https://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.png00matthewclee2012https://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.pngmatthewclee20122022-11-16 18:09:072022-11-16 18:09:35Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Teaching
Signed up for the NJACDA High School Choral Festival in May 2023?
Thinking about it, but stuck wondering about the sight-reading portion?
Are you returning, but looking to collect some top-tips for sight reading?
This ZOOM event is for YOU!
This event provides an opportunity for teachers to share best practices for the sight-reading portion of the HS Festival. Also — we heard your suggestions and made some tweaks to the process which will better alight with the way you teach students how to sight read!!! We will hear from our sight reading adjudicator, Timothy Urban, during this Zoom session!
Remember, the HS Choral Festival isn’t about competition — it’s about adding value to our students’ choral experience and supporting each other! Teachers, come share your good ideas so we can all grow from your wisdom!
This inspirational three-hour workshop will provide High School, 8th Grade Middle Schoolers, and high school-aged Community Youth Choirs the opportunity to sing in a dynamic massed choir environment supported by the Montclair State University Singers and under the leadership of VOCES8. Participating choirs will need to learn two accessible pieces provided well in advance (available October 2022). Additionally, there will be performance demonstrations by VOCES8 and the University Singers, as well as Q&A opportunities. This will be a wonderful day to celebrate and share the joy of choral singing under the guidance of dedicated, expert choral musicians and music educators.
In-School Visits
In addition to the February 17thchoral workshop, for those school choirs interested, US representatives of the VOCES8 Foundation Choral Scholars Program under the Direction of Paul Smith (VOCES8 Co-Founder and Foundation CEO), will be available to visit and work with choirs starting October through early February. This opportunity is only available to choirs participating in the February 17th workshop. Individual school visits will be scheduled at mutually agreeable times and provide artistic/vocal/musical support for you and your students in meaningful ways specific to your program needs.
Cost
There is no charge for the February 17, 2023 Workshop or the In-School Visits. The VOCES8 ensemble is part of the John J. Cali School of Music’s 2022-23 Cali Immersive Residency program.
To secure your choir’s participation please register ASAP, providing student chorister and teacher/chaperone numbers. Please also indicate your desire to participate in the VOCES8 Foundation’s Choral Scholars In-School Visit program too.
https://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.png00wilsonjohnhttps://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.pngwilsonjohn2022-09-22 10:29:392022-09-22 10:38:40A Special High School Choral Workshop Opportunity with the Internationally acclaimed UK-based vocal ensemble VOCES8
As a world, we have recently dealt with the coronavirus that has majorly impacted our lives. And now, with the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others, racism has become the center of attention. The Black Lives Matter campaign has reignited the energy against racial inequalities and prompted a new change in our society. With people of color being faced with such inequalities, we must perform our due diligence in our communities.
NJACDA acknowledges the anger and pain that our black and brown brothers and sisters are feeling and want you to know that we stand with you. Everyday I learn something new about my own privilege and the systemic/institutional nature of racism in our country. As president of NJACDA, I want you to know that I am here to listen and amplify your voice.
As choral artists, we must acknowledge and educate ourselves about the pain and suffering that comes along with spirituals and gospel pieces. This is our opportunity to bridge the gap, educate ourselves and justly deliver with the proper intent.
I know you miss your choral classrooms more than ever – the safe spaces, where students can be themselves, listen to each other, and heal through singing together. I am hopeful that we will soon get back to that point.
As the great composer and fighter for racial justice, Leonard Bernstein said: “This will be our reply to violence; to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.”
-Dr. Anne Matlack, NJACDA President
Below, you will find some links for you to use as resources:
Seven Last Words of the Unarmed – Joel Thompson Tallahassee Symphony performs plus panel discussion
If you’re looking for resources to use with your students in order to engage them in meaningful conversations about race and racism, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture has a wealth of activities & information (from Libby Gopal)
https://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Harmonium_Decolonizing_flyer.jpg960960rretzkohttps://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.pngrretzko2021-05-24 08:11:292022-01-29 08:10:54Beyond Song Selection: An Intro to Decolonizing and Antiracist Approaches in the Music Classroom
What’s in a name? We all have them. Maybe you wear comfortably the name you were given at birth, or maybe you have adopted a childhood nickname or other chosen handle. Perhaps you know the story of the beloved family member or literary character who is your namesake, or how your name’s etymology reveals something your name-givers wished to carve into your identity. My name, Stuart, is related to the word “steward,” or servant. I never had any say in the matter, but I always have felt some small sense of responsibility to that label—like an assignment I was given, a task designated for me.
Originally published: Choral Journal, May 2021, Volume 61, number 10
Author: Stuart Chapman Hill
Editor: Christopher Eanes
https://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.png00Brandon Williamshttps://njacda.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/njacda2-300x83.pngBrandon Williams2021-04-24 11:36:372021-04-24 11:40:32Rehearsal Break: What’s in a name?
Here are the notes from the discussion last week. There were some great ideas put out there! Thank you so much to those of you who attended and contributed ideas. I plan to send a survey about professional development needs in a couple of months. I wanted everyone to have an opportunity to start the year and discover needs that they might not have realized they had. Good luck, everyone!
What are kids lacking in- what should we focus on
Sight-singing
Reading music
Following the score
Diction
Exercises for articulation
Listening, critique and feedback
Pose a question (Can you bring a song to share? What do you think we should work on next time?)
Programs
Classical Movements concerts
Voces 8 teaching package (MS, HS)
NJSO
Carnegie Hall Musical Explorers and Learn with Carnegie Hall
How to rehearse
You’re live vocal model, you conduct
The kids can record while they sing and then send the file!
Have kids share songs or sing portions of repertoire if they want to
Perform
Choircreator.com
Virtual talent show
Other ideas
Applause videos – insert videos of audience applause between acts in virtual performances!
Have composers or artists join your virtual meeting! Broadway, local music experts
** Be on the lookout for a survey on professional development needs coming in November **
(I thought people might not know what they really need just yet, so giving everyone an opportunity to get the year going first and then we can revisit possible workshop ideas)
GOAL: The goal of the NJACDA Grants page is to seek and secure funds to financially support our
members who are searching for monies to finance their immediate scholastic needs.
https://www.njea.org/digitalwish-com/
Digital Wish develops new online tools and promotions that empower teachers and their supporters to get new
technology for their classrooms and enhance learning for our children.
Title I–eligible high schools are being invited to integrate Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Era into classroom studies and then see the musical. The Hamilton Education Program is part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s broader mission to improve the teaching and learning of American history. High school students in Title I schools in New York City, Chicago, and selected cities will each pay just a “Hamilton” ($10) to see the performance. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/programs-and-events/hamilton-education-program
Music Education Grants
NJMEA Educational Grant Award: $1000 – can only receive 1 every 5 years
Application Deadline: March 1
Notification of Award: after April board meeting
https://njmea.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/09/EducationalGrants2.pdf
Music Education Innovator Award (Give A Note Foundation)
https://www.giveanote.org/initiatives/music-education-innovator-award/ ($4000)
Granted to school music programs led by creative music educators utilizing innovative & sustainable strategies in non-traditional or traditional K-12 public school music classes that attract students not typically enrolled in music education courses, in efforts to increase access to music education through diversity in curriculum & approach.
Tri-M Music Honor Society: Grants and Scholarship Opportunities
https://artsmart.org/
Founded in 2016 by Michael Fabiano and John Viscardi, ArtSmart works with professional musicians and partners with middle and high schools in underserved communities to provide free weekly vocal music instruction to talented youth. We have witnessed the power in using music mentorship as a guiding light to positively shape the lives of our students.
Initiated by two of New Jersey’s premier performing arts organizations—New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO)—M.A.N.Y offers programs for beginning and experienced students on string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.
Students entering grades 5–10 in the following communities: Bayonne, Belleville, Bloomfield, East Orange, Elizabeth, Harrison, Hillside, Irvington, Jersey City, Kearny, Maplewood, Newark, Orange, Paterson and South Orange.
Students interested in string instruments, please call 973.735.1733 or visit njpac.org/njso-many to register.
