Do you have any success stories you would like to share about students (musical & non-musical)? I had a freshman take my guitar 1 class a few years ago. He


was overly quiet, introverted, and was having a hard time fitting in socially. He turned out to be a very good player, so the following year, I had him skip Guitar 2 and go right into Guitar 3. That next year, he was making friends with all the other guitarists and was an outspoken class leader. He was a completely different kid! He is now a senior preparing for his college auditions. He plans on majoring in classical guitar and music education He recently told me that when he first started high school, he was suffering from severe depression and anxiety. Guitar class was the only thing that kept him positive about coming to school. He insists that it changed his life and help shape the person he is today. Sometimes we get so caught up in lessons, concerts, fundraisers, paperwork, etc., that it can be easy to forget the power music has to change lives.


What do you tell your talented students who are planning to pursue music or guitar studies in high school, college after they finish with you? I tell my students to set very clear goals for them- selves, but more importantly, develop the work ethic to achieve those goals. I emphasize focusing on a ‘process over product’ philosophy. If you are passionate about music and find joy in the creative process, you will be able to dedicate all of your energy towards a lifetime of artistic growth.


cert/marching band mold. The guitar is one of the most versatile, genre hopping instruments out there. You can have genre specific curriculum, popular music based curriculum, multi-cultural music curriculum... The opportunities are endless with the guitar. It is a brilliant way to grow a school’s music program by getting students involved, who otherwise might not be signing up for the traditional band/choir program.


What type of arrangements and/or transcribing have you


done for your school performances? I haven’t needed to do much arranging/transcribing myself, oth- er than composing simple exercises and pieces for class. I use an on- line curriculum created by the Austin Classical Guitar Society for my classes (www.guitarcurriculum.com). It is a tremendous resource for teaching technique and music literacy in a classroom setting, even when I have a class of 28 students with guitars.


It offers ensemble


music from beginner to advanced student players, as well as some solo repertoire. I use a variety of websites for concert repertoire and arrangements as well as publishers like Guitar Solo in CA.


Do you do any musical performance or activities outside of


your public school teaching duties? I am very active as a recording/performing artist outside of


school. I have released four CDs of my own compositions for solo fingerstyle steel string guitar. I have had the opportunity to record and perform with Grammy Award winning composer/guitarist/pro- ducer and founder of Windham Hill Records, Will Ackerman since 2012. I also perform as part of Will’s touring concert series “The Gathering”. This has given me the opportunity to perform in some wonderful venues around the country, including Carnegie Hall twice. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to record and perform with some of my favorite musicians including Will Ack- erman, Tom Eaton, David Cullen, Laurence Juber, Trevor Gordon Hall, Tony Levin and Michael Manring. More information about my music can be found at www.vindownes.com.


Do you have any networking or advocacy tools that have


worked for you promoting your program that would help other educators? We do not have a guitar program in our elementary schools, so


I am my own feeder system. I make sure that our performance en- sembles are constantly performing in school and in our community throughout the year. I am constantly posting updates, pictures and videos on social media – @BHSGuitar on Facebook, Twitter, Insta- gram. Involvement with the NJMEA All-State Guitar Ensemble has also helped to get students interested and motivated. I also try to take my advanced players out on lots of guitar related trips. Since we are so close to NYC, we try to go to concerts at the 92St Y. We also visit the Martin Guitar Factory each year.


All this creates, what my


students call, a feeling of being part of our “Guitar Family”. Other students see and hear about us and want to get involved.


What kind of future do you see for guitar in music educa-


tion in our New Jersey school system? I hope to see it grow statewide. I think the guitar has been over- looked for a long time because it didn’t fit into the orchestra/con-


JANUARY 2018 29


Any last thoughts to conclude our interview? I appreciate the opportunity to share what we’ve been able to


do at Bayonne High School with NJMEA. I invite any teacher who may be thinking about starting a guitar program, but who may have questions about how to get started, to email me or visit our guitar classes at BHS. My school email is vdownes@bboed.org. Thank you!


Thomas Amoriello is the Guitar Education Chairperson for the New Jersey


Music Education Association and also serves on the NAfME Council for Gui- tar Education as the Chair-Elect. He teaches guitar for the Flemington Rari- tan School District and Hunterdon Academy of the Arts. Tom graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory with a Master of Music Degree in Classical Gui- tar Performance. He is the author of the children’s picture books; A Journey to Guitarland with Maestro Armadillo & Ukulele Sam Strums in the Sand, both available from Black Rose Writing. He recently made a heavy metal recording with a stellar roster of musicians including former members of Black Sabbath, Whitesnake, Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, Cacophony and Impellitteri that will be released in January 2018.


& TEMPO


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