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News

  • NEC President to Step Down

    Mike Lawson | October 3, 2014

    Tony Woodcock to leave the New England Conservatory in 2015

    In the following letter addressed to the New England Conservatory's Board of Trustees on October 2, 2014, NEC president Tony Woodcock explains his decision to move on following the 2014-2015 academic year: 

    Dear NEC Trustees,

    I hope you have all had an opportunity to read my recent Board Update containing some exciting news about the achievements of our amazing students. This is becoming routine for us at NEC, but their successes never cease to amaze me.

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  • Atlanta Symphony President Resigns

    Mike Lawson | September 30, 2014

    President Stanley Romanstein steps down amid labor dispute

    The Board of Directors of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) has announced that Stanley Romanstein, Ph.D., has resigned as president and CEO of the orchestra.

    Following Dr. Romanstein’s decision, the Executive Committee of the ASO Board appointed Terry Neal, a current ASO Board member and a retired executive of The Coca-Cola Company, to serve as president of the ASO on an interim basis. Mr. Neal will manage the day-to-day operations of the Orchestra until a permanent replacement can be found. Dr. Romanstein will be available to the organization through the end of October to assure a smooth transition.

    “I believe that my continued leadership of the ASO would be an impediment to our reaching a new labor agreement with the ASO’s musicians,” Dr. Romanstein said. The previous collective bargaining agreement between the ASO and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Players Association expired September 6.

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  • Emil Khuydev Joins Faculty of Interlochen Arts Academy

    Mike Lawson | September 29, 2014

    Emil Khudyev, winner of the first Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, will be joining the staff at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy as a full time instructor of clarinet. Since winning the Vandoren Emerging Artist Classical Clarinet category, he has made appearances with The Cleveland Orchestra, Opera Naples Orchestra, and Pacific Symphony, as well as receiving the Gino B. Cioffi Memorial Prize at the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he was principal clarinet.

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  • Semifinalists Announced for 2015 Music Ed Grammy Award

    Mike Lawson | September 26, 2014

    Recipient and finalists to receive cash honorariums

    A total of 25 music teachers from 25 cities across 17 states have been announced as semifinalists for the Music Educator Award presented by The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation. In total, more than 7,000 initial nominations were submitted from all 50 states.

    The Music Educator Award was established to recognize current educators (K through college, public and private schools) who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in their schools. A joint partnership and presentation of The Recording Academy and the Grammy Foundation, this special award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony & Nominees Reception (honoring recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, Trustees Award and Technical Grammy Award) on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, during Grammy Week.

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  • Christopher Hogwood, 1941-2014

    Mike Lawson | September 25, 2014

    Christopher Hogwood, the English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, musicologist, and founder of the Academy of Ancient Music, died on Wednesday, September 24, following an illness that lasted for several months.

    Throughout his prolific career, Hogwood worked with many leading symphony orchestras and opera houses throughout the world. Once described as "the von Karajan of early music," he was universally acknowledged as one of the most influential exponents of the historically informed early-music movement. He was dedicated to the discovery and recreation of the composer’s intentions, both in notation and performance.

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  • Joshua Bell to Busk Again

    Mike Lawson | September 25, 2014

    The violinist returns to the Washington D.C. Metro to raise awareness for music ed 

    In a notorious stunt back in 2007, acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell played his $3 million Stradavarius in a Washington D.C. Metro station wearing a baseball cap as a part of a sociological experiment organized by the Washington Post. On Tuesday, September 30, Bell is returning to the D.C. Metro, this time with some fanfare and plenty of advance notice for passengers.

    A YouTube clip of the first D.C. Metro event:

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  • Study Indicates Americans Believe Music Ed Preps Students for Careers

    Mike Lawson | September 23, 2014

    Calling it the “Glee Effect,” The Harris Poll®, a Nielsen Company, has released new findings that show the majority of Americans believe music education prepares students for future careers and problem-solving. And the numbers responding favorably about music education have risen significantly since the original 2007 Harris Poll on music education, commissioned by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), then known as MENC.

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  • UpFront: WGI Winds

    Mike Lawson | September 17, 2014

    Winter Guard International (WGI) is well known for hosting a series of competitive performance opportunities for winter guard and percussion groups. After years of brainstorming and deliberation, the organization has decided to expand their offerings, opening up a third branch of activity called “WGI Winds.”

    “WGI Winds is something that we had been considering for a long time,” says Bart Woodley, director of operations for WGI. “We finally just decided that it was time to do it. We wanted to throw it out there and see if it was something that people were interested in.”

    The new program will be run by Wayne Markworth, an active adjudicator and clinician who was also the director of bands at Ohio’s Centerville High School for 35 years. “In November of last year a committee was formed,” says Markworth. “We met in Indianapolis around Bands of America Grand Nationals weekend. Throughout the winter, that committee formulated the rules, regulations, judging sheets, and just about everything else about it.”

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  • SBO Seeks Nominees for 2014 ‘Directors Who Make a Difference’ Report

    Mike Lawson | September 11, 2014For the 17th consecutive year, SBO is gathering names for its annual Directors Who Make a Difference report. Do you know an outstanding K-12 music educator who is making a big impact in his or her school and community? Perhaps a longtime director or instructor who deserves a little bit of extra recognition for dedication to the craft of […] Read More...
  • CMA Foundation Donates $125K to Music Ed

    Mike Lawson | September 10, 2014

    The CMA Foundation’s donation to Education Through Music will benefit music education programs in NYC public schools

    Sarah Trahern, CMA CEO; Darius Rucker; Peter Pauliks, Education Through Music director of programs; Katherine Damkohler, Education Through Music executive director; performing artists Little Big Town.The CMA Foundation has donated $125,000 to benefit music education programs for New York City’s public school students through a partnership with Education Through Music, a nonprofit provider of music education to New York City schools. 

    The presentation of the grant was made Wednesday, September 4 during a press conference at the Best Buy Theater in New York to announce the final nominees for the 48th annual CMA Awards.

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  • Zildjian Launches “My Pit’s the Pits” HS Marching Band Video Contest

    Mike Lawson | September 10, 2014

    Four High Schools Can Win Over $25K in Prizes

    In an effort to help out a few deserving high school marching band programs, Zildjian has teamed up with Calderwood Percussion, Remo, Vic Firth, Steve Weiss Music, Lone Star Percussion, Music & Arts Centers and Woodwind & Brasswind to launch the "My Pit's the Pits!" video contest. Music programs across the United States are being given a chance to win over $25,000 in amazing prizes from some of the top names in percussion equipment.

    Students in high school band programs and percussion ensembles from across the country are being asked to rally their percussion pals to create a brief, entertaining video detailing who they are, why they need new percussion equipment, and what they’re going to do with it, should they win.

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  • Frost School of Music Hires New Director of Athletic Bands

    Mike Lawson | September 3, 2014

    Jay Rees returns home to direct the athletic bands for his alma mater

     

    The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami has appointed Jay C. Rees as the new director of Athletic Bands. Rees previously served as director of Athletic Bands at The University of Arizona in Tucson. Jay Rees will lead the Frost Band of the Hour, the marching and pep bands of the University of Miami, at UM sporting events such as nationally televised Miami Hurricanes football and basketball games – as well as expand the band’s reach and reputation throughout the region.

    Rees takes over a band program with an 86-year history that includes performing at national bowl games and international competitions and events. He is charged by the Frost School’s Dean Shelton G. Berg to achieve prominence in three distinctive areas:

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