West Milford Township Public Schools

Arts Department
You Matter. We Matter. The Arts Matter
December 2016

Music gives us a language that cuts across the

disciplines, helps us to see connections and brings a
more coherent meaning to our world.
- Ernest Boyer, President, Carnegie Foundation

Its December
Happy Holidays from the Arts Departments!
We welcome you to our second Newsletter of the 16-17 school year. We have had an exciting Fall
with the Marching Band events, the Choir at Carnegie Hall, and the Macopin Band and Chorus
appearing Live at WSUS. This newsletter will highlight those events and the staff and student
participants. I hope you will share with me in congratulating all of the students and staff involved in
these projects.
We are also excited to invite you to attend one or more of the many Holiday/Winter concerts
throughout our district this month of December. Here is a quick list:

HS Choral Concert, Dec. 1 at 7:30PM

Maple Road and UGL Concerts, Dec. 8 at 7PM
Macopin Choral Concert, Dec. 13 at 7PM (at the HS)
Apshawa and Westbrook Concerts at 7PM
Macopin Band Concert, Dec. 15 at 7PM (at the HS)
Marshall Hill and PK Concerts, Dec. 19 at 7PM
Macopin Snow Date: Dec. 20
HS Band Concert, Dec. 22 at 7:30PM

We thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for the Arts in West Milford, and we wish
you a happy and healthy New Year! 2017, here we come!
John Boronow, Supervisor

Coming Up in Our Next Issue

A Spotlight on Our Visual Arts Program

A preview of our Empty Bowls fundraiser
Our Music in Our Schools and Youth Art Month Celebrations
A look
at WMHSs production of H
ow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and
Macopins production of Seussical Jr.
A look ahead at our District Arts Celebration

High School Music: Chorus

The Concert Choir at West Milford High School had the experience of a lifetime this past October!
They were selected as one of four choirs to compete and perform with the famous rock group,
Foreigner. The contest was promoted and advertised over the radio on FM 104.3. After recording
themselves and sending it in, they were selected! The choir got to perform in front of thousands of
people at one of the most distinguished concert halls in the world. As exciting as their performance
was, the highlight for everyone was singing I Wanna Know What Love Is with F oreigner in the finale.

High School Music: Band

The jazz program at West Milford High School is up and swinging as it begins their long season. The
program hosts two jazz ensembles with approximately 50 students in the program. The jazz
ensemble was selected to perform at the NAfME Eastern Division Conference to be held in Atlantic
City in April and will also be competing in the Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston, MA. Stay
tuned for more information about these ensembles in future newsletters.
On December 10th, many of our high school students will be auditioning for the North Jersey Area
Band, which is an honors ensemble comprised of the top musicians in North Jersey. Last year, West
Milford High School set a record for the number of students accepted into this group and also had
the most students accepted of any high school in the area. Were looking forward to seeing what
our numbers are this season!

The Highlander Marching Band just finished off an incredible marching season. Their field show,
Dreamscapes, won big within all of their competitions. Results of their season include:

Vernon HS Music in the Mountains: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best
Guard; Best Visual
West Orange HS: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual
Randolph HS Music Under the Stars: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best
Guard; Best Visual; Best in Show
Yamaha Cup, Metlife Stadium: 3rd Place, Group 5A; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual
NJ State USBands Championships: 3rd Place, Group 5A; Best Percussion; Best Guard
Mt Olive USBands: 1st Place, Group 5A; Best Music; Best Percussion; Best Guard; Best Visual;
Best in Show
USBands National Championships: 2nd Place, Group 5A, Best Guard

They ended their season with the 17th annual Military Tattoo. Congratulations to directors, Dr.
Brian McLaughlin and Mr. Matt Gramata, as well as guard instructor Mr. Peter Shaver and their staff
and students for an outstanding competition season.

High School Music: Staff

Doug Heyburn is the choral director here at West Milford
High School. He conducts the Concert Choir as well as a
Mens & Womens Choir. With all the excitement that his
program has already experienced this year we had to ask
what his favorite moment was so far. Watching our students
on stage at the Claridge Hotel performing flawlessly some of
the most challenging music I have seen in awhile. They're
amazing kids.
Krista Sweer teaches Piano, Guitar, and Rock of Ages at the
High School and assists the Macopin and High School choir
programs as their accompanist. She studied both tuba and
piano in her undergraduate program and went on to receive her Master's Degree in Collaborative
Piano. Her favorite memory from this year was watching the awestruck faces of our Concert Choir
members when they stepped out onto the stage to do their sound check in Carnegie Hall.
Brian McLaughlin is in his 13th year at West Milford High School. He directs the Wind Ensemble
and the Marching Band and oversees the HS band program as a whole. Under his direction the
Highlander Bands have won numerous championships on the field and on the concert stage. He
has led the band on three successful concert tours of England and Scotland. This year's Marching
Band won 4 competitions, came in 3rd at both the Yamaha Cup and State Championships, and won
2nd place at National Championships. When he's not in the band room, he is often heard
performing at various concerts around the metro area. If you don't find him there, look to the high
mountains!

Matthew Gramata teaches the symphonic band, is the assistant director of the marching band,
runs the jazz program, coaches various chamber groups, teaches private lessons to all woodwind
students, and conducts the pit orchestra for the school play. He is also the assistant coach for the
boys varsity soccer team here at West Milford. Aside from his work in the West Milford school
district, he is an active performer in the NY/NJ area, playing jazz gigs, theater productions,
weddings, and more. His other passion is soccer and he currently plays in competitive leagues
throughout the year for teams in both New Jersey and New York. During his time off, he enjoys
traveling and has been to countries in 5 continents. Mr. Gramata strongly feels the music program
here at West Milford is something everyone should participate in and be proud of, as it is considered
one of the top music programs in the state.

Macopin Music
On Thursday, November 17th, the following 8th
grade band students participated in the Sussex
County Honors Band Concert at Franklin
elementary School: Jeremy Bryjak, Erica Martin,
Sean Partington, Kasia Osuchowski, Jonathan
Setford and Haley Surita. These students
auditioned and attended four evening rehearsals
as well as an all day rehearsal in preparation for
the concert.
Friday, December 2nd is Macopins first 7th and
8th Grade Band Social of the year. They will be
heading over to Skylands Ice World for their Friday
evening Ice Jam. Their 2nd band social event will
be in May where they try their skills at bowling at
T-Bowl in Wayne, NJ. Theyll finish the year with
their Band on the Run team as they participate in the Westbrook Annual 5K in June.
On Monday, December 5th, the 8th Grade Band will be performing Live at the WSUS 102.3 radio
station in Franklin, NJ as part of their 2nd Annual Holiday Concert Series. They will perform LIVE at
8 a.m. and can be heard on the iHeart Radio app as well!
On December 10th, the following 8th grade band students have been selected and will audition for
the North Jersey Area Honors Band: Collin Keller, Erica Martin, Sean Partington, Kasia Osuchowski,

Jonathan Setford, Haley Surita and Gabrielle Tavarez. The North Jersey Area Band concert will be
on Sunday, January 15th, 3 p.m. at Mount Olive High School.
The Macopin Music Department will be starting their after school Winter Clubs in January 2017: on
Tuesdays- 7th & 8th Grade Woodwind and Brass Ensembles, on Wednesdays- 7th & 8th Grade Jazz
Band and on Thursdays 7th & 8th Grade Bagpipe Club. Registration for theses clubs can be found at
www.wmtps.org, Macopin School in the virtual backpack.
Macopin Chorus has been busy taking on
some new endeavors this year! 10 of our 8th
Grade Students auditioned and were selected
for Sussex County Honors Choir this year! They
are: Colette Metcalf, Hannah Clark, Erin
Timmins, Emran Oruli, Robbie Suckiel, Luke
Holmes, Sage Olsen, Jessica Lucas, Amanda
Finke and Julia Macedo who auditioned and
received a solo in the final concert.
On November 30th at 8:00 am about 50
members of our 8th grade Choir will perform
live on WSUS radio in Franklin. We are
nervous and excited for this amazing
opportunity!

Macopin Music: Staff

Erica McPartland is the 8th Grade Band Director at Macopin Middle School when shes busy saving
the world or being awesome. Shes a pet lover and has three cats- Lexi, Lulu and Bogey. She
considers herself to be sarcastic, sophisticated, witty, sensitive and free-spirited (also a fan of
adjectives) and is an ambitious go getter. She loves being around people who set big goals and
do all that they can to pursue them. Even if your biggest life goal is to be the worlds greatest
thumb wrestler- shell be on board supporting you! She loves traveling to beachy places and taking
long walks along the beach, she can school you at trivia pursuit and makes a mean protein shake.
Matt Paccione is the 7th Grade Band Director at Macopin Middle School. Aside from his everyday
work with the Macopin band students, he is also an instructor with the Highlander Marching Band.
In the winter, he instructs the Macopin Brass Ensemble and Jazz Band. One of his favorite moments
this year was the Macopin Halloween Concert. Students and directors dressed in costumes and
performed, and at the end, the 7th and 8th Grade Bands played a combined piece. Mr. Paccione

practices good dental hygiene and is currently attempting to challenge the Guinness record for
largest rubber band ball in the world.
Sue Kaczor is the 7th and 8th grade choral director at Macopin Middle School. She was born in
Bitburg, Germany and moved to the USA when she was only 9 months old. She has lived all around
the country including Alabama, Utah, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Maine, New York and New Jersey. She
is currently living on a small hobby
children. They raise

and

up in Vernon with her husband and two youngest

as well as a miniature

learning and performing all types of

as well as

! In her spare time she enjoys

, hiking, and

. She loves

to
and has been to Greece, Scotland and other areas in Europe. She is a
fanatic and
visits at least once a year to get her happy fix. Mrs. Kaczor loves teaching music more than
anything in the

and cant wait to prepare her students to perform in all of this years concerts!

Other Going Ons

WMHS Color Guard:
The Highlander Marching Band Color Guard won the
Best Overall Color Guard trophy at the 2016
USBands Group V A Nationals competition held in
Allentown, Pennsylvania. Members of the Color
Guard got to share their skills with Mrs. Davis and
Ms. McCourts self-contained Join In Club. With the
help of Mr. Shaver, the guard demonstrated some
basic color guard skills that will be displayed in their
Color Guard Show at West Milford High School on
January 15th. When asked about the experience, Mr. Shaver said, It was such a positive experience
working with colleagues like Mrs. Laura Davis and
Ms. Kelly McCourt. We all care deeply about the
students in our care and their enthusiasm for this
partnership was much appreciated.

WMHS Photo:
In the spirit of Halloween, students in Advanced
Photography learned how to manipulate the ISO,
shutter, and aperture controls of the DSLR
cameras to create elongated exposures. Using
exposure times in excess of 20 seconds, the
photographer can manipulate the light reflected
onto the camera's sensor to create 'ghost' images.
For this project, students were required to
manipulate these camera settings to create a
series of ghost themed images.
The following images were from student Mikayla Guell.

Advanced Photo students recently completed their

1st marking period project capturing Autumn. In
this introductory project students learned the
functions of a DSLR camera as well as image
processing using Adobe Lightroom. Here are a few
highlights from Advanced Photo's Autumn project: