Congrats Music Educators

Soooo exciting!

I had the pleasure of attending the Maine Music Educators Association (MMEA) Conference held at the University of Maine, Orono. The MMEA board and conference planners did an amazing job on every detail of the conference. CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU! I know that it takes many hours of planning and coordinating the entire three and a half day event. Between the conference and the teachers and students traveling from all over the state, workshops, performances and on and on. It takes a strong village and the leaders in MMEA to make it happen successfully!

Every two years the conference marks a shift in leadership. Pam Kinsey will be stepping down as Immediate Past-President, Sue Barre steps down as President, and President-Elect Ben Potvin steps up to take on the role of President for the next two years. Thank you all for your dedication to the organization.

A very special part of the conference is the President’s Reception during which awards are presented to several educators. It was a pleasure to be there for the reception and a delight to see colleagues that I’ve known for years and meet teachers for the first time. The sentiments read during the reception were thoughtful and heart felt. I love that educators take the time recognize  well deserved colleagues – some who have served for many years and some for a short time. All educators making an impact – not because they are seek accolades but because they care about the education they provide for young people!

Thank you to the following who nominated their colleagues and thank you to the awardees for your contributions and commitment to music education! Please consider nominating someone for next years awards  presented annually at the MMEA conference. You can find the nominating forms under ‘forms’ on the home page of the MMEA site.

Rick Nickerson with Hanna Flewelling receiving the Outstanding New Educator Award from Windam Middle School

Kim Murphy, Glen Sargent, and Nancy Rowe. Glen received the Music Education Appreciation Award and was nominated by Kim and Nancy, music educators from Camden Hills High School

MMEA President Sue Barre with Sam Moore-Young who was inducted in the MMEA Hall of Fame

Oxford Hills staff Kyle Jordan, Sarah Bailey (former), and Dennis Boyd presenting Ted Moccia, Oxford Hills Regional High School principal the Outstanding School Administrator Award

Messalonskee High School Kevin Rhein presenting the Educator Appreciation Award to Pam Rhein

Nora Krainis presenting the Maine Music Educator of the Year Award to Linda Vaillancourt

Pat Michaud, Matt Madore, Dana Ross, Heidi Corliss, Becky Mallory representing Hampden Schools, RSU22 that received the Dale F. Huff Outstanding Music Program Award

Hampden Academy Music

Hampden Academy students ‘Play it Forward”

Ingrid Jensen

Music educator Pat Michaud from Hampden Academy sent me the latest news from the work going on at Hampden Academy. They are busy preparing for a concert and CD release that will benefit one of their own. Read about the work they are doing by CLICKING HERE.

On January 17-19 Ingrid Jensen will in residency at part of the Jazz Residency Initiative with Hampden Academy Jazz Students. She will also be performing with musicians, Dave Wells on Tenor Sax, Ryan Parker on Piano, Les Harris, Jr on Drums and Greg Loughman on Bass.

Ingrid will be presenting two Master Classes. On Tuesday, January 17th from 4:30 – 6 p.m. – Developing Deeper Listening Skills that will lead to more exciting improv. experiences. On Wednesday, January 18th from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m – Brass Master Class

The Capstone Concert will be on Thursday, January 19 at 7 p.m.

All workshops and performance are to be held in the Hampden Academy Performing Arts Center.

Workshops are free of charge.  Tickets will be available at the door for the concert.

Information on Ingrid Jensen: Ingrid plays trumpet and flugelhorn with all the brilliance and fire of a true virtuoso, following the spirit of the muse as she creates…warm, sensitive, exciting and totally honest…” ~ Marian McPartland
Born in Vancouver and raised in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Ingrid Jensen has been hailed as one of the most gifted trumpeters of her generation. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1989, she recorded three highly acclaimed CDs for the ENJA record label, soon becoming one of the most in-demand trumpet players in the global jazz scene. After a teaching stint in Europe in her early twenties (as the youngest professor in the history of the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, Austria), Ingrid settled in New York City in the mid-1990s where she joined the innovative jazz orchestras of Maria Schneider and Darcy James Argue.
More recently, Ingrid has been performing with the Grammy- winning Terri-Lyne Carrington and her Mosaic Project. Ingrid is a featured soloist on the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra’s JUNO award winning album Treelines (2011), and its successor, Habitat (2013). She has performed with a multi-generational cast of jazz legends ranging from Clark Terry to Esperanza Spalding. Ingrid has also performed alongside British R&B artist Corrine Bailey Rae on Saturday Night Live and recorded with Canadian pop icon Sarah McLachlan. In addition to her busy sideman and featured soloist schedule, Ingrid leads her own quintet, quartet and organ trio. Her own bands have garnered glowing reviews and a loyal fan base in Australia, South Africa, most countries in Europe, across Canada, the US, South America (including Brazil, Peru and Chile), Japan and Mexico.
Ingrid is also a dedicated jazz educator. She has taught trumpet at the University of Michigan and Peabody Conservatory, performed and lectured as a guest artist with the Thelonious Monk Institute High School group featuring Herbie Hancock, The Centrum Jazz Workshop, The Dave Brubeck Institute, the Banff Centre Workshop in Jazz & Creative Music, Geri Allen’s All-Female Jazz Residency and the Stanford Jazz Camp, to name a few.
Ingrid won the Carmine Caruso Trumpet Competition in 1991 and has twice served on the judges’ panel. She is regularly invited to trumpet festivals around the world, including a prestigious invitation in 2011 to work with classical trumpet maestro Håkan Hardenberger and the Swedish Wind Orchestra.
Ingrid plays a custom Monette trumpet, built personally by master builder Dave Monette. Her relationship with Dave has inspired numerous performances at the shop in Portland and generated collaborations with fellow Monette artist, Adam Rapa, as well as John Henes, a specialist in the Alexander technique for brass players.
One of Ingrid’s most frequent and closest collaborators is her sister, saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen. In addition to Christine’s Jazz Orchestra, they co-lead the group Nordic Connect with pianist Maggi Olin. Ingrid and Christine recently recorded a new album with their small group venture featuring guitarist Ben Monder and are eagerly anticipating the spring release.
Ingrid’s most recent release, an electric project (Kind of New) with keyboardist Jason Miles, has garnered rave reviews globally and has led to recent collaborations with Joe Lovano and Lionel Loueke.
Other projects Ingrid has been invited to lend her voice to include: David’s Angels (Sweden), Kari Ikonen (Finland), Marianne Trudel (Montreal), Ellen Rowe (USA), Adam Birnbaum (USA), Sharel Cassity (USA), Tobias Meinhart (Germany/US), numerous all- star groups including a recent European tour with Renee Rosnes, Terri-Lyne Carrington, Anat Cohen, Linda Oh and Melissa Aldana.

Playing it Forward

Hampden Academy’s Music Industry Class

Students in Pat Michaud’s music industry class at Hampden Academy have created a CD. The class teaches students how to operate audio, work in a music studio, and produce a CD.

We know that this curriculum is not so unusual, but this learning opportunity turned into something larger. Students decided to plan a concert to perform the music that they wrote and included on the CD they created. The proceeds from the selling of the CD has become a way to help out others. At the concert they sold the CD to raise money for the former workers of the Verso Mill workers in Bucksport.

Senior Daniel Rice said: “I think it’s just a great feeling because I get to do what I love and to be able to donate the money it also a great thing.”

And, Mr. Michaud adds, “The nice thing about this is what they’re going to hear mostly tomorrow is all original material. These are all compositions the student have written themselves.”

The students have raised $1000 and there are a few CD’s still available to purchase for $8 by contacting Pat at pmichaud@rsu22.us. And, you can learn more at http://wabi.tv/2015/01/14/talented-young-hampden-musicians-play-it-forward/.

This is not the first time that this type of project has been done at Hampden Academy. You can read about their other projects at the following links.  This is the third collaboration we’ve done. We will sell those for $1 a piece.  Folks can contact me through e-mail me at Hampden Academy pmichaud@rsu22.us

The first time they undertook the project the following was published in the Bangor Daily News
http://bangordailynews.com/2010/12/16/living/hampden-academy-students-get-trained-in-music-industry/?ref=search

An article was published in the Feb. 2011 edition of the Maine Music Educator’s Bulletin. The article is called “Playing it Forward at Hampden Academy” on Pages 26-28 at http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1r1yx/MMEABulletinFebruary/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffree.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F288695%2FMMEA-Bulletin-February-2011–Technology-Issue