Georgia Association of Jazz Educators (GAJE) News
Rich Stichler, President

I trust that this message as your new GAJE president finds you enjoying the start to another inspiring year of music education.  As the president for the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators, I am excited about continuing the direction that GAJE has taken in promoting jazz education throughout the state.  In light of the dissolution of IAJE, the executive committee feels it important to continue the mission of GAJE.  Our goal as an organization is to increase communication among band directors, jazz musicians, college teachers, and jazz fans throughout the state. 

Let me introduce you to the executive committee for GAJE:

Rich Stichler, President, Lakeview, Ft. Oglethorpe High School
Albert Bussey, Vice President, Ware County High School
Bob Steelnack, President-Elect, Pepperell High School
Helen Adams, Treasurer, Jackson County High School
Kelly Dickerson, Secretary, Northview High School

GAJE promotes many great activities in the state and we hope that you can involve your students as much as possible:

High School Jazz Clinic, December 6 - December 6, 2008
Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
We are looking forward to the clinic hosted by Sam Skelton and his colleagues at Kennesaw State.  The clinic is open to intermediate and advanced high school jazz students throughout Georgia.  Application forms, directions, hotel listings, and other information are available on the GAJE website:  http://www.gaje.net
The clinic is also held in conjunction with the final All-State Jazz Auditions.

GAJE Reading Band, GMEA Conference, Savannah, GA, January 24, 2009
This reading session covers all styles and many different ability levels of new music being released by our country’s top publishers.

Middle School Jazz Clinic, April 10-11, 2009
North Georgia College, Dahlonega, GA
In its third year, the middle school clinic will be hosted by Andy David and his colleagues at North Georgia College and State University.  Over 100 students attended in 2007 and 2008 and we are hoping to increase participation in 2009.