West Milford Township Public Schools

Arts Department You Matter. We Matter. The Arts Matter

December 2016

“Music gives us a language that cuts across the disciplines, helps us to see connections and brings a

more coherent meaning to our world”. - Ernest Boyer, President, Carnegie Foundation

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It’s December…

Happy Holidays from the Arts Departments!

We welcome you to our second Newsletter of the 16-17 school year. We have had an exciting Fall with the Marching Band events, the Choir at Carnegie Hall, and the Macopin Band and Chorus appearing Live at WSUS. This newsletter will highlight those events and the staff and student participants. I hope you will share with me in congratulating all of the students and staff involved in these projects.

We are also excited to invite you to attend one or more of the many Holiday/Winter concerts throughout our district this month of December. Here is a quick list:

● HS Choral Concert, Dec. 1 at 7:30PM ● Maple Road and UGL Concerts, Dec. 8 at 7PM ● Macopin Choral Concert, Dec. 13 at 7PM (at the HS) ● Apshawa and Westbrook Concerts at 7PM ● Macopin Band Concert, Dec. 15 at 7PM (at the HS) ● Marshall Hill and PK Concerts, Dec. 19 at 7PM ● Macopin Snow Date: Dec. 20 ● HS Band Concert, Dec. 22 at 7:30PM

We thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for the Arts in West Milford, and we wish you a happy and healthy New Year! 2017, here we come!

John Boronow, Supervisor

Coming Up in Our Next Issue…

● A Spotlight on Our Visual Arts Program ● A preview of our Empty Bowls fundraiser ● Our Music in Our Schools and Youth Art Month Celebrations ● A look at WMHS’s production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and

Macopin’s production of Seussical Jr. ● A look ahead at our District Arts Celebration

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High School Music: Chorus

The Concert Choir at West Milford High School had the experience of a lifetime this past October! They were selected as one of four choirs to compete and perform with the famous rock group, Foreigner . The contest was promoted and advertised over the radio on FM 104.3. After recording themselves and sending it in, they were selected! The choir got to perform in front of thousands of people at one of the most distinguished concert halls in the world. As exciting as their performance was, the highlight for everyone was singing ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’ with Foreigner in the finale.

High School Music: Band The jazz program at West Milford High School is up and swinging as it begins their long season. The program hosts two jazz ensembles with approximately 50 students in the program. The jazz ensemble was selected to perform at the NAfME Eastern Division Conference to be held in Atlantic City in April and will also be competing in the Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston, MA. Stay tuned for more information about these ensembles in future newsletters.

On December 10th, many of our high school students will be auditioning for the North Jersey Area Band, which is an honors ensemble comprised of the top musicians in North Jersey. Last year, West Milford High School set a record for the number of students accepted into this group and also had the most students accepted of any high school in the area. We’re looking forward to seeing what our numbers are this season!

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The Highlander Marching Band just finished off an incredible marching season. Their field show, ‘Dreamscapes’, won big within all of their competitions. Results of their season include:

● Vernon HS Music in the Mountains: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual

● West Orange HS: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual ● Randolph HS Music Under the Stars: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best

Guard; Best Visual; Best in Show ● Yamaha Cup, Metlife Stadium: 3rd Place, Group 5A; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual ● NJ State USBands Championships: 3rd Place, Group 5A; Best Percussion; Best Guard ● Mt Olive USBands: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual;

Best in Show ● USBands National Championships: 2nd Place, Group 5A, Best Guard

They ended their season with the 17th annual Military Tattoo. Congratulations to directors, Dr. Brian McLaughlin and Mr. Matt Gramata, as well as guard instructor Mr. Peter Shaver and their staff and students for an outstanding competition season.

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High School Music: Staff Doug Heyburn is the choral director here at West Milford High School. He conducts the Concert Choir as well as a Men’s & Women’s Choir. With all the excitement that his program has already experienced this year we had to ask what his favorite moment was so far. “Watching our students on stage at the Claridge Hotel performing flawlessly some of the most challenging music I have seen in awhile. They're amazing kids”.

Krista Sweer teaches Piano, Guitar, and Rock of Ages at the High School and assists the Macopin and High School choir programs as their accompanist. She studied both tuba and piano in her undergraduate program and went on to receive her Master's Degree in Collaborative Piano. Her favorite memory from this year was “watching the awestruck faces of our Concert Choir members when they stepped out onto the stage to do their sound check in Carnegie Hall”.

Brian McLaughlin is in his 13th year at West Milford High School. He directs the Wind Ensemble and the Marching Band and oversees the HS band program as a whole. Under his direction the Highlander Bands have won numerous championships on the field and on the concert stage. He has led the band on three successful concert tours of England and Scotland. This year's Marching Band won 4 competitions, came in 3rd at both the Yamaha Cup and State Championships, and won 2nd place at National Championships. When he's not in the band room, he is often heard performing at various concerts around the metro area. If you don't find him there, look to the high mountains!

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Matthew Gramata teaches the symphonic band, is the assistant director of the marching band, runs the jazz program, coaches various chamber groups, teaches private lessons to all woodwind students, and conducts the pit orchestra for the school play. He is also the assistant coach for the boys varsity soccer team here at West Milford. Aside from his work in the West Milford school district, he is an active performer in the NY/NJ area, playing jazz gigs, theater productions, weddings, and more. His other passion is soccer and he currently plays in competitive leagues throughout the year for teams in both New Jersey and New York. During his time off, he enjoys traveling and has been to countries in 5 continents. Mr. Gramata strongly feels the music program here at West Milford is something everyone should participate in and be proud of, as it is considered one of the top music programs in the state.

Macopin Music On Thursday, November 17th, the following 8th grade band students participated in the Sussex County Honors Band Concert at Franklin elementary School: Jeremy Bryjak, Erica Martin, Sean Partington, Kasia Osuchowski, Jonathan Setford and Haley Surita. These students auditioned and attended four evening rehearsals as well as an all day rehearsal in preparation for the concert. Friday, December 2nd is Macopin’s first 7th and 8th Grade Band “Social” of the year. They will be heading over to Skylands Ice World for their Friday evening Ice Jam. Their 2nd band social event will be in May where they try their skills at bowling at T-Bowl in Wayne, NJ. They’ll finish the year with their “Band on the Run” team as they participate in the Westbrook Annual 5K in June. On Monday, December 5th, the 8th Grade Band will be performing Live at the WSUS 102.3 radio station in Franklin, NJ as part of their 2nd Annual Holiday Concert Series. They will perform LIVE at 8 a.m. and can be heard on the iHeart Radio app as well! On December 10th, the following 8th grade band students have been selected and will audition for the North Jersey Area Honors Band: Collin Keller, Erica Martin, Sean Partington, Kasia Osuchowski,

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Jonathan Setford, Haley Surita and Gabrielle Tavarez. The North Jersey Area Band concert will be on Sunday, January 15th, 3 p.m. at Mount Olive High School. The Macopin Music Department will be starting their after school Winter Clubs in January 2017: on Tuesdays- 7th & 8th Grade Woodwind and Brass Ensembles, on Wednesdays- 7th & 8th Grade Jazz Band and on Thursdays 7th & 8th Grade Bagpipe Club. Registration for theses clubs can be found at www.wmtps.org , Macopin School in the virtual backpack. Macopin Chorus has been busy taking on some new endeavors this year! 10 of our 8th Grade Students auditioned and were selected for Sussex County Honors Choir this year! They are: Colette Metcalf, Hannah Clark, Erin Timmins, Emran Oruli, Robbie Suckiel, Luke Holmes, Sage Olsen, Jessica Lucas, Amanda Finke and Julia Macedo who auditioned and received a solo in the final concert. On November 30th at 8:00 am about 50 members of our 8th grade Choir will perform live on WSUS radio in Franklin. We are nervous and excited for this amazing opportunity!

Macopin Music: Staff Erica McPartland is the 8th Grade Band Director at Macopin Middle School when she’s busy ‘saving the world’ or ‘being awesome’. She’s a pet lover and has three cats- Lexi, Lulu and Bogey. She considers herself to be sarcastic, sophisticated, witty, sensitive and free-spirited (also a fan of adjectives) and is an ambitious “go getter”. She loves being around people who set big goals and do all that they can to pursue them. Even if your biggest life goal is to be the ‘world’s greatest thumb wrestler’- she’ll be on board supporting you! She loves traveling to beachy places and taking long walks along the beach, she can ‘school’ you at trivia pursuit and makes a mean protein shake.

Matt Paccione is the 7th Grade Band Director at Macopin Middle School. Aside from his everyday work with the Macopin band students, he is also an instructor with the Highlander Marching Band. In the winter, he instructs the Macopin Brass Ensemble and Jazz Band. One of his favorite moments this year was the Macopin Halloween Concert. Students and directors dressed in costumes and performed, and at the end, the 7th and 8th Grade Bands played a combined piece. Mr. Paccione

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practices good dental hygiene and is currently attempting to challenge the Guinness record for largest rubber band ball in the world.

Sue Kaczor is the 7th and 8th grade choral director at Macopin Middle School. She was born in Bitburg, Germany and moved to the USA when she was only 9 months old. She has lived all around the country including Alabama, Utah, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Maine, New York and New Jersey. She

is currently living on a small hobby up in Vernon with her husband and two youngest

children. They raise and as well as a miniature ! In her spare time she enjoys

learning and performing all types of as well as , hiking, and . She loves

to and has been to Greece, Scotland and other areas in Europe. She is a fanatic and visits at least once a year to get her ‘happy fix’. Mrs. Kaczor loves teaching music more than

anything in the and can’t wait to prepare her students to perform in all of this year’s concerts!

Other Going Ons… WMHS Color Guard:

The Highlander Marching Band Color Guard won the Best Overall Color Guard trophy at the 2016 U SBands Group V A Nationals competition held in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Members of the Color Guard got to share their skills with Mrs. Davis and Ms. McCourt’s self-contained ‘Join In Club’. With the help of Mr. Shaver, the guard demonstrated some basic color guard skills that will be displayed in their Color Guard Show at West Milford High School on

January 15th. When asked about the experience, Mr. Shaver said, “It was such a positive experience working with colleagues like Mrs. Laura Davis and Ms. Kelly McCourt. We all care deeply about the students in our care and their enthusiasm for this partnership was much appreciated”.

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WMHS Photo:

In the spirit of Halloween, students in Advanced Photography learned how to manipulate the ISO, shutter, and aperture controls of the DSLR cameras to create elongated exposures. Using exposure times in excess of 20 seconds, the photographer can manipulate the light reflected onto the camera's sensor to create 'ghost' images. For this project, students were required to manipulate these camera settings to create a series of ghost themed images.

The following images were from student Mikayla Guell.

Advanced Photo students recently completed their 1st marking period project capturing Autumn. In this introductory project students learned the functions of a DSLR camera as well as image processing using Adobe Lightroom. Here are a few highlights from Advanced Photo's Autumn project:

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