MMEA Instrumental Jazz Festival '23

On behalf of the Maine Music Educators Association, THANK YOU for joining us this weekend. Whether you are a musician, educator, chaperone, audience member or parent, you are part of an extraordinary event! A festival of this magnitude takes an enormous amount of work. Please join me in recognizing many of the people who make this weekend possible:

George Redman, MMEA Jazz Vice President of Bangor HS for providing exceptional leadership in ensuring performance protocols, communication with directors, and creating a schedule for performance groups.

Jason Priest, MMEA Instrumental Jazz Chair of Hampden Academy for arranging adjudicators for our jazz festivals and contributing thoughtful ideas and information throughout the planning process.

Heidi Corliss and Jason Priest of Hampden Academy, our hosts! Welcoming an event of this scope is a significant undertaking, requiring extensive planning and support from numerous stakeholders. Special thanks to interim principal Ed Hackett and the Hampden Academy Music Association. This event could not be the success it is without the leadership and involvement of the HA administration or the families and students working to ensure a positive experience.

MMEA Executive Committee members: Sandra Barry- Past President, Matthew Waite- President-Elect, Beth LaBrie- Executive Director, and the MMEA Board members for endeavoring to bring the best experiences possible to students.

Sarah Bailey, MMEA Treasurer of Greeley HS for making sure that our checks are signed and delivered in a timely fashion.

Hanna Flewelling, MMEA Publications Editor and Media Chair for our professional publications and our online messaging

Fred Grant, owner of WHOU.LIVE for providing the livestream feed for those unable to attend in person.

The efforts of these colleagues are in addition to their daily work as music educators. Their vision for this event and dedication to your music students is unmatched.

As you enjoy the performances today and experience all that music brings to you, take a moment to consider the innumerable hours of practice, rehearsal, and planning on the parts of young musicians and educators. Behind every musical ensemble performance is an individual effort, a high degree of group collaboration, and a willingness to take risks. Our musicians and educators have persevered through unprecedented events and continue to do so. They deserve our highest respect and support as we all strive to bring outstanding music education experiences to all students.

Thank you for being part of this event!

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Forster

President, Maine Music Educators Association

MMEA Website

We are excited to welcome you to the campus of Hampden Academy and are honored to host the 2023 MMEA Instrumental Jazz Festival! Our school is your home for the next two days, and we hope you are able to find that it more than meets your needs. We are looking forward to hosting so many talented musicians, educators, and guests at Hampden Academy again this year! It’s hard to believe that we are hosting over 70 instrumental groups over the course of these two days! It will be amazing to see all the performances and get to hear the results of all the hard work that has been put in by so many students and educators across the state. I hope you all have a great experience during this festival, and we look forward to celebrating this event with you over these two days!

Sincerely,

Jason Priest

Heidi Corliss

Hampden Academy Music Department

Hampden Academy Website

Concessions will be offered by the Hampden Academy Music Association. Thank you for limiting food/beverage consumption to the designated dining areas.

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Thank you to all of our volunteers for making this event possible!

HAMA website

Dr. Dan Barrett teaches trombone, jazz courses and coordinates the Jazz Studies program at the University of Maine, including directing the two university's big bands. He has been privileged to perform with great jazz musicians like Bob Mintzer, Conrad Herwig, Andy Martin, John Fedchock, Thomas Gansch, Ingrid Jensen, Phil Markowitz, Eric Marienthal, and Byron Stripling, and was a national finalist in the Music Teachers National Association Brass Solo and Chamber

Music competitions. Dr. Barrett often performs with the UMaine Faculty Jazz ensemble and recorded the video album Putting a Groove on a Bad Situation with them in early 2021 (available on YouTube). He also performs with Swingmatism, Deb’s Little Big Band, and several other local groups. He leads the Maine Trombone Collective and the Maine Brass Guild, two large ensembles that perform throughout the state, and also teaches at the Maine Summer Youth Music camp. Dr. Barrett is the author of Solo Training for Trombone, a book of exercises based on standard solo repertoire for high school and college students, published by Mountain Peak Music.

Tom Lizotte recently retired as director of bands at Cape Elizabeth High School, where he served for 17 years. He spent 31 years as a high school band director in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts with degrees in music education (BA) and wind conducting (MA), he is a member of three teaching halls of fame, including the Maine Music Educators Association. He is the 2019 recipient of the John LaPorta Award, given by Berklee College of Music and the Jazz Education Network for public school jazz educator of the year. He is the recipient of the Massachusetts Association of Jazz Educators 2020-21 Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to jazz education.

He is chief music judge for the Massachusetts Judges Association and is a frequent contributor to The Instrumentalist and JazzED magazines. His mentors in jazz education include Dave Sporny, Paul Alberta, Don Doane, and Herb Pomeroy.

Brian Nadeau has been a performer, leader, and contractor of various ensembles in his over 40 years experience on stage. He is also a guest trumpet instructor, and ensemble clinician at school's Statewide.

His most notable performances have been shows backing iconic artists such as; Frankie Valli, Manhattan Transfer, The Four Tops, Supreme's, Temptations, and Johnny Mathis.

Of special note, he will rejoin the Temptations and Four Tops for another show May 18, at Merrill Auditorium Portland, which will be his 3rd time with them.

Nadeau currently leads the Al Corey Big Band from Central Maine, (of which he started performing with at age 7...) and also dixieland and jazz combo ensembles for various events as well. He is also bandleader of "The Nite Show Band"...seen weekly on "The Nite Show with Dan Cashman" television show, that airs Statewide.

As the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Southern Maine, Dr. Christopher Oberholtzer leads a program that is recognized as being one of the leading college jazz programs in New England. Chris also enjoys serving throughout the country as a freelance trombonist, guest clinician, and guest director with numerous high school jazz ensembles and combos, including All-State and Honors Festivals in Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington. Other major appearances include performing at festivals such as the (Newport) JVC Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, and festivals at the University of Northern Colorado, Brevard College (North Carolina), Eastern Washington University as well as Utah State University. Chris also maintains a busy schedule as a freelance trombonist. He has performed, toured, and recorded throughout the country and abroad with many groups including the Artie Shaw Orchestra, the Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra, Ringling Brothers Circus, Tony Bennett, Claudio Roditi, Wayne Bergeron, the New York Voices, Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch, Byron Stripling, Bob Mintzer, Herb Pomeroy, Dick Johnson, Bucky Pizzarelli, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, the Benny Goodman Orchestra, Aaron Neville, Roberta Flack and the Temptations. As Musical Director of the Portland Jazz Orchestra, Chris is quite busy with the details of leading a regionally active big band. The PJO is a contemporary big band staffed by jazz professionals, many of whom are also music educators, from the northern New England area. As a clinician for the United Musical Instrument/Selmer Corporation, Chris performs on Bach trombones.

“Mr. O” was a Band Director for 43 years, 34 consecutive years (1988-2021) as Director of Instrumental Music at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill and 9 years (1974-1977 & 1982-1987) at Fort Fairfield!

Through the years, GSA music ensembles conducted by Mr. O achieved great success, winning numerous musical awards at the Maine State Instrumental Jazz Festival, the Berklee College of Music Jazz Festival in Boston, the National Jazz Festival in Philadelphia and the Great East Music Festival in Methuen, Massachusetts. In 2021 at the National Jazz Festival, GSA’s “Jazz Immunity” Combo placed first, the “Early Birds” Combo & GSA Jazz Band both placed 2nd. All 3 ensembles were awarded a Silver Medal at the 2021 Maine State Jazz Festival. The “Melodious Thunk” Combo placed 2nd at the 2020 National Jazz Festival and the “Jam Bake” Combo placed third at the 2019 Berklee College of Music Jazz Festival. The 1983 Fort Fairfield HS Jazz Band and 1986 MS Jazz Band were Maine State Jazz Champs!

Steve plays saxophones, clarinet & flute in many bands such as the “Night & Day” Jazz Trio, a funk band “Maine Street R & B Revue”, the “Si Yates Quintet” and other local big bands and combos. He also has performed for bands that have accompanied major stars such as the Four Tops, the Temptations, David Bowie, Roy Orbison, Johnny Mathis, the Supremes, Steve Lippia, Frankie Valle & the Four Seasons, Manhattan Transfer, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, Chubby Checker and David Raitt.

As a music educator, Steve received 3 huge honors. In 2021, he received the 2021 National Jazz Festival Jazz Educator Award and in 2012, the Maine Music Educator of the Year award and the Blue Hill Halcyon Grange #345 “Citizen of the Year” award.

Steve lives in Surry with his wife Carol who works at Mainescape in Blue Hill. Their daughter Kate a 2008 graduate of GSA and a 2012 graduate of Cornell University is employed as a wildlife biologist at Denali National Park, Alaska. The Orlofsky family includes their dog Ulu, a Yukon husky and Mizzle, a grey with white trim cat.

Terry White is a retired music educator who has taught instrumental music at all levels for over 35 years. Presently, he composes and arranges for many groups throughout the country. His music has been performed at the Mid West Clinic in Chicago, the Illinois Music Educators Conference and is listed in several states’ festival lists. Terry’s music has also been reviewed in the Instrumentalist and the IAJE Journal. Many of his publications have been selected for J.W.Pepper’s Editor’s Choice list annually. Terry is the brass arranger for the Colt Cadets DCI Drum Corps in Dubuque, Iowa

Terry received a B.M in Composition from Berklee College of Music and an M.S. in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire. He presently writes for the Portland Jazz Orchestra and numerous other jazz ensembles throughout New England. He is an active adjudicator and festival conductor.