school no matter what kind of education you sought to gain was common. But now, those traditional learning methods do exist but in connection with some new interactive and advanced methods introduced that enhances the speed and widens the spectrum of learning. The foundation of learning still lies in attending a school with focus on books. However, in modern times mobile technology works well to add some zest to an otherwise mundane lesson. Online learning with new apps being introduced every other day has made it a serious option in the field of learning to play an instrument. Even within the classroom, tech apps such as Yousician prove to be beneficial for teachers and students alike. Yousician Yousician is the largest and fastest-growing music education company in the world. It is currently the #1 platform to learn how to play a musical instrument and its sister product GuitarTuna is the #1 tuning app. Yousician provides interactive learning for guitar, piano, ukulele, bass and voice. The software gamifies the music learning process, making it fun,
easy and motivating to learn an instrument regardless of experience level. The platforms, used monthly by 22 million people around the world, offer users step-by-step guidance with real-time feedback and lesson plans created by music teachers. There are thousands of songs, videos and exercises to help students learn and improve. In 2020, Yousician launched Yousician for Teachers, a remote learning solution for music education. The goal for Yousician is to solidify music learning during these arduous times. In response, they will continue to offer free access to the platform for all music educators and students and have already provided access to over 100,000 students globally. Further, Yousician is currently offering 1-month free trial & 50% teachers’ discount to Yousician Premium Subscription. By integrating Yousician into the music education curriculum, teachers will have access to an extensive library of exercises and songs, assess and guide their students with ease, effortlessly teach large groups of students, teach all the essential music concepts while students learn, collaborate, and have fun Mission Yousician’s mission is to make musicality as common as literacy. As an avid user of the program, I can attest that they are working towards a future where playing music is as common as reading. The developers want everyone to have the opportunity to learn an instrument, take part in the power of music, and experience the joy it brings. To further their mission, they created the Yousician Guest Teacher Series. This series allowed Yousician to partner with artists like Jason Mraz and Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, who have dropped in on virtual music classes to surprise students. The opportunity to combine music education and user experience in a virtual capacity helped to bring joy and create a positive experience for students during these unprecedented times.
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Yousician has also launched Yousician Artist Sessions, intimate live concert experiences that let fans and users connect with the artists they love while also learning about the music they play. Artists will play music for fans, share playing tips and discuss their musical process. The artists’ music will also be featured on the Yousician app, so students can learn, practice and play their favorite songs.
Yousician In-House Education Team
Yousician has six experienced music educators on staff in Helsinki who have worked with and arranged music for legends like Quincy Jones. These talented minds are behind every lesson, exercise and instructional video. Their in-house band The Yousicians writes, arranges, records, and mixes every original song in the app, and arranges every licensed song. Yousician For Schools That means that any user who learns with Yousician has multiple music teachers, even while learning virtually through an The Yousician For Schools Pilot launched at EDUCA app. 2020 (Nordic's largest educational event) and captured the interest of thousands of educators. As a result, a select numAbout Yousician ber of schools and educators were chosen to receive the donation of instruments, equipment, licenses and all the necessary Yousician was founded in 2010 in Helsinki, Finland by training to run group guitar/ukulele lessons with Yousician. Chris Thür and Mikko Kaipainen. Inspired by their own exDue to the Covid-19 pandemic, Yousician paused it’s Yousi- periences with music, Thür and Kaipainen envisioned a mucian for Schools expansion. The teachers and schools involved sic platform that could help anyone, regardless of experience in the pilot program will continue to use Yousician in their level and location, learn to play, create and teach music. The classroom during the 2020-2021 school year. platform provides interactive learning for guitar, bass, ukulele, piano and voice with lessons, exercises and songs. Yousician Yousician Technology believes everyone has the potential to experience the power of music. Through its reimagined music education, the comYousician’s gamified approach to music education is an pany is on a mission to share the joy of learning and playing innovative technique for learning a musical instrument. Their music with the world. audio recognition technology differentiates from many comYousician is available for download on the App Store petitors by listening to the user play and providing real-time and the Google Play Store. The platform can be used on any feedback. This creates an educational and structural learning phone, tablet, laptop or desktop. path for users at any experience level. It also makes learning fun, motivating and effective for people of all ages.
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Shifting Away from Survival Mode: Tips, Tricks, and Affirmations Shawna Longo Durban Avenue School, Hopatcong Borough Schools shawnalongo@gmail.com
2020 has certainly proven to be an interesting year! If nothing else, I know that one this is for certain – change is inevitable. And with that change, we really have two choices – embrace it or fight it. Fighting it doesn’t always get us very far and tends to put us in a negative space. If we can embrace change, whether we like it or not, and focus on the positives, we may even find some lemonade hidden amongst the lemons! And I promise you – there are positives out there…we just might have to look a little harder than we normally do! This article will present tips and tricks that I’ve learned and affirmations that I’ve embraced while teaching during this COVID-19 pandemic. 1) Focus on the positive: My positive right now is that I get to see, sing, and move with my kiddos every day in school and virtually! Even though I may not be able to see their smiles under their masks, I can see their excitement and love for music class in their eyes! At the heart of it, isn’t that why we became music teachers? Sometimes we need to let go of all the stress and negativity around us and choose to focus back on our mission and purpose – why do we do what we do? Set aside a little time to think about that question, write down your thoughts, and live with them for a week or so. After you’ve really lived with your why, or mission, make adjustments and write it down. Then you can carry it with you, post it above your desk, or put it somewhere where it can serve as a daily reminder and grounding point of positivity for you. 2) You can’t cover it all, nor in the same way: With shorter classes, crazy schedules, and being prepared to go fully virtual at the drop of a hat, we can’t possible continue to do “business as usual.” We have to make choices and be willing and open to adapting to change. I spent some time over the summer going through my curriculum and scope & sequence for General Music to determine the main concepts that I MUST TEMPO
cover throughout the year. Then, I determined a road map of resources and activities to assist in teaching those non-negotiable concepts. Figure out your non-negotiable concepts and build out your plans from there. 3) Use a microphone: Our voices take a “beating” during a good year, but now we have a built in mute as we wear masks. I have found a work around to save my voice: my ear buds. My district gave each teacher a pair of wireless ear buds with a built in microphone. I was able to adjust the audio settings on my laptop to use those as a microphone and project the sound of my voice through the speakers. It is worth noting that I travel room to room and it works in every classroom through my laptop while streaming live to the virtual students. Protect your voice! 4) Get a second monitor: In order to see my virtual students and still be able to see the materials that I am “sharing” with them, I use a second monitor. I keep the Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams window on my laptop (where the “camera” is located) and move the window containing all of the materials/websites for the class to the second monitor. With many, if not most, districts going 1:1 with Chromebooks or iPads, there is probably a pile of monitors laying around in a closet somewhere. Find your tech guy, and ask if you can borrow one. If your school doesn’t have any available for you, then I recommend investing in one. At $100 or so, it will be well worth it! 5) Take it slow: There are millions of teaching resources and ideas out there on Facebook, Twitter, and other locations, but they don’t always work for everyone. The amount of ideas and options available can also be overwhelming! We need to remember that every student, every class, and every school is different. Figure out what you like and make it your own…at a reasonable pace! Don’t try out more than one 64
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new resource at a time! First, make a list of all the resources you’d like to use. Next, align them with the concepts that you are teaching. Once you’re comfortable with that one new resource or program, then add another one. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day! 6) Practice Mindfulness: With our stress levels at an alltime high, we need to find ways to ground ourselves and be truly present with our students. Mindfulness allows us to notice our feelings, increase our awareness of where our feelings originate, accept whatever is happening in the moment, and be more intentional about how we react (verbally and/or physically). It gives you “permission” to take a timeout from any drama that you are facing in the moment to view the situation without judgment and with more compassion. This will allow us to make better decisions and have fewer regrets about how we react. There are many free apps and YouTube videos to help guide you. Find a quiet space and focus on your breath. Start out with just 2-5 minutes a day, preferably first thing in the morning, and work up to more time if you can. You will be amazed at how much calmer and present you are throughout your day! 7) Lastly, remember to focus on your why: The “why” is much more important than the “what.” Just like we are navigating through uncharted waters, so are our students. Take the time to check in with them. How are they doing? What are they feeling? Now more than ever, our students need us. And, social emotional learning can help guide you through these conversations, teachable moments, and lessons. Take some time to peruse the state website for SEL and the Arts: www.selarts.org. It contains a plethora of information to assist you in understanding the natural connections that exist between SEL and the arts. As we navigate through these unprecedented times, remember that you are not alone! As a profession, we must continue to support and uplift each other. As they say, “this too shall pass.” But, I truly don’t think we will ever go completely back to the way things were pre-pandemic. Our individual survival and success is grounded in our ability to adapt, adjust, continue to advocate.
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Image came from an email from the School Culture & Climate Initiative, October 19, 2020
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 The Institute for Arts Integration & STEAM; and an Ambassador/Consultant for Music First, Hal Leonard, and Jamstik. With 19+ years of teaching experience, Mrs. Longo holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC; a Master of Public Administration in Arts Administration from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ; Supervisor/Curriculum Director’s certification from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ; and certification as an Arts Integration Specialist (Level 1) as well as certification as an Arts Integration Leader (Level 2) from The Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM. She is a clinician and consultant for music education, music technology, social emotional learning, arts integration, and STEAM. She is also a recipient of the 2019 Mike Kovins Ti:ME Music Technology Teacher of the Year, 2019 New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education, 2019 Teach Rock Star Teacher Award from The Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, 2018 NJMEA Master Music Teacher Award, and 2016 Governor’s Educator of the Year for Hopatcong Middle School. Twitter: @shawnalongo
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NJMEA Awards all Award applications available at https://njmea.org/awards SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR AWARD
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Awards are presented annually to outstanding school Principals and/or Superintendents who demonstrate support for and commitment to high-quality arts education programs in their schools. The influence of such administrators is a major factor in improving music education in school systems across the state.
The NJMEA Board of Directors has initiated a Distinguished Service Award for those members who have honored themselves with faithful service to music education in public, private, and parochial schools in New Jersey.
One Elementary School Principal, one Secondary School Principal, and one School District Superintendent may be selected to receive this award. Individuals holding titles as Assistant Principal and Assistant or Associate Superintendent also qualify. Administrators receiving awards will be notified by NJMEA and a presentation honoring them will take place at the NJMEA February State Conference.
Past and present members of the NJMEA Board of Directors are also eligible for this award since they have dedicated much time and effort toward state projects related to music education. Additional award categories include individuals and organizations outside the field of professional music education and NAfME officers on both the National and Regional levels. Award recipients will be honored at a mutually agreeable occasion such as state workshops, region meetings, concerts or festivals, and retirement affairs.
OUTSTANDING SCHOOL BOARD AWARD
MASTER MUSIC TEACHER AWARD
Awards are presented annually to outstanding Boards of Education who exemplify superior support and commitment to quality music programs throughout all of the grades and schools of their school district.
Master Music Teacher Awards are presented annually to members of NJMEA based on the following:
Criteria for this award include support of superior programs of sequential, curriculum-based music education; advocacy for music education within the district; and financial support commensurate to support superior programs of general, choral, and instrumental programs within the district. Boards of Education receiving awards will be notified by NJMEA and a presentation honoring them will take place at the NJMEA February State Conference.
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- completion of a minimum of ten years of teaching in the schools of New Jersey (public, private, parochial, or collegiate).
- currenty actively teaching and a member of NJMEA and NAfME for at least ten years. - display of teaching excellence.
Members of the NJ Retired Music Educators Association will visit candidates during their teaching day to conduct interviews and observe the programs and methods of selected candidates. Nominees for this award are then presented to NJMEA Board of Directors for approval.
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select good repertoire for this age group and dealing with the changing voice. It will take place on TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 from 6:00 - 7:00. We are pleased to announce that Brandon Williams will be our guest webinar presenter for this event! The event is free for NJ Nafme members- but please be sure to RSVP. We will miss seeing you for our usual region ensembles but know that we will return to providing those opportunities when it is safe to do so. As always, feel free to reach out to us at any time. Austin Vallies and Deana Larsen, Chorus Division CoChairs, chorus@njsma.com
NJSMA
North Jersey School Music Association www.njsma.com Happy New Year! I’m sure we’re all happy to put 2020 behind us and look forward to a better year in 2021. Whether you are teaching in a fully virtual or hybrid model, I think we can all agree that teaching music in the midst of a pandemic is incredibly challenging. Don’t forget to take a step back every once in a while and remind yourself that you ARE still giving your students the gift of music and their lives are enriched because of you! Just as we are all reconfiguring the music experience in our classrooms, NJSMA is also reimagining it throughout the region. We are committed to continuing to offer enrichment opportunities for our students and professional development for our educators. Please continue reading to see what we have planned. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2021!! Best Regards, Diana L. May President, NJSMA Chorus Division We hope that you are adjusting to the changes that fall 2020 has brought us. It seems like we are proving our versatility and commitment to our students now more than ever! Thank you to those of you that attended our virtual happy hour. It was so nice to share our situations and just be able to talk to other people that are in the trenches. We will host another one soon- so stay tuned. We are pleased that we will be providing a one hour PD session for our Intermediate (Middle School) Directors. The focus will be on tips and tricks to TEMPO
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Band Division NJSMA Band Division is pleased to announce that we will be holding both student and teacher sessions throughout the year via Zoom to assist in getting through what is a very abnormal year. We have been in touch with local professionals, local community bands, and many of our talented members who are more than willing to offer their knowledge and expertise. Student Masterclasses: Students will have the opportunity to work with musicians from the Hanover Wind Symphony, New Jersey Wind Symphony, NJSMA members, and other talented musicians. Masterclass topics will include some of the following: instrument specific warm-ups, scales and technique exercises, practice tips Region/All-State Solo(s) (for Intermediate and Senior Region), sight-reading, instrument maintenance and more! Our hope is that we will be able to offer these classes to beginner, intermediate, and high school level students. Most of the classes will run during the week from 4:00 to 5:00 PM or during the day on Saturdays. Educator Workshops: Teachers will have the opportunity to participate in some professional development with Dr. Shelley Axelson McCauley, Dr. Tom McCauley, Oscar Perez, and Chris Bernotas on various topics as requested from the Google Survey that was sent out earlier this year. Current NAfME membership is required for all workshops. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to working with you this year. Lewis Kelly, Lyn Lowndes, and Jennifer Wise, Band Division Co-Chairs, band@njsma.com Orchestra Division As we continue teaching through a challenging and unprecedented school year, we look forward to presenting two professional development opportunities in late January and early February. Directors and teachers in any specialty are welcome to attend! Sessions will be held through Zoom, and registration is required to attend. Please look for registration information in your email, or reach out to us directly. These clinicians and sessions have been selected to benefit our memJANUARY 2021
bership in the current school year and beyond, while taking advantage of the unique opportunity that this year presents us to access new perspectives and respected leaders in our field. In late January, Brian Worsdale (2020-21 Region I Orchestra conductor) will be presenting on the topic of building community and engaging students (date TBD at time of publication). Mr. Worsdale is the artistic director and conductor of the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts (Hancock, NY) and music director of Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras (Pittsburgh, PA). He has worked with middle and high school orchestras across the country, including several virtual ensembles during the current school year. On Monday, February 8th at 6:00pm, Dr. Stephen Benham will be presenting a session titled “Beyond the Bow Hold: The Development of Bowing Fluency and Artistry.” Dr. Benham presented three well-received sessions at last year’s NJMEA State Conference. He serves as Professor of Music Education at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA), is a coauthor of “Sound Innovations for String Orchestra: Creative Warm-ups,” and lead-author of the ASTA String Curriculum. Dr. Benham is an active consultant in the development of new music programs across the U.S. and is a past-president of ASTA. In addition to providing professional opportunities, we hope to continue building connections between the orchestra directors in Region 1. Please consider joining us for a Virtual Happy Hour, held through Zoom on select Fridays at 4:00pm. Please check your email for more information. To support our students, we will be holding virtual masterclasses this spring. Application will be through teacher recommendation. More information to come! We look forward to working with you in 2021! Jordan Peters and Caitlin Shroyer, Orchestra Division CoChairs, orchestra@njsma.com Diversity & Inclusion The NJSMA continues to look for ways to increase the diversity of program offerings, create ways to support students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, and provide professional development opportunities for our members who are teaching in urban and rural schools. In December, we hosted our first-ever Virtual Music College Fair for prospective first-generation college students! Students saw presentations from Montclair State, NJCU, Rutgers, Rowan, and William Paterson. We also held a virtual “Happy Hour” for urban and rural music educators. Looking ahead, we will be organizing additional meetups, events with colleges and universities, and a guitar masterclass. Stay tuned for finalized dates and reach out if you’d like to be included on the mailing list or become involved with planning. Katy Brodhead Cullen, Diversity & Inclusion Liaison, diversity@njsma.com JANUARY 2021
CJMEA
Central Jersey Music Educators Association www.cjmea.org Happy 2021! I hope you all have had the chance to rest and recover during the holidays. Although you may not have had the chance to see your family in person, hopefully, you had a chance to connect with them virtually. This year we will be hosting a series of virtual Professional Development series. This month alone, we will be hosting a panel discussion on best practices on virtual choral rehearsals as well as two featured percussion workshops for teachers and many more! For a complete list of workshops and information on how to register, please visit our website, www.cjmea.org. We also want to thank all of those who were able to attend our CJMEA Virtual Leadership Workshop in October. If you are interested in getting involved with CJMEA in any capacity, please email President-Elect Yale Snyder (YalePerc@aol.com). While we may not be able to meet in person this year, we as a CJMEA Executive Board are here to support you. If you have any questions or need any support, do not hesitate to reach out. Please stay safe!
SJBODA
South Jersey Band and Orchestra Directors Association www.sjboda.org SJBODA continues to monitor the impact that Covid-19 has on our instrumental music programs. We applaud the outstanding efforts and the creative solutions of our members during these challenging times. Unfortunately it was necessary to cancel our public performances for this school year but we are continuing to look at options that we can offer our students and members. The executive board is recommending that our members consider participating in the NJ State Solo & Ensemble Festival as a way to motivate and challenge their students. This event is sponsored by Arts Ed NJ and additional information can be found on their website artsednj.org. High school seniors who were members of a SJBODA high school honor ensemble are eligible to apply for one of the SJBODA Cheryl Rothkopf Memorial Scholarships. There is an orchestra scholarship and a band scholarship. Cheryl Rothkopf was a music teacher at the Hainesport School who passed away in October. Additional information on these scholarships can be found on our website. Our annual winter membership meeting will take place during the second week of January. The exact date and time will be announced in an email to the membership. Information on accessing the meeting can be found on our website or by contacting Ken Rafter (609-457-0590 or sjbodapresident@gmail.com). Please continue to check the website, maintained by Derek Rohaly (Mainland Regional HS) for the latest SJBODA updates. 69 TEMPO
This column salutes the lives and careers of recently departed colleagues. It is the way NJMEA and NJRMEA can express appreciation for the work that they have done and the lives that they have touched. We mourn their passing and salute their contributions.
Orville Donald Behm Orville Donald "Don" Behm died Monday September 28, 2020 at his home in Berkeley Heights, N.J. He was 82. Don was born in Chicago, Ill., on November 12, 1937 a son to the late Lois (Glyn) and Orville D. Behm Sr. He lived throughout Louisiana as his father traveled as a Baptist minister, moving to Berkeley Heights in 1981. He was a graduate of Logansport High School in Louisiana, and received two bachelor's degrees in music from McNeese State University and two master's of Music from LSU. He worked as a Music Teacher and Director of Music for the University Baptist Church for over 15 years, for the East Baton Rouge Parish School Band in Louisiana, and the Columbia Middle School in Berkeley Heights, N.J ., before retiring. Don was a composer of music and was commissioned by the New Jersey Youth Symphony and the Princeton Orchestra. He was a true lover of music playing multiple instruments, including strings and the piano. He is survived by his wife Glenda (Cain) Behm, his brother Robert Lee Behm, and two sisters Joyce Behm Harris and her husband Gordon, and Jeannie Behm West and her husband Kenneth. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews.
Pauline S. Brown Pauline (Polly) S. Brown, died peacefully on September 4, 2020 at the age of 92. Born to Edward F. and Gertrude M. St. George in Philadelphia, PA. Polly graduated from Scotch Plains Highs School in 1944, and earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in music education from the New Jersey State Teacher's College in Trenton in 1948, and her Permanent Teaching Certificate in Music, Elementary and Secondary Education in 1951. While an undergraduate student, she met her future husband, Harold A. Brown, whom she wed on September 2, 1950. They were married until Harold's death in 1997. Polly was a lifelong teacher and educator in New Jersey. She served as supervisor of music in Leonia early in her career, taught vocal music for six years in Leonia and Wildwood, and also gave private instruTEMPO
mental music lessons in her home. Polly spent the longest portion of her career as a kindergarten teacher at the Harrington Park Elementary school, where she also served as president & head negotiator of the HPEA. She retired in 1991, but remained an occasional substitute teacher for the school. She was pre-deceased by her brother, Edward (Bud) St. George. Polly is survived by her son, Donald E. Brown and his wife Diane; granddaughter Rebecca (Brown) Monahan & her husband Rich Monahan, and great grandchildren Elizabeth, Emmett, and Evelyn Monahan; and her son, Thomas R. Brown and his wife Lisa; granddaughter Kristin (Brown) Parker & her husband Michael Parker, and great-granddaughter, Sophie Louise Parker; and grandson Kyle Eriksen Brown, his wife Melinda, and great-granddaughter Maddison Lynn Brown.
Krista Cheslak Krista Cheslak, 69 of Woodbridge passed away on Thursday, September 10, 2020 at her home. Born in Woodbridge, Krista was a lifelong resident and a devoted parishioner of St. James R.C. Church where she was a Eucharistic Adorer, member of the church choir and Parish Community Life Comission as well as dedicated many hours on the St. James 150th Anniversary Committee. Krista received her bachelor's degree from Manhattanville College as well as her master's degree in New York City. Ms. Cheslak was then employed as a music teacher within the Woodbridge Township Board of Education for 35 years until retiring. She was a talented musician and lover of fine arts who will be deeply missed; leaving behind her beloved friends and neighbors whom she adored.
Karl J. Recktenwald Karl J. Recktenwald III, 74, of Bordentown, NJ, passed away peacefully on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at Greenwood House in Ewing. Karl grew up in Hamilton Township and graduated from Steinert High School. During those years, he started his musical career with his love of the trumpet. Following high school Karl matriculated to Trenton State College as a performance major. Karl was in the process of auditioning to Temple University and Juilliard 70
JANUARY 2021
when his number came up. He was able to enlist in the NJ National Guard. Following basic training he spent time as a bugler at Arlington Cemetery before being assigned to the Band at Sea Girt, NJ. In the middle of all this, Karl took a teaching position at Hamilton High West. A Master's degree in performance from Trenton State College and a postgraduate degree in Supervision soon followed. Over the years, Karl built this program up to be one of the finest in NJ with numerous State Honors Band performances. As the Hornet Band grew, his brother Thom joined him and together they took the band to a wide array of performance sites. Karl and his wife, Carmela met at Hamilton High West where they worked together on the school musicals. His love of music was surpassed only by his devotion to his wife. His love of education continued and he spent years as an adjunct professor at the College of New Jersey helping others to become music teachers. Son of the late Karl J. Recktenwald Jr. and Margaret Logan Recktenwald, he is survived by his wife, Carmela Recktenwald; his daughter, Christen Karolkiewicz and her husband Michael; his granddaughter, Samantha Paige Karolkiewicz; his brother, Thomas Recktenwald and his wife Ursula; his nephew, Adam Recktenwald, his wife Leighanne, and great-niece Mila; and his nephew, Kurt Recktenwald and his wife Anna.
Allegra S. Rondinella Allegra S. Rondinella, 86, of Caldwell, passed away on September 27, 2020, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Bayside, N.Y., she lived in East Meadow and Massapequa, N.Y., until moving to West Orange, N.J., in 1962 and settling in Caldwell in 2001. Prior to her retirement, she was an elementary school music teacher for the East Meadow School District and later an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University. In her spare time, she enjoyed travelling, cooking, sewing, reading and spending time with her extended family. Predeceased by her parents, Thomas and Reba Smith, her sister, Marcia Copperwhite, her son-in-law, David Lowry and her niece, Elizabeth (Betsy) Copperwhite, she is survived by her beloved husband of 62 years, Oreste Renato Rondinella; devoted children, Thomas Rondinella (Sharon), Annmarie Snedeker (Brian), Allegra Lowry, Julia Shannon (Robert), and Orrie Rondinella Jr. (Sandra); loving grandchildren, Laura Rondinella- Johnson (Melissa), Rebecca Rondinella, Julia Rondinella (fiancé Mark Vitale), Sara Snedeker, Gregory Snedeker, Thomas Snedeker, Sean Lowry, Nicholas Lowry, Molly Shannon, Robert Shannon, Owen Shannon, and Andrew Rondinella; loving brother-in-law, Robert Copperwhite, sister-inlaw Marie Quigley and brother-in-law Renato Rondinella. Also surviving are many nieces, nephews, extended relatives, and friends.
Cheryl Rothkopf Cheryl Rothkopf neé Albrecht (57 years) of Cherry Hill, NJ passed away on October 3, 2020 after a 5-year battle with cancer. Cheryl is survived by her husband of 32 years, Jack Rothkopf, JANUARY 2021
along with her two children David Rothkopf (Ashley) and Erica Rothkopf. She is also survived by her father Paul Albrecht, and brother, Robert Albrecht. She was predeceased by her mother, Alice Albrecht, brother Paul Albrecht, Jr., and sister Mary (Edward) Cognazzo. A native of Keyport NJ, Cheryl was an active musician and music educator in Southern New Jersey. She was a graduate of West Chester University and earned her Master's Degree from University of the Arts, She taught music for over 35 years with almost 30 years at the Hainesport School where she led the elementary and middle school band programs. She was a past president of the Hainesport Education Association. Cheryl was a founding member of the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey where she not only played clarinet, but also managed the annual children's concert and was the organization's librarian for over 20 years. She has also been orchestral director for both Haddon Summer Theater and Haddon Heights High School musical theater productions and performed in numerous regional ensembles.
Thelma Turner Slater Thelma Turner Slater, 90, of Tucker, GA, entered eternal rest on October 29, 2020. She was born in Red Bank, NJ, on July 5, 1930. She was the only daughter of Sherley and Ethel Wilson Turner. Thelma graduated from Red Bank High School and went on to receive her Bachelor’s in Music from Hampton Institute, now known as Hampton University, in 1951. While teaching, she attended Teacher’s College of Columbia University in New York City, where she obtained her Master’s in Music Education. Thelma married Master Sgt. Paul W. Slater in 1961. As a military wife, she was afforded the opportunity to hold many teaching positions in the United States and abroad. Among the many places where she taught were Rustburg, Virginia, Storer College, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Dania Beach, FL, El Paso, TX, Munich, Germany, Wiesbaden, Germany, and finally, in New Jersey, Matawan, Eatontown and Neptune. She retired from the Neptune Township School District in 1998, after many years of dedicated service. Thelma’s accomplishments and organizational affiliations are vast. She lent her musical talents wherever needed and loved what she did. She especially loved working with young people. Thelma was a loyal member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a past Worthy Matron of Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated. She was the visionary leader of the Annual Black History Month Community Musical Celebration at St. Augustine Episcopal Church in Asbury Park, NJ. Thelma was very proud to hear how the program continued to grow. She relocated to Decatur, GA in 2006 to be near her beloved brother, Alvin. She was predeceased by her husband, Paul W. Slater; parents; and only brother, Delmar Alvin Turner. She leaves to cherish many wonderful memories among her family sister-in-law, Mrs. Eva Turner, GA; cousins, Mrs. Audrey Robertson, Dr. Susan Alston, and Steven Robertson, NJ; friends, Ms. Zara Peters-Wynn, FL, Ms. Yvette Jones, GA, Mrs. Thomasina F. Savage, NJ, Tony and Karen Williams, GA, along with other friends and associates. 71 TEMPO
NJMEA RESOURCE PERSONNEL Area of Responsibility
Name
Email Address
Administrative Matters..................................................... Patrick O’Keefe............................................ patrickaokeefe@gmail.com All-State Chorus, Orchestra, Jazz Coordinator................ Joseph Cantaffa............................................ jcantaffahhs@hotmail.com All-State Orchestra Procedures Chair.............................. Sarah Franchino.......................................... ASOProcedures@gmail.com Association Business......................................................... Deborah Sfraga........................................................ debnjmea@aol.com Choral Procedures Chair................................................... Wayne Mallette......................................... wayne.mallette1@gmail.com Composition Contest......................................................... Andrew Lesser.............................................. andrew.lesser@yahoo.com Editor - TEMPO Magazine............................................. William McDevitt....................................... wmcdevittnjmea@gmail.com Jazz Procedures Chair......................................................... Joe Bongiovi............................................. jbongiovi.njaje@gmail.com Marching Band Festival Chair........................................... Nancy Clasen.................................................. nancydidi@hotmail.com Membership....................................................................... Deborah Sfraga........................................................ debnjmea@aol.com Middle/Junior High Band Festival................................. James Chwalyk, Jr. .................................... james.chwalyk.jr@gmail.com Middle/Junior High Choral Festival........................... Donna Marie Berchtold.......................................... firesongwed@gmail.com NJMEA Historian............................................................ Nicholas Santoro...................................................... n31b13@gmail.com NJMEA State Conference Exhibits Chair.......................... Nancy Clasen.................................................. nancydidi@hotmail.com NJMEA State Conference Manager................................... Marie Malara.......................................................... malara97@aol.com NJMEA Summer Conference............................................. Casey Goryeb ............................................. casey.goryeb71@gmail.com NJMEA/ACDA Honors Choir........................................... Pam Crockett...................................................... pcrockett@npsdnj.org November Convention – NJEA.......................................... Nancy Clasen.................................................. nancydidi@hotmail.com Opera Festival Chair................................................... Donna Marie Berchtold.......................................... firesongwed@gmail.com Orchestra Performance Chair.............................................. Susan Meuse.................................................. susanmeuse@gmail.com Research............................................................................. Colleen Sears............................................................ quinnc1@tcnj.edu Students with Special Needs............................................. Maureen Butler................................................. mbutler@mlschools.org Supervisor of Performing Groups....................................... Jeff Santoro.......................................................... jsantoro@njmea.org Tri-M................................................................................ Patrick O’Keefe............................................. patrickaokeefe@gmail.com REPRESENTATIVES/LIAISONS TO AFFILIATED, ASSOCIATED AND RELATED ORGANIZATIONS NJ American Choral Directors Association....................... Anne Matlack.......................... anne.matlack@choralcommunities.com Governor’s Award for Arts Education................................. Jeff Santoro.......................................................... jsantoro@njmea.org NJ Association for Jazz Education...................................... Joe Bongiovi............................................. jbongiovi.njaje@gmail.com NAfME............................................................................. Patrick O’Keefe............................................ patrickaokeefe@gmail.com NJ Music Administrators Association............................... Thomas Weber............................................ tweber@westfieldnjk12.org NJ Retired Music Educators Association........................... Frank Hughes.......................................................... flh4hof@gmail.com NJ TI:ME........................................................................... Andrew Lesser.............................................. andrew.lesser@yahoo.com Percussive Arts Society.................................................... Domenico Zarro................................................. DEZarro@optonline.net COMMUNICATION SERVICES/PUBLIC RELATIONS Executive Secretary-Treasurer.......................................... Deborah Sfraga.................................................. debnjmea1@gmail.com Editor - TEMPO Magazine............................................. William McDevitt...................................... wmcdevittnjmea@gmail.com
TEMPO
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JANUARY 2021
NJMEA 2019-2021 Board of Directors Executive Board
President
Patrick O’Keefe
Past President Jeff Santoro
Absegami High School patrickaokeefe@gmail.com
W. Windsor-Plainsboro District jsantoro@njmea.org
President-Elect Lisa Vartanian
Paramus School District lvartanian@paramusschools.org
Executive Secretary-Treasurer NJSMA, President
CJMEA, President
Randolph Twp. Schools president@njsma.com
Scotch Plains-Fanwood District wayne.mallette1@gmail.com
Diana May
Wayne Mallette
Deborah Sfraga
Retired debnjmea@aol.com
SJCDA, President
SJBODA, President
William Allen Middle School hknight@mtps.us
Penns Grove High School rafterpghs@gmail.com
Hope Knight
Ken Rafter
Chorus/Orchestra/Jazz Joseph Cantaffa Howell High School jcantaffahhs@hotmail.com
NJ Association For Jazz Ed. Joe Bongiovi Princeton Public Schools jbongiovi.njaje@gmail.com
Administration & Advocacy Dennis Argul dennisargul@gmail.com
Collegiate/Research/Higher Ed. Colleen Sears The College of New Jersey quinnc1@tcnj.edu
NJRMEA Kathy Spadafino Retired kspadeb@aol.com
Band Festivals/Classroom Music Nancy Clasen Thomas Jefferson Middle School nancydidi@hotmail.com
Conferences Marie Malara Retired malara97@aol.com
Orchestra Festivals/Performance Susan Meuse Hammarskjold Middle School susanmeuse@gmail.com
Band Performance Nick Mossa Bridgewater Raritan High School nmossa16@gmail.com
Corporate/Industry James Frankel jim@musicfirst.com
Special Learners Maureen Butler Retired maureenbutlermusic@gmail.com
Choral/Opera Festivals Donna Marie Berchtold Retired firesongwed@gmail.com
Early Childhood Music Ed. Amy Burns Far Hills Country Day School aburns@fhcds.org
Technology Andrew Lesser Burlington County Schools Andrew.Lesser@Yahoo.com
Appointed Members
Chorus Performance Wayne Mallete Scotch Plains-Fanwood District JANUARY wayne.mallette1@gmail.com 2021
Guitar Education Webmaster Jayson Martinez Matthew Skouras Arts High School, Newark Bergenfield High School jmarti37@webmail.essex.edu 73 TEMPO mskouras.njmea@gmail.com
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EDITORIAL POLICY Articles may be submitted to the editor of this magazine by anyone who wishes to write about topics related to music or music education. All articles which are selected for publication will be proof read for content, spelling and grammatical errors. Authors who submit an article to TEMPO Magazine for publication agree to all of the following 1. the editor may edit all articles for content, spelling and grammar. 2. the printing of the article in TEMPO Magazine, the printing date, and placement are at the discretion of the editor. 3. permission is granted to reprint the same article in any National or State Music Education Association magazine on the condition that the author’s name and TEMPO Magazine are to be mentioned in all reprinted articles. 4. no exceptions will be made regarding items 1 through 3 above. 5. the author of the article may submit his/her article to additional magazines for publication.
NJMEA Past Presidents 1924 - 1926 1926 - 1930 1930 - 1930 - 1931 1931 - 1933 1933 - 1935 1935 - 1936 1936 - 1938 1938 - 1939 1939 - 1941 1941 - 1942 1942 - 1944 1944 - 1945 1945 - 1947 1947 - 1949 1949 - 1951 1951 - 1953
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Josephine Duke R.W. Laslett Smith Jay W. Fay Wilbert B. Hitchner Thomas Wilson John H. Jaquish Clifford Demarest Mable E. Bray Paul H. Oliver K. Elizabeth Ingles Arthur E. Ward John T. Nicholson Frances Allan-Allen Philip Gordon Violet Johnson Samuel W. Peck Janet G. Gleason
1953 - 1955 1955 - 1957 1957 - 1959 1959 - 1961 1961 - 1963 1963 - 1965 1965 - 1967 1967 - 1969 1969 - 1971 1971 - 1973 1973 - 1975 1975 - 1977 1977 - 1979 1979 - 1981 1981 - 1983 1983 - 1985 1985 - 1987
Henry Zimmerman Agnes B. Gordown Leroy B. Lenox Elizabeth R. Wood Harold A. Brown E. Brock Griffith Robert C. Heath Edward Brown Rudolph Kreutzer Charles Wertman Stephen M. Clarke Herman L. Dash Buddy S. Ajalat Alyn J. Heim Robert Marince Anthony Guerere Joan Policastro
74
1987 - 1989 1989 - 1991 1991 - 1993 1993 - 1995 1995 - 1997 1997 - 1999 1999 - 2001 2001 - 2003 2003 - 2005 2005 - 2007 2007 - 2009 2009 - 2011 2011 - 2013 2013 - 2015 2015 - 2017 2017 - 2019
Joseph Mello Dorian Parreott David S. Jones Anthony Guerere Sharon Strack Chic Hansen Joseph Mello Nicholas Santoro Frank Phillips Joseph Akinskas Robert Frampton William McDevitt Keith Hodgson Joseph Jacobs William McDevitt Jeffrey Santoro
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