& News From Our Division Chairs & But as we look ahead to a summer off and thinking about next fall, please thank these people along with me for their incredible
work with All-State Chorus this year. Our fabulous committee – Tom Voorhis, Steven Bell and Matt Vanzini from Region I; Hillary Colton, Judy Verrilli and Wayne Mallette from Region II; and Helen Stanley, Art McKenzie and Cheryl Breitzman from Region III work together to handle all aspects of auditions, conductor selection, rehearsals and performances in a calm and professional man- ner. Our audition chairs, Barbara Retzko and Cheryl Breitzman work in tandem to process over 1300 applications and 130 choral directors that make up the auditions. Our managers for both Mixed Chorus and Women’s Chorus – Judy Verrilli, Sue Belly and Joe Cantaffa also work many hours for all the students who participate. Our hosts for auditions and rehearsals also put in extra time so that everyone has an excellent experience while there. Do you notice some of these names more than once? That’s because they do at least two jobs! What about you newer, younger,
more energetic folks? This All-State organization is run for you, your students, and your school and community. Please think about talking to me about getting more involved with All-State Chorus. You’ll learn some new ideas, share repertoire and ideas, commiserate over a tough situation, and end up feeling better about yourself. Please contact me – Kathy Spadafino at
KSpadEB@aol.com. Enjoy the rest of your school year, and I look forward to hearing from you as we prepare for next year!
Retired Music Educators Christine Sezer
570-756-2961
drcsezer@gmail.com
& News From Our Division Chairs &
Orchestra Performance Susan Meuse
908-231-0230
susanmeuse@gmail.com
Once again it is Spring, and things are very busy for everyone. The All State Orchestras are ready to go once again. The March
auditions were very successful again this year, thanks to Audition Chair Mike Kallimanis! Congratulations to all of the students who were accepted, and thank you to all of the sponsoring teachers for your help. During the auditions, the Procedures Committee met again, and finalized the solo lists. For the first time, this lists requires spe- cific editions. Next year’s solo and scale requirements are published in this issue of TEMPO, so please take a look. As far as the new edition requirements, keep in mind that they are there to provide consistency for judges listening to auditions. Students will only be judged on the notes and rhythms in the required editions. Teachers may still use their own preferred bowing, articulations, and fingerings. A student will not be penalized in an audition for having the wrong edition, only for playing incorrect notes and rhythms. Right now the All State Intermediate Orchestra is preparing for the May 12th concert. The students are working very hard under
the direction of Curt Ebersole. The concert is going to be great, be sure to come out to hear it! The All State Orchestra will be meet- ing for the first time soon. Look for more about that in the next issue of TEMPO. As always, we are looking for teachers to come to rehearsals and help out. If you are interested, please feel free to contact me!
I hope you are all enjoying the warmth of the Spring weather. After an unusually mild winter here in the Endless Mountains it is still a delight to welcome nice weather as I am especially looking forward to planting my annual garden. On a personal note, I have been elected to my School Board and being the Treasurer, I have been dealing first hand with deep budget cuts which have resulted in making some extemely difficult decisions regarding staff reduction, course offerings and cur- riculum revisions. The budget crisis is evident in most states and it does have a direct impact on education. We are in the process of negotiations for a new
contract.The arts are always at risk -we must justify their extreme importance, state the research explaining just how the arts especially MUSIC contribute to educating the WHOLE child and touching the part of the brain that no other subject can the way in which music can - people just need to realize this. Advocacy is so important! We were successful in keeping our arts programs. Fighting for the arts is well worth the fight and the effort!! Our retired educators mentoring program continues to expand - more retired educators have been added to our Mentoring
Catagory list. Your experience and knowedge is very important - please consider adding you name, phone number and email to our Mentoring Catagories. The Mentoring Catagories can be found on our website of the NJMEA Retired Music Educators. Please email me
drcsezer@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the Mentoring Catagories - you may add your name to whatever catagory or catagories you would like. As you know the 2012 NJ Master Music Teacher Award was presented to Joyce Richardson-Melech, a very talented and truly a
“Master Teacher”. In addition to this award, Richardson-Melech received the Governor’s Award for the Arts. So again we are very proud that our Master Teacher recieved this high honor. Calendar Dates to remember: Wednesday Oct. 3rd - Executive Committee Meeting -12:00 pm; Friday February 22, 2013-NJMEA
Conference - Gen. Membership Meeting - 10:15 am; Wednesday March 6, 2013 - Executive Committee Meeting - 12:00 pm; and Wednesday May 15, 2013 - General Membership Meeting - 10:15 am. Our General Membership meeting will be May 16th at the House-by-the- Sea - Ocean Grove -10:15 am with Alyn and Sally
Heim as our gracious hosts. Our guest speaker will be Roma Oster, elder law attorney who will advise on some issues of estate plan- ning and any questions we may have regarding planning for the future. Hope to see you all at the General Membership Meeting on May 16th!
continued on page 14 MAY 2012 13 TEMPO
Summer Workshop Coordinator Joe Akinskas
JoeA_NJMEA@comcast.net Summer Workshop V
As announced previously, Summer Workshop V will take place on Tuesday, August 7, 2012, from 8:00-4:30 pm. All activities will take place in the Music Building on the College of New Jersey campus in Ewing. You will find the updated session topic roster for the event on page 14 although proposals are still forthcoming. All sessions are designed to be interactive, in a relaxed summer setting, so come prepared to utilize your voice, instrument, I-devices, and musical skills, in activities designed to be brought back to your classroom. The registration form can be found on our webpage
www.njmeasummerworkshop.com as well as on page 47 of this edition of
TEMPO. I encourage you to register immediately, before summer mode takes over! We will send you an electronic reminder as the workshop draws closer. We look forward to another enjoyable and productive day for all in attendance. Periodic updates on program development will be forthcoming in TEMPO Express postings and on our website at
www.njmeasummerworkshop.com.
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