New Jersey Music Educators Association

10/20/2025

🎶 Exciting news for our Elementary Music Educators!

We’re thrilled to welcome Bill Henry — the creative force behind Mr. Henry’s Music World — as the Elementary Academy Featured Presenter at the 2026 NJMEA State Conference!

Join Bill on Thursday for two interactive workshops: one on ukulele and one on recorder! Expect hands-on learning, creativity, and classroom-ready ideas to bring back to your students.

📅 February 19–21, 2026 | 📍 Atlantic City, NJ
💻 Registration is open — don’t miss out!

10/14/2025

💫 NJMEA 2026 State Conference Friday Night Gala Concert Headliners Announced! 💫

The 2026 NJMEA Gala Concert is going to be bursting with energy as Brasilian Vibes — Nanny Assis, Arthur Lipner, Leonardo Lucini, and Alejandro Lucini — light up the stage! 🇧🇷

From Samba and Bossa Nova to Forró and beyond, their vibrant grooves and irresistible spirit will have you smiling, moving, and celebrating the heart of Brazil. 💃🥁🎵

✨ Registration for the 2026 NJMEA State Conference is OPEN — join us for this incredible experience!

09/30/2025

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Peter Boonshaft as the Keynote Speaker for the NJMEA 2026 State Conference!

Registration for the conference is open — we hope to see you in Atlantic City!

04/07/2025

🎉 Congratulations to Our New President-Elect! 🎉

Please join us in congratulating Anthony Lanzerotti on being elected as the next President-Elect of the New Jersey Music Educators Association! We are thrilled to welcome Anthony to this leadership role and look forward to the passion, experience, and vision he brings to NJMEA.

The proposed constitutional change on the ballot passed overwhelmingly. We’d like to thank all of our members who participated in the election. Your voice and engagement continue to strengthen our association and shape its future.

Here's to continued growth, collaboration, and excellence in music education across New Jersey! 🎶

03/02/2025

02/24/2025

Congratulations to the 2025 NJ All-State Treble Chorus, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band for their incredible performances over the last two days! Our spectacular conductors, Amanda Hanzlik, Dr. Courtney Snyder, and Dr. Catherine Bushman did remarkable work with our students over the last four days. We're proud of our students and grateful to the many volunteers who made this event happen.

02/21/2025

The second day of the conference is well underway! Onsite registration is available all day. Join us at 1pm for our keynote speaker and 2:15pm for our Honors Band Concert.

02/21/2025

Each year at our conference, we have the opportunity to recognize individuals who have positively impacted music education and our association. We'll honor our award recipients on Friday, February 21 at 1pm. Onsite registration is available each day.

Like many organizations, NJMEA relies almost exclusively on the hard work of volunteers. These exceptional music educators devote countless hours to advancing the mission of NJMEA while also working their full time teaching jobs. This year, we'd like to honor Nancy Dickinson for her distinguished service.

Nancy has served as our All-State Housing Director for the past four years. Before that, she served as our All-State Food and Beverage Manager, All-State chaperone, and president of SJCDA. In her current role, she works tirelessly to ensure that our All-State students are safely and efficiently assigned to rooms for their stays in Atlantic City. We are incredibly grateful for Nancy’s attention to detail, eternally positive attitude, and willingness to go above and beyond for the association and our students. Thank you, Nancy!

02/21/2025

Each year at our conference, we have the opportunity to recognize individuals who have positively impacted music education and our association. We'll honor our award recipients on Friday, February 21 at 1pm. Onsite registration is available each day.

The Master Music Teacher Award is presented annually to a teacher who has completed a minimum of ten years of music teaching in the schools of NJ, is actively teaching and a member of NJMEA-NAfME, and displays teaching excellence.

We are delighted to present this year's Master Music Teaching Award to Nina Schmetterer. Nina holds a B.S. in Music Education from Ithaca College and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College. Since 2006, she has been the Middle School Chorus Director at Monroe Township Middle School, where she directs the 7th and 8th grade choir, the MTMS Chamber Singers, assists with the 6th grade chorus, and works with the school’s theater program. Previously, she taught in the Hillsborough School District. An active leader in music education, she conducted the CJMEA Region Chorus in 2018, served as the CJMEA Choral Division Chair from 2011-2014, and continues as the audition registrar for intermediate choral auditions. She currently teaches over 150 students in her choral program.

Congratulations, Nina!

02/21/2025

Each year at our conference, we have the opportunity to recognize individuals who have positively impacted music education and our association. We'll honor our award recipients on Friday, February 21 at 1pm. Onsite registration is available each day.

The NFHS Outstanding Music Educator Award is presented to a music teacher who has demonstrated significant and/or long-term contributions to interscholastic music. We are pleased to name Amy Melson as this year's recipient. Amy is in her 10th year of teaching choir, now in Washington Twp. She has also been the Festival Coordinator for South Jersey Choir Directors Association for seven years, organizing auditions, and concert venues which is hours of organization time. Amy also sponsors students for Both NJMEA and ACDA and chaperones students.

Congratulations, Amy!

02/20/2025

We are so excited to welcome Stephanie Byers to New Jersey as our featured keynote speaker! Stephanie will speak on Friday at 1pm. Onsite registration is available each day of the conference.

Stephanie Byers spent 29 years as the director of Bands and Orchestras and Fine Arts Department Chair at Wichita North High School before retiring from teaching in 2019. In 2018, she was the recipient of the GLSEN National Educator of the Year award. Oklahoman by birth and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, Stephanie received the Bachelor’s of Music Education from Oklahoma Christian University (1986) and the Master’s of Music from Kansas State University (2015). In November of 2020, following her retirement from public school music teaching, Stephanie was elected to the Kansas State House of Representatives, becoming the first openly transgender Native American person ever elected to a state legislature in the United States.

A late in life transitioner, Stephanie began living as her authentic self in 2014. Since that time, she has become a frequent panelist and presenter on transgender issues in politics, healthcare, education, and general transgender 101 discussions. She was part of the featured panel for the White House Virtual Pride Celebration in 2021. Stephanie and her wife, Lori Haas, own and operate a company that assists corporations, community groups, and schools with understanding how to work with diverse communities. In 2023, Stephanie and Lori moved from Kansas to San Antonio to help with aging parents.

02/20/2025

Each year at our conference, we have the opportunity to recognize individuals who have positively impacted music education and our association. We'll honor our award recipients on Friday, February 21 at 1pm.

What we do as music teachers is hard. There’s so much to think about and consider on a day-to-day basis that has nothing to do with music. This process is made so much easier when we have supportive administrators. This year, we are pleased to recognize Andrea Evans (Superintendent, East Greenwich Township School District), Andrew Jaeger (Principal, Woodrow Wilson Middle School), Nicholas Steffner (Principal, Ridgedale Middle School), and Georgia S. Zaiser (Head of School, Far Hills Country Day School) for their outstanding support for music education programs. Congratulations to all!