Youth Honors Band
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Host: Karl Selegetes
Where: Manheim Central Middle School (map) When: November 19-20, 2021 Concert: November 20, 2021 - 2:00PM Tickets: $3 - adults, $1 - students Guest Conductors: Jenny L. Neff & Dr. Scott Watson Health and Safety Plan |
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Jenny L. Neff – Biography
Jenny L. Neff, Ed.D is Associate Professor and Program Director for Music Education at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She oversees the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Master of Music (MM), and Summer Music Studies (SMS) programs. Prior to joining the UArts faculty, she completed 25 years of public-school teaching, with experience teaching music (primarily bands and orchestras) at all levels in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. She served two terms as the Eastern Division Representative for NAfME’s Council for Band, and in roles of advocacy and professional development for PMEA. She is part of the PMEA mentor teacher program and serves as a trainer for their online Model Curriculum Framework tool. She serves as the Pennsylvania representative and is a member of the scholarship and grants committee for Women Band Directors International. She is also part of Conn-Selmer’s Education Division as an Education Clinician. Dr. Neff is an active presenter on a variety of topics, including: music standards, curriculum, advocacy, instructional strategies, engaging students, mindfulness, embracing change, building community, and teacher evaluation. Dr. Neff’s doctoral research study on teacher evaluation was published in the peer-reviewed Pennsylvania Educational Leadership Journal. She has written articles for the PMEA State Journal, and blog posts for NAfME, Band Directors Talk Shop, Zeswitz Music, and J.W. Pepper. She has also been interviewed for the Everything Band and The Working Musician podcasts. She was a writer on the NAfME/Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources project for band, and continues to be a monthly contributor to the Teaching with Primary Sources teachers’ website. Dr. Neff received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D) from Immaculata University. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Music Education from Michigan State University. She is an active presenter, clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator. Additional information can be found on her website: www.JennysCreativeEDge.com.
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Dr. Scott Watson – Biography
Dr. Scott Watson received his B.S., Music Education from West Chester University and his M.M and D.M.A., Composition from Temple University (principal teachers Maurice Wright, Matthew Greenbaum and Clifford Taylor) and has taught music for 35 years in the Parkland School District (Allentown, Pennsylvania) where he currently coordinates a large, vibrant elementary band/strings program and teaches several popular, creativity-infused high school music electives. Watson was recognized by the Parkland School District in 2015 with a Parkland Pride Award for outstanding achievement, and in 2020 he was awarded the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 10 Citation of Excellence in Teaching Award. Additionally, Dr. Watson is an adjunct professor for a number of Philadelphia-area universities (Cairn University, University of the Arts, Moravian University). An award-winning and frequently commissioned composer, his unique voice - evident in more than 100 published concert band, string orchestra and chamber works at all levels - is informed equally by his experiences with contemporary concert art music and the band world. Watson’s music has been performed around the world and in the U.S. at such prestigious venues as Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, the White House, and the Midwest Clinic (Chicago). Described as “outstanding...with beautiful melodies and interesting harmonies" (The Instrumentalist) and "written with supreme craft" (Percussive Arts Society Percussive Notes), Watson's music has received awards and recognition from the American Composers Forum, the American Music Center, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Percussive Arts Society, and others. Recent commissions include works for: Composers and Schools in Concert (for a consortium of 12 university and high school bands across the U.S.), Magic Valley Symphony Orchestra (Twin Falls, ID), Albemarle County (VA) Middle School Honors Band, MusicAlliance Honor Band Camp (Cleveland, OH), the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association, and many school ensembles. Watson is an exclusive composer for Alfred Publications and a contributor and clinician for the Sound Innovations band series. He, along with co- authors Brian Beck and Robert Sheldon, created Alfred Music's Sound Sight-Reading method (Books 1 and 2) for concert band. Watson has presented numerous workshops/clinics for music educators, including the 2019 New Hampshire Music Educators Association Conference, 2017 Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic (Chicago, IL), 2017 MENC Eastern Division Conference (Atlantic City, NJ), 2015 NAfME National Conference (Nashville, TN), the keynote for the 2013 Music Technology in Education Conference (Melbourne, Australia) and many other clinics and professional development workshops. He frequently serves as guest conductor for honor bands/festivals, including the 2020 East Central Mississippi Band Director's Association High School Honor Band, 2020 Winston-Salem/Forsyth All-County Middle School Honor Band, 2019 Mississippi Middle School All-State Band, 2019 PMEA 12 Delaware County 5th/6th Grade BandFest, 2018 PMEA 10 Elementary Band Festival, 2017 PMEA District 5 Freshman Band Festival, and the 2015 All New England Band Festival (Plymouth State University, NH). He is the author of the highly regarded music education text, Using Technology to Unlock Musical Creativity (©2011, Oxford University Press). To learn more, visit www.scottwatsonmusic.com.