About+Us

=Who We Are=  We all know the story about the percussionist who counts 395 measures of rest only to have the director stop just before his one and only triangle note! The fact is that the student percussionist’s band experience is not equal to that of the typical wind player. Music educators agree that a primary goal of school instrumental music programs should be to foster an appreciation and understanding of music in all students. In order to accomplish this students need training and experience with all of the basic building blocks of the musical arts. These include melody, harmony, and rhythm. Of all the building blocks melody is the most important, since the primary element in most western art music is melody. In a school band setting, the primary role of percussion is to add color as opposed to having a melodic or harmonic role. This presents a significant problem for dedicated teachers who wish to see their percussion students share in learning experiences that are comparable to those of other instrumentalists. Time constraints being what they are, many teachers find themselves teaching concepts and skills that will get the group through the next concert rather than providing for the unique needs of the percussion student. The above reasons combined with the fact that of the many instruments taught, most directors are the least comfortable with percussion, combine to create a very uneven picture in terms of percussion education. While great strides have been made, there are still many places where percussion instruction means “learning the snare drum period!

**//The Percussion Educator’s Association//** recognizes that student percussionists have unique needs that the school band alone can not provide. It is the aim of the //Percussion Educator’s Association// to help instrumental music teachers to providing percussion students with instruction that is closer to that of other student musicians.

**//The Percussion Educators Association//** is a community of percussionists and percussion teachers dedicated to elevating instruction in the “percussive arts” through grass roots action and advocacy.

=**Mission Statement**= The objectives and purposes of the New Jersey Percussion Educators Association are:
 * 1) To promote the concept of the "musician percussionist" through the development of "**total percussion"** curriculum guidelines.
 * 2) To advocate for the **percussion ensemble** as one of the primary group performance vehicles for student percussionists.
 * 3) To establish **New Jersey as national leader** in the field of percussion education.
 * 4) To foster communications, networking, and to support any and all organizations or similar associations that share similar objectives.

=Membership Information= There are three types of membership:
 * 1) Professional Membership shall be available to all educators who are current members of either the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) or the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) at no charge.
 * 2) Associate membership shall be open to all educators not currently members of NJMEA or PAS for a fee. Associate Members shall be entitled to all privileges of membership except voting rights.
 * 3) Student membership shall be available to all college percussion majors either residing in or attending an accredited school of music in New Jersey.

=**Executive Board**= **Treasurer:** Open
 * President: ** Alex Bocchino
 * Region I Representative: ** Gary Fink
 * Region II Representative: ** Chris Colaneri
 * Region III Representative: ** Open
 * Secretary/PAS Liaison: ** Yale Snyder