All County Jazz

February 11, 2025

Good Morning All County Jazz Teachers,

This is a reminder about TOMORROW evening’s All County Jazz rehearsal #1.  The rehearsal will run from 6:30-9:30pm.  Please check in with your students to make sure they have made travel arrangements and are ready to go.  We are in the same place as the auditions.

                  Hommocks Middle School

                        130 Hommocks Rd 

                        Larchmont NY 10538

(AS YOU TURN IN FROM THE BOSTON POST ROAD, DRIVE PAST THE WALGREENS AND STAY TO THE LEFT TO GET TO THE EAST WING. It surrounds the auditorium.)  Do not pull into the main parking lot to the right of the school sign.  Just follow my signs 

I HAVE PREPARED AN OFFICIAL FOLDER FOR EACH ALL COUNTY PARTICPANT with all of their charts.  THEY DO NOT NEED TO BRING ANY COPIES OF THE MUSIC I SENT.  They may do so if they made any special rehearsal notes for themselves.  Once they arrive tomorrow evening, I will great them at the sign-in desk.  After they check in with me I will hand them their official All County folder that they will return at the end of each evening rehearsal.

Part 1 (6:30pm – 7:50pm)  ++++++ SECTIONALS ++++++

BREAK: (7:50pm – 8:10pm) We will break for around 15 minutes so students can stretch, use the restroom, eat a snack, etc.

Part 2 (8:10pm – 9:30pm) B band guest conductor Dr. Anthony Maceli will work with his ensemble, and I will rehearse the A band.

A very special thank you to those of you who have stepped up to help oversee one of our Part 1 Sectionals.  I will have extra scores printed for all teacher helpers. This is a huge in helping to keep things moving along. I will have pizza waiting for you in the teacher’s room following the sectionals 

These rehearsals literally fly by and each band is doing five heavy charts.  There are no cheapies in the mix and we need to make the most of what little rehearsal time we have.

Please le me know if you have any questions and see you tomorrow evening

Jim Mullen

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February 4, 2025

Good Afternoon All County Jazz Educators,

You all represent the students that were selected for either the A or B band this year.  This is the ONE time of the entire festival when I do need some volunteers to help facilitate our All-County Jazz Rehearsal #1. This is taking place next Wednesday February 12th.

The 2nd and 3rd rehearsals are entirely with the guest conductors.  This first rehearsal is a bit different.  Technically speaking, you are all required to chaperone your own students at the rehearsals.

AC Jazz Rehearsal #1 (Hommocks Middle School) 130 Hommocks Rd Larchmont NY

Wednesday February 12th (6:30-9:30pm)

Part 1 (6:30pm – 7:50pm) Each of the (8) sections will meet for a sectional for about 75 minutes.  I need one teacher in each room just to supervise the situation.  You’re not necessarily teaching the music.  You are really there to help keep them on track, semi-focused  and hopefully not spend too much time on any one song.

BREAK: (7:50pm – 8:10pm) We will break for around 15 minutes so students can stretch, use the restroom, eat a snack, etc.

Part 2 (8:10pm – 9:30pm) This is when both the A and B band will meet as a large ensemble for the first time.  Our B band guest conductor Dr. Anthony Maceli, will work with his ensemble, and I will rehearse the A band.  I am happy to let any of you run a tune with the A band if you want.  Please let me know if you are interested and I can send you a score ahead of time.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.  I really need one teacher to supervise each of the 8 sectionals.  Please let me know what section you feel most comfortable with.  I will have extra scores available for everyone.

Saxes (A)

Saxes (B)

Trumpets (A)

Trumpets (B)

Trombones (A)

Trombones (B)

Rhythm Section (A)

Rhythm Sections (B)

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello WCSMA Band directors & Jazz educators,

I hope you are all off to a wonderful start to a new school year.  I’m very excited to announce the 2025 WCSMA All County Jazz Festival. This is my first email of the year to let you all know about our festival dates and other important details.  The 2025 auditions will be held on Saturday, January 11th from 9 am to 12 noon.   Every part of the Jazz festival including the auditions will take place at Hommocks Middle School located at 130 Hommocks Rd Larchmont NY 10538.

I am happy to share our two wonderful guest directors for this year’s festival.  Directing the “A” band will be acclaimed saxophonist & composer Jim Snidero.  Directing our “B” band will be bassist and jazz educator Dr. Anthony Maceli.  We are so excited to hear what these talented artists can do with Westchester’s best Jazzers :)

To continue to make things easy for both the teachers and students, we have a paperless application process.  I am including the link to the Google form application here:

Google Form Jazz Application Link

Please share this link with your students (but please make sure they only submit the Google form application once.)  Any student who is planning on auditioning needs to fill this out.  Additional audition details are discussed further on the Google form.

THE DEADLINE FOR ALL GOOGLE FORM APPLICATIONS IS FRIDAY DECEMBER 20th

Please discuss the Jazz Fest with your HS instrumentalists to see if they might be interested in trying out in January.  We love reminding graduating seniors that although NYSSMA is typically not done in 12th grade, the Jazz Festival welcomes and encourages them to audition. The instruments we are looking for include alto sax, tenor sax, baritone sax, trumpets, trombones, and all rhythm section. (piano, bass, drums, guitar & vibes).

AUDITION INFORMATION:

Date/Time: Saturday, January 11th, 2025 – 9 am-12 pm (Students will sign up for a time slot on the door of their audition room when they arrive)

Location: Hommocks Middle School, 130 Hommocks Road, Larchmont, NY 10538

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS:

1. A prepared Jazz NYSSMA Solo (Level 5 or 6 ) selected from the CURRENT NYSSMA Manual. (Unlike the current jazz NYSSMA requirement to perform your prepared solo with an existing accompaniment, the prepared solo portion if this audition should be performed unaccompanied.)

2. Improvisation (with cd or mp3 accompaniment) Level 5 or 6 selected from the CURRENT NYSSMA Manual (students will play melody, a minimum of two improvised choruses, and bring the melody back) All audition rooms will have their own CD player

3. Sight Reading (given at the audition; typically 8 to 10 bars)

There will be two judges in each audition room.

The dates of the entire festival are as follows. All students who are selected must be available to attend ALL rehearsals and concert dates in order to perform:

Auditions:     Saturday, January 11th         (9 am to 12 pm)

Rehearsal #1:   Wednesday, February 12th  (6:30-9:30 pm)

Rehearsal #2:    Tuesday, March 18th      (6:30-9:30 pm)

Rehearsal #3:    Wednesday, March 19th       (6:30-9:30 pm)

Concert:              Friday, March 21st        (7:30 pm)

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email if you have any questions.  I will be sending out other email reminders along the way as we get closer to the December 20th application deadline.  Lastly, please keep me in the loop with the email addresses of new hires and/or switches in your district with respect to who teaches instrumental Jazz band.

Thanks so much,

James Mullen

WCSMA Jazz Coordinator

jmullen@mamkschools.org

A BAND

Grammy award-winning alto saxophonist, composer and author Jim Snidero encapsulates what is both unique and compelling about jazz. Hailed as an “alto sax virtuoso” (Downbeat) with “mind-boggling” improvisation skills (The Guardian), he has amassed over 12 million streams on Spotify and Apple music presenting acoustic jazz of the highest caliber, including his 2021 album Live at the Deer Head Inn, (Savant) receiving a 5-star masterpiece review in Downbeat magazine.

Over the past 15 years, Snidero has been with the highly-regarded Highnote/Savant label, resulting in multi-year placement in the preeminent Downbeat Magazine International Critics Poll. Highlights from his Savant catalog include the critically acclaimed Far Far Away with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Project K with Dave Douglas and the above mentioned Live at the Deer Head Inn.

In 1996, Jim Snidero revolutionized jazz education by penning the first of three Jazz Conception book series (Advance), cementing his place as the best-selling jazz author of his generation, then continued his contributions with The Essence of the Blues (2018) and The Essence of Bebop (2020), considered a masterwork in jazz education. He is on the faculty at The New School, and was a visiting professor at both Indiana University and Princeton University.

B BAND

Performer, arranger, and educator, Dr. Anthony Maceli, has recorded, performed, arranged, and composed with the likes of Foreigner, Norah Jones, Robert Redford, Amy Lee (from Evanescence), Phillip Phillips, Ingrid Michaelson, Five For Fighting, Rachel Platten, Jackie Evancho, The Hot Sardines, and A Great Big World. In addition, Dr. Maceli has performed on several Broadway shows including Rent and Spiderman After Dark.

In his 32 years as an educator, Dr. Maceli has taught band, chorus, orchestra, music technology, music theory, music history, and general music ranging from grade K-12 and to college. Highlights include working at the renowned Crane School of Music, Indiana University, University of Louisville, and Teachers College Columbia University.

Dr. Maceli is currently employed by Valhalla Union Free School District in Westchester County, north of New York City. His current position includes instructing courses in Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, College Music Theory, College Music History, Jazz Improvisation, and Music Production. Additionally, Dr. Maceli serves on the Board of Directors for Jazz Forum Arts.

Rehearsals

Rehearsal #1:
Wednesday, February 12th
6:30-9:30 pm

Rehearsal #2:
Tuesday, March 18th
6:30-9:30 pm

Rehearsal #3:
Wednesday, March 19th
6:30-9:30 pm

Concert:
Friday, March 21st
7:30 pm

Ticket Information

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and are available for purchase at the door.

The concert will be held at Hommocks Middle School
130 Hommocks Rd. Larchmont, NY

7:30 pm