search.noResults

search.searching

note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Do you have a personal philosophy or mission state- ment on music education?


Whether it’s meant putting myself in position to seize oppor- tunities, or following the direction of adults and peers who have believed in me, keeping music at the forefront of my life has always been about finding a way.


In elementary school, my music teacher, Mrs. Whitcomb, nearly had to bribe me to join the choir she was starting for 4th and 5th graders. She found a way.


What is your position within GOGO and back- ground as a musician?


I’ve long balanced a ‘double life’ between careers in music and education. I earned a degree in Secondary Education from the University of Miami, which placed me in different field expe- riences working with local students and teachers, particularly in Miami’s low-income schools and communities. No matter the constraints of my school schedule, music always had a way of finding me. I was the first ever freshman non-major to be selected for UM’s top Jazz Vocal Ensemble, where I sang for three years. During my senior year, I was honored to sing live on stage with Billy Joel during a Q&A session he hosted on our campus.


Aſter graduation, I moved to Chicago to join Teach For America, and was employed at an all-boys charter high school on the city’s West Side. While teaching Special Education, I founded and directed our charter network’s first sustained ex- tracurricular choir, UPliſtment, which twice earned superior ratings at the Illinois ‘Trills & Tirlls’ Music Festival at Six Flags: Great America.


In an effort to better combine my two passions, I joined the Guitars Over Guns Organization in the fall of 2015 as a founding mentor and site director at Evergreen Academy on Chicago’s Southside. During this time, I wrote and played mu- sic extensively with my acoustic trio, Te Shades (@WeTe- Shades), and was honored with an opportunity to represent ‘Team Adam’ on Season 11 of NBC’s ‘Te Voice’.


Following my time on ‘Te Voice’, I returned to Chicago to take on the role of founding Regional Director for the Chicago branch of Guitars Over Guns. In this role, I am responsible for managing the experiences of nearly 350 students, a dozen mentors, and four local school partners. Trough my work with GOGO, I hope to continue striking the balance between my two passions.


9


In college, I didn’t let my decision to pursue a degree in education prevent me from being active in my school’s music program. I surrounded myself with the best musicians and sang in multiple top-tier vocal ensembles. I found a way.


As an educator, I used music as a tool to connect with my students by founding and directing an aſter-school choir, and found time for music in my own life by helping to form Te Shades, who as of this Spring will be professional recording artists on all digital platforms. I found a way.


Aſter leaving the classroom, I took advantage of an opportu- nity to appear on Te Voice, and continue to use the platform given to me as an amplifier for the good word work of Guitars Over Guns. When it comes to the molding of young musicians and citizens, I have a responsibility to help young people build an identity to which music is so critical, that there is no other option but to find a way.


Here is your chance to invite musicians to be in- volved with Guitar Over Guns:


Tere are so many ways to invest in the work that we do, but in my opinion, no way is more valuable than making a genuine, face-to-face impact on our young people. To any- one who is considering becoming a mentor for Guitars Over Guns, please understand: we need you; you are valued and supported in doing this incredibly important work, and it will change your life. Please contact Andrew at andrew@guitarso- verguns.org to learn more about our programs and how to get involved.


____________ Tomas Amoriello Jr. is the Guitar Education Chairperson for the New Jersey Music Education Association and also serves on the NAfME Council for Guitar Education as the Eastern Division Representative. He teaches guitar for the Fleming- ton Raritan School District and Hunterdon Academy of the Arts. Tom graduated from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University with a Master of Music Degree in Classical Guitar Performance. He is the author of the chil- dren’s picture book A Journey to Guitarland with Maestro Armadillo, available from barnesandnoble.com.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48