Music Department | Dr. James A Meyer Performing Arts Center
Music Department
The New Hartford Central School District is committed to the understanding that music is an essential part of our students’ development. Quality of life is improved by physical, emotional, social and cognitive growth experiences through meaningful, sequential study in music. The primary goal of our department is to promote an understanding of music as an art through self-discipline and self-expression. We strive to help each student realize their musical potential. Creating, performing and responding to music encourages a lifelong appreciation of the arts. Our vision is that New Hartford students engage in the arts at a deeply enriching level which benefit themselves, their families, and their communities.
Music Course Offerings | Music Department Faculty | Rent an instrument | Summer Music
Music Course Offerings
Elementary
Classroom music instruction: Each student in Kindergarten through 6th grade meets twice per six-day cycle.
Chorus: All students in 5th and 6th grade have the opportunity to join chorus. Chorus meets before school, twice per six-day cycle. Each elementary school chorus performs at two yearly concerts.
Beginner Strings: Students in 2nd and 3rd grade have the opportunity to start a string instrument through the Suzuki method. Students meet once a week for lessons, and participate in the String Fling concert in June. First year string lessons encourage parent participation during lessons, which helps to reinforce practice goals at home.
Fourth Grade Orchestra: Students rehearse once a week during recess. This ensemble performs one concert in the Spring, alongside the Beginner Band.
Beginner Band Lessons/4th Grade Band: Students in 4th grade have the opportunity to play a band instrument. Students meet once a week for lessons, and participate in the beginner concert in the Spring, alongside the 4th Grade Orchestra.
5/6 Orchestra and Band: Students in these ensembles will rehearse before school, twice per six-day cycle. Each ensemble will perform two yearly concerts.
Additional opportunities: Students may audition or be recommended for District Band, Chorus and Orchestra. These ensembles meet after school, and perform a concert in the Spring. Students may also be recommended and chosen to participate in OCMEA (Oneida County Music Educators Association) Elementary All-County Band, Orchestra or Chorus in 5th and/or 6th grade. Talk to your music teacher if you are interested in performing a NYSSMA solo!
Junior High
Choir 7: Open to all 7th grade students who enjoy singing. Performance in two concerts is required.
Choir 8/9: Prior experience in 7th Grade Choir is strongly encouraged; performs in two concerts per school year.
Music 7/8: Every student at Perry Junior High is required at least one year of a music class or ensemble. Music 7/8 is a required class for students not enrolled in band, choir, or orchestra. The requirement must be completed in 7th or 8th grade.
Band 7: Open to 7th grade students continuing their study on their band instrument. Students are required to attend a weekly lesson. Performance in two concerts is required.
Band 8/9: Open to 8th and 9th grade students continuing their study on their band instrument. Students are required to attend a weekly lesson. Performance in two concerts is required.
Orchestra 7: Open to 7th grade students continuing their study on their string instrument. Students are required to attend a weekly lesson. Performance in two concerts is required.
Orchestra 8/9: Open to 8th and 9th grade students continuing their study on their string instrument. Students are required to attend a weekly lesson. Performance in two concerts is required.
Perry Jazz Band: An extracurricular performing ensemble that is open to students interested in beginning studies in jazz and performing. Students must meet performance proficiencies on their instrument to be considered.
Additional opportunities: Students in grades 7-9 may audition in early January to participate in OCMEA (Oneida County Music Educators Association) Jr. High All-County Band, Orchestra or Chorus; the festival rehearsals and performance take place on one Friday and Saturday in March. Talk to your music teacher if you are interested in performing a NYSSMA solo!
Senior High
Choir: Students in grades 10-12 are welcome to join. Four concerts are required.
Music Theory: Students who are serious about music are encouraged to sign-up for this elective. This introductory course focuses on the fundamentals of music reading and notation with emphasis on listening, dictation, and sight-singing skills. Students will learn how to listen how to listen, identify, analyze, create, write, and perform music. Students will develop compositional skills and expand their awareness of musical styles, music history, and literature.
Symphonic Band: Students in grades 10-12 continuing their study on their band instrument are encouraged to join. High performance standards will be required and maintained. Four concerts are required.
Orchestra: Students in grades 10-12 continuing their study on their string instrument are encouraged to join. High performance standards will be required and maintained. Three concerts are required.
Extracurricular (Senior High)
Tri-M Music Honor Society: is an international honor society that recognizes High School students for their academic and musical achievements, rewards them for their accomplishments and service activities, and inspires other students to excel at music and leadership in school and the community.
Masque Spring Musical: Students in grades 10-12 are welcome to audition. Participation in a performing ensemble is strongly encouraged. The musical is performed in March.
Spartan Show Choir Singers: Students in grades 10-12 are welcome to audition. Participation in a performing ensemble is strongly encouraged. The choir performs at the annual Rome Show Choir Festival in January.
Marching Spartans: Band students in grades 7-12 with an intermediate to advanced level of proficiency on their instrument are welcome to join our marching band. This group is not required, but is strongly urged of all Senior High band members. Each member of the marching band will receive a block letter and appropriate emblem after fulfilling performance and attendance requirements as outlined in the band handbook.
Winter Guard and Drum Line: These groups extend the marching band program.
Jazz Ensemble: An extracurricular performing ensemble that is open to all interested and qualified Senior High band members. Students’ performing abilities, stage presence, dedication, desire and professionalism are a must.
Additional opportunities: All music students will have the opportunity to participate in NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) solo festivals, with the possibility to be selected for Area All State and NYSSMA Conference All State.
Note: All students must earn a total of 1 credit in music and/or art in order to graduate.
Music Department Faculty
Music Department Chair – Jo Anne Goodemote
Jessica Lotyczewski, JH/HS Choir
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Mrs. Lotyczewski has been teaching secondary choir and general music in Oneida County since 2007. She previously spent 14 years as the secondary vocal teacher at Waterville Jr/Sr High School.
Amanda Costanzo, Elementary General Music/Choir
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Susan Gleeson, Elementary General Music/Choir
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Christine Clark, Elementary General Music/Choir
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Mrs. Clark has been teaching music in New Hartford for nine years. While a student at New Hartford herself, Mrs. Clark loved being in choir, band, marching band, and performing on stage in high school Masque productions. After graduating in 2009, she attended Syracuse University, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music Education. She continued her education post-college, receiving her Orff-Schulwerk Level 1 and 2 certifications from the Eastman School of Music, World Music Drumming Level 1 certification on Long Island, NY, and Fostering Music Literacy Workshops under the direction of Drs. Carol Kreuger and Hilary Ridgley. She has conducted several elementary and junior high All-County Chorus festivals and is a frequent accompanist for the district’s choir concerts. When not teaching or performing music, Mrs. Clark and her husband Ian love spending time with their twin baby boys, William and Rowan, and their orange cats, Hopper and Louie.
Martin Hollister, HS Band
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Mr. Hollister is a native of Central New York State. He is a graduate of Fredonia State University and has a Masters in Music Performance from Youngstown State University. During the summers of 1984 and 1985 he played lead baritone for the world champion Garfield Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. In addition to his regular performance schedule with the band Classified, Mr. Hollister is also an active freelance trombonist. He has performed with the Utica, Hamilton, Colgate, Catskill, Schenectady, and Youngstown Symphony Orchestras and he has also backed up groups such as the Temptations and the Supremes. He is currently the High School Band Director for the New Hartford Central School District and lives in New Hartford with his wife Kathy and two children, Samantha and Megan.
Dan Fabbio, JH Band
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Jillian Myers, Elementary Band
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Jo Anne Goodemote, Elementary Band
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Jo Anne Goodemote has been an instrumental educator for 25 years. Previously she has had the pleasure of working with the Beacon, Genesee Valley, and Cheektowaga Central school districts. She is currently in her eighteenth year at New Hartford. She enjoys performing on trumpet and conducting. Mrs. Goodemote has been privileged to conduct the Onondaga, Oneida, Chautauqua, and Oswego Elementary All County Bands. Mrs. Goodemote holds a Bachelors of Music from the Crane School at Potsdam and a Masters of Music from the School of Music at Fredonia. She resides in Sauquoit with her husband and two children.
Claire Wilcox, JH/HS Orchestra
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An Upstate NY native and an alumna of New Hartford, Mrs. Wilcox has been playing violin since the age of 3 when she started Suzuki violin lessons with her mother, retired NH teacher Michelle Wilcox. Mrs. Wilcox went on to study with Susan Waterbury at Ithaca College where she received her B.M in Music Performance on Violin, and with Harumi Rhodes at Syracuse University where she received her M.S in Music Education. As a college student, she toured twice with the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, once of which was a performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully hall in NYC. She has been featured on Classic FM as a graduate student with Setnor School of Music’s graduate string quartet at Syracuse University. Mrs. Wilcox has been teaching in New Hartford for 6 years and previously taught at Hughes Elementary and Bradley Elementary before moving up to the Jr. and Senior High. Before teaching in New Hartford, Mrs. Wilcox taught Orchestra/Strings for Grades 5-8 in Fulton City School District in Fulton, NY. She currently lives in the area with her husband and four pets: her cats, Tessa, Lucy and Harold, and her dog, Mako.
Sara Picente, Elementary Orchestra
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Mrs. Sara (Chudow) Picente teaches instrumental string lessons and orchestra ensembles at Bradley and Hughes Elementary Schools. She is very excited to be teaching music in New Hartford! Mrs. Picente grew up on Long Island and attended Middle Country School District. She began learning the violin in third grade, and music has been an important part of her life ever since. Mrs. Picente attended the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. Mrs. Picente enjoys sharing her love of music through teaching and performing. She has performed with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York, Thailand Chamber Music Festival, Sound Symphony, Crane Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Northern New York, Colgate Symphony Orchestra, Crane Alumni Orchestra, Catskill Symphony Orchestra, Clinton Symphony Orchestra, pit orchestras for local musicals and chamber ensembles.
Emily Gillander, Elementary Orchestra
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Rent an instrument
Music & Arts in Clay and Big Apple Music in New Hartford offer rental to New Hartford CSD students. Visit the Music & Arts website for more information and to get started.
Summer Music
Click here for information and to sign up for the 2024 New Hartford Summer Music program.
Dr. James A Meyer Performing Arts Center
The Dr. James A Meyer Performing Arts Center features a 565-seat auditorium. The complex is named for former New Hartford School Superintendent James Meyer. For more information about the Performing Arts Center, contact:
Susan Mojave – Theater Manager
E-mail | (315) 624-1252
Parking and Building Admittance
Families and community members who attend events at Dr. James A. Meyer Performing Arts Center may utilize the parking spaces in the back of the building. Attendees must enter/exit the building through the Bradley Elementary School main entrance.
Parking is also available near the Senior High School entrance. The doors at the Senior High main entrance will be unlocked for attendees to enter the building for 30 minutes prior to the start of an event. Attendees may also exit the building through the Senior High main entrance.
The parking loop in front of Bradley may be utilized for drop-off/pick-up and is reserved for handicapped parking. Temporary signs will be placed in the loop during events to indicate handicapped parking spaces.
The north driveway along the side of Bradley (next to the playground) that leads to the parking area is a designated fire lane and parking is not permitted on either side. We understand that parking in one of the parking lots may be a less convenient option but safety is our top priority. By keeping the driveway clear of parked vehicles we can ensure that the fire lane remains unobstructed while also maintaining the flow of traffic in both directions.
Academics Links
The Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in providing music access and education to all students.
This award recognizes that New Hartford CSD is leading the way with music learning opportunities as outlined in the new federal education legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act.