New England Music Festival Association, Inc. | |
September 2024 | Volume LXXXiX, No. 1 | |
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John Deeb
New England Music Festival Association President
president@nemfa.org
deebj@region10ct.org
(860) 673-0423, ext. 15419
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President's Letter to the Membership
New England Music Festival Association
June 14, 2024
A Note from Your President
John Deeb
President’s Message Fall 2024
Welcome to another exciting school year! I hope you all had a wonderful summer filled with rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. As we embark on the 2024-25 academic year, I am filled with enthusiasm and anticipation for the incredible journey ahead in teaching and making beautiful music together.
I am thrilled to announce that the 2025 Concert Festival will be held March 13-15, at Middletown High School in Middletown, CT. After touring the facility, I am confident that it will exceed our expectations and provide an outstanding venue for our event. A huge shoutout to Stephanie Zak and her dedicated team for their exceptional preparation and hard work in organizing this festival. Their efforts are truly commendable!
I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our entire NEMFA membership. Your unwavering dedication and loyalty to our organization are the driving forces behind our success. Our Executive Board has worked tirelessly throughout the year to ensure that we deliver an adjudication and performance experience that you and your students will cherish for a lifetime.
As we move forward, I kindly ask for your cooperation in adhering to all deadlines for the submission of paperwork and digital registration materials. Timely submissions are crucial for the smooth operation and overall success of our festival. Your punctuality and attention to detail make a significant difference.
It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your President. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity and will continue to work diligently for the betterment of our organization.
Wishing you all a fabulous fall and a wonderful 2024-25 school year!
Musically Yours,
John
John Deeb - President
New England Music Festival Association
president@nemfa.org
deebj@region10ct.org
(860) 673-0423, ext. 15419
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2024 NEMFA Solo and Ensemble Performance Adjudication Festival | |
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IMPORTANT NEMFA SOLO & ENSEMBLE FESTIVAL DATES FOR 2024-25
October 14, 2024 - Applications Portal Opens Online
October 28, 2024 - Application Deadline - All Fees and Registrations Due
November 17, 2024 - Solo & Ensemble Performance Schedule is online
December 7, 2024 - S & E Northern Site - Hartford High School, Hartford, VT
December 14, 2024 - S & E Southern Site - Griswold High School, Griswold, CT
OVERVIEW
Again this year, the New England Music Festival Association is proud to offer our Solo & Ensemble Festival for interested high school student-musicians from any of the six New England states. Scheduled for the first two Saturdays in December, we invite your students to prepare and perform, in person, a piece from one of our wonderful repertoire listings (or a piece of their choice), and have it heard and evaluated by our adjudicators. The northern site, on December 7th, will be at Hartford High School in Hartford, Vermont and the southern site, on December 14th, will be at Griswold High School in Griswold, CT. December 21st is a Snow Date for either site should if it becomes necessary.
Your student will receive verbal feedback at the conclusion of their performance and written feedback using our evaluation rubric. Should their piece be listed on the appropriate repertoire, they will also receive a rating of their performance, a rating that we will then use to invite selected students to participate in the New England Festival Band, Chorus, Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble. Those selections will be made available soon after the second Solo & Ensemble Festival. The Concert Festival will be held March 13th, 14th & 15th, 2025 at Middletown High School in Middletown, CT.
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The application window will be open soon, on October 14th via a link on the Solo & Ensemble Festival page of our website, NEMFA.org . Once directors have submitted their applications, they will receive a schedule for their performances on the particular Saturday that they choose to attend. Following the performances, the student adjudication feedback and ensemble selections will be available online as well as used in the acceptance process for those invited to participate in the Concert Festival.
Using those evaluations, the New England Music Festival will honor the most talented of those who performed in the Solo & Ensemble Festival in two other ways:
- A group of students, selected by their adjudicators for the power and persuasion of their performance, will be asked to perform their adjudication piece at the beginning of the Concert Festival Chorus performance in March.
- For our senior participants, the highest rated vocal student and the highest rated instrumental student, each who have participated in the New England Concert Festival all four years will be awarded that year’s Burton O. Cowgill New England Scholarship, an honor that comes not only with due recognition, but a monetary one as well.
While these accolades will bear witness to the gifts, talents and musicianship of our participants, it is the evaluation process that carries the most value to these students. The opportunity to practice, prepare and perform a great piece of music, and to receive the compliments, critiques and corrections needed to improve from our caring adjudicators, is what the New England Music Festival Association is most proud of, most invested in providing each year, every year, despite any obstacles presented.
We hope you and your students will consider participating this year and every year as we work collectively to ensure that music remains a vital part of every student’s high school education and experience.
PLEASE EMAIL STEFFEN PARKER WITH ANY QUESTIONS.
PLEASE SEND REGISTRATION CHECKS TO:
NEW ENGLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION, INC.
c/o WILLIAM SITTARD
PO BOX 755
OAK BLUFFS, MA 02557-0755
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2024-2025 NEMFA Dress Code | |
The NEMFA Executive Board recently voted on a revision to the Dress Code for all NEMFA Concert Ensemble as follows:
Dress code - The dress code for all ensembles in performance will be: Dark suit (black preferred, black tuxedos are also acceptable) with a tie, and a collared white shirt, OR black sleeve top (no bare midriffs, shoulders or low neckline) and a solid black bottom (below the knees black skirt or black dress pants), OR a black long gown/dress that goes below the knees. Dark shoes and dark socks or hose. No sport shoes or sandals allowed. All concert dress will be in conservative good taste.
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New NEMFA Vocal Ensemble and Winds & Percussion Performance Lists in use for 2024-25
Thanks so much to Amy Ranta of The Woodstock Academy in Woodstock, CT and Lauren Churchill of Griswold High School in Jewett City, CT for organizing the new lists of the NEMFA Vocal Ensemble and Winds and Percussion Performance Repertoire Lists that were first introduced last year. These revised lists are already on the website, and the members will be using the new lists during 2024-25. Amy notes that when she is working with her students on a NEMFA Vocal Ensemble selection, she incorporates it into the concert that her group is preparing at the time so that is not an extra piece to prepare, but may be performed both in the NEMFA Solo and Ensemble Festival and in her own school concert.
NEMFA Choral Directors who are interested in commenting on this Vocal Ensemble Revision List should contact Amy Ranta at aranta@woodstockcademy.org . Comments regarding the NEMFA Winds and Percussion Performance Lists should be directed to Lauren Churchill at lchurchill@griswoldpublicschools.org Those of us who were involved worked hard to make sure that this festival ran smoothly for everyone, and I am hopeful that a positive musical experience was had by all.
Congratulations to everyone who made this a very special event! We will have announcements regarding recordings made of the concert shortly.
Thank you so much for your participation! We will have our 98th Concert Festival in Connecticut in March 13-15, 2025.
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2024 NEMFA Concert Recordings
Professional quality audio and video recordings of the 97th annual New England Music Festival Concert, held on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in historic Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts are now available on a NEMFA Members Google Drive. There are three audio files for each group and the VIDEO of the entire concert. These are available to you, at no charge, by downloading files at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1deVbz4Mt5ixDqaHt0TsaRVMM5ZhKWlzw?usp=sharing
PLEASE NOTE: The VIDEO file is large, so it may take some time to download, but it is definitely worth the wait !!!
ALSO - If someone has a VIDEO that they took of the first New England Music Festival Jazz Ensemble that performed on Friday, March 22, 2024, in Boxborough, MA, please contact Tom Reynolds at treynold@worldpath.net as soon as possible, so we could put that in the archives and possibly share as well!
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Paul Pierce
NEMFA Orchestra Manager
ppierce@windsorct.org
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March 2025 Orchestra Conductor | |
Dear NEMFA Members,
The New England Music Festival Association is proud to present Louis Cosma, Conductor of the Vermont Philharmonic, as the conductor of the 2025 NEMFA Festival Orchestra!
The 2025 concert program is as follows:
Toccata for Orchestra…………....………..….. Jorge Martin (b. 1959)
'Nimrod' from "Enigma Variations"..............… Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Vitava (The Moldau)….........……….…….…... Bedřich Smetana(1824-1884)
To read Mr. Cosma's full bio, please click here.
Paul Pierce is the Orchestra Manager.
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Angelica Jackson, Kevin Lam
NEMFA Band Managers
ajackson@swindsor.k12.ct.us
KLam@reg4.k12.ct.us
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March 2025 Band Conductor | |
Hello NEMFA community!
We are looking forward to the 2025 NEMFA Concert Festival. The band will be conducted by Dr. Ingrid Larragoity-Martin, Executive Director of El Sistema Colorado and serves as the conductor of the Denver Young Artist Orchestra.
The 2025 concert program is being chosen from the following:
Der Lehrmeister ...................................…...... Robert Sheldon (b. 1954)
Stillwater ...........……............................ Kelijah Dunton
'Toccata' from "Organ Suite No. 1" ................ Florence Price (1887-1953)
Deciduous ...........…….................................. Viet Cuong (b. 1990)
To read Dr. Larragoity-Martin's full bio, please click here .
We are looking forward to serving as the NEMFA Band Manager and to seeing you at the Concert Festival in March!
Sincerely,
Angelica Jackson and Kevin Lam
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Molly Clark
NEMFA Chorus Manager
mclark@huusd.org
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Dear NEMFA Members,
Thanks to all students and NEMFA Members for presenting a great 2024 NEMFA Chorus with Anthony Trecek-King. Pending Board approval, we are happy to report that Janet Galván will be the conductor of the 2025 NEMFA Chorus. A program will be available later this Fall. For information about Dr. Galván, please click here .
We look forward to another great year of music making with the 2025 NEMFA Chorus!
Best,
Molly Clark
Molly Clark is the Chorus Manager.
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Matt Davide
NEMFA Jazz Ensemble Manager
jazzbandmanager@nemfa.org
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March 2025 Jazz Ensemble Conductor
Dear NEMFA Members,
The New England Music Festival Association is proud to present the second NEMFA Jazz Ensemble, which will be conducted Steve Guerra. Steve Guerra is a composer, arranger, saxophonist, and educator who is currently the Director of the Studio Jazz Writing program and an Assistant Professor in the department of Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. To read Mr. Guerra's full bio, click here.
The 2025 concert program will be announced soon.
Matt Davide is the Jazz Ensemble Manager.
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Lowell Mason House Report | |
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LOWELL MASON HOUSE MOVES ALONG
[Medfield, Massachusetts] – The Lowell Mason House continues to make progress through developing video and still architectural renderings for the interior of the house, meeting with an elevator company for the ADA Compliant Wing being added to the back, and doing some plumbing and preliminary landscape work on the outside. The ADA Compliant Wing will enable the construction of an addition proving ADA Compliant accessibility utilizing a three story elevator along with improved stairs providing access to each level.This is all part of technical consultant work being continued as a part of a recently awarded a $35,000 grant from the Mass Cultural Council to support the organization mission and development of the historical home. Grant funding has been provided by the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund, a program of the state of Massachusetts administered through a collaborative arrangement between Mass Development and the Mass Cultural Council.
“We are now moving forward with the design and permitting processes that deal with the critical infrastructures of Heating-A/C, HVAC, Dehumidification, ADA compliant building access, plumbing and electrical services.” said Thomas Reynolds, President of the Lowell Mason House. It is indeed a transformational time for the Lowell Mason House, as now we can turn the dreams of using the house into practical reality. We are so grateful for this grant, and we are excited to be that much closer to the completed renovation of this treasured historical structure.”
The Mission of the Lowell Mason House is to create and program an active space for music making, music and arts education advocacy, and historical preservation within the original structure of the Lowell Mason birthplace. The architecturally significant house, located on 59 Green Street, was already decades old when Lowell Mason was born in 1792. Portions of the house have been age dated using dendrochronology to 1651, making the house among the oldest in Massachusetts and North America. The Lowell Mason House has raised over $800,000.00 up to this date for the purpose of turning it into a study museum, practice/chamber performance space, and a meeting place for arts education advocates. We are grateful to the 15 music educators associations around the United States that have made contributions towards its restoration, including the New England Music Festival Association. Your continued interest and support in this project is very much appreciated.
Thank you for considering making a tax deductible donation today. Please make checks payable to: The Lowell Mason House, P. O. Box 913 Medfield, MA 02052. If you prefer, you may also donate directly online by going to our website at http://www.lowellmasonhouse.net . Your contribution is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution to the extent provided by U.S. tax
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John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band Festival - July, 2024 | |
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THE JOHN PHILIP SOUSA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL HONOR BAND WAS HELD FROM JULY 14-18, 2024 at THE BOXBORO REGENCY IN BOXBOROUGH, MA WITH A FINAL CONCERT ON JULY 17 in MECHANICS HALL, WORCESTER, MA. IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS !!! The Sousa Foundation presented the 15th biannual edition of the John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band for 2024, showcasing high achieving musicians from across the US. Check us out at https://www.sousanhsband.com. Michael J. Colburn, former conductor of the "President's Own" United States Marine Band and former New England Music Festival Association Guest Conductor and Student member from Vermont lead the 2024 John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band Festival. It took place with a performance at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. It was presented in the same facilities featured in the recent 97th Annual New England Music Festival held in March, 2024.
The performance venue remains significant because the performance site was visited by the original Sousa Band in Worcester, 27 times. A plaque commemorating the historical significance of Worcester and Mechanics Hall to the original Sousa Band was presented to Mechanics Hall in 2019 by the John Philip Sousa Foundation and is prominently displayed there.
We especially wish to thank the New England Music Festival Association and all of its members for being an ad sponsor along with the other businesses and organizations and the students from schools all over the six New England states who made the event possible with everyone else from the rest of the country. Be watching for the next version of the Sousa National Honor Band to be held in July, 2026.
BAND WEBSITE:
https://www.sousanhsband.com
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The 2022 John Philip Sousa National High School Honor Band - June 28, 2022, Athol Town Hall, Athol, MA.
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