Work hard. At whatever task is before you, music or
otherwise. Be satisfied with nothing less than your best. Quest for greatness, and once you think you’ve “made it,” get back to work. Grow and don’t stop growing.
Do you have any networking or advocacy tool
that have worked for you promoting your program that would help other educators?
NAfME and NJMEA have been amazing resources.
Beyond all the great professional development and net- working opportunities they provide, the advocacy they do for music in the public schools is unparalleled. It’s such a supportive community to be a part of, and they’re always looking toward the future. NJMEA recently added an Honors Guitar Ensemble to their prestigious All-State instrumental and choral programs. It’s given my students the opportunity to audition and perform with a premier state-wide ensemble, extend what they’ve learned outside the classroom and work with some of the best teachers and young guitarists in the state. This was an opportu- nity that didn’t exist when I started teaching. Thanks to the support and advocacy from teachers like you, Tom, and all the other educators that get involved, these pro- fessional communities are a driving force behind music in public education.
What kind of future do you see for guitar in music education in our New Jersey school system?
I’d love to see more guitar courses being offered at all
levels, from elementary on up. It’s amazing to see high- school and middle-school guitar programs in New Jersey emerging faster than ever before, but what we don’t yet have is the history: the longevity that many other instru- mental and vocal programs have. Exposing younger stu- dents to the guitar can help to build that tradition, and I suspect we’ll end up with some really good players by the time they even set foot in a high school guitar class.
What type of arrangements and/or transcribing have you done for your school performances?
Generally, I arrange about half of the music we per- form, and I like to feature a few student-arranged pieces each year. Anything is fair game. I enjoy taking things that were never meant for the guitar whatsoever and find-
TEMPO 32
ing a way to make them sing on the instrument. My last few ensemble arrangements have included a traditional Italian song written at the turn of the 20th
century; a
pop-ballad from the 1980’s; an SATB chorale transcrip- tion; and a Brazilian choro. This year, I have a student building an arrangement around a popular video game theme, and a few working on Bollywood tunes. There’s too much awesome music out there to limit the scope of repertoire. Arranging and transcribing can be labor- intensive, yes, but it’s a great way to expose students to new and different sounds.
Do you do any musical performance or activities outside of your public school teaching duties?
When my teaching schedule allows, I gig on guitar and bass, teach private lessons, and freelance as an on-lo- cation recording engineer. I’ve been in and out of various rock bands since high school and still dreaming of being a rock star one day I suppose!
Any last thoughts to con- clude our inter- view?
I just wanted
to express my thanks to you and NJMEA for
the opportunity to share a few of my thoughts and ex- periences through this interview. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for guitar in public education, and I’m so fortunate that my students and I get to be a part of that future.
Thomas Amoriello is the Guitar Education Chairperson for the
New Jersey Music Education Association and also serves on the NAfME Council for Guitar Education as the Chair-Elect. He teaches guitar for the Flemington Raritan School District and Hunterdon Academy of the Arts. Tom graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory with a Mas- ter of Music Degree in Classical Guitar 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, Ozzy Osbourne, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force, and Cacophony that was released in February on H42 Records of Hamburg,
Germany on 7 inch Vinyl. MAY 2018
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