Music

Auditions are required ONLY for new high-school level participants, and are submitted online via YouTube. 

• A video audition must to contain an example of ensemble performance, such as playing along with a practice track:
  • Billie’s Bounce: Lead Sheet / Practice Track
  • Now’s The Time: Lead Sheet / Practice Track
  • Take The A Train: Lead Sheet ; Practice Track
• Only one (1) recorded selection is needed on your video. The following should be performed using a practice track, as mentioned above:
  • Piano and Guitar should play the melody one time, followed by one or two choruses of an improvised solo, and finally an additional chorus of playing the chords only, as would be done within a rhythm section when someone else would be taking a solo.
  • Wind instrument players should play the melody one time, followed by one or two choruses of an improvised solo.
  • Drummers should play along with the practice track to demonstrate timekeeping and providing fills. Students may also demonstrate taking a solo on an additional chorus of the tune selection.
• When ready, upload your video to your own personal YouTube Channel and provide the channel URL within your camp registration.

Conrad Herwig – Director

Conrad Herwig is one of the leading trombonists on today’s Jazz scene, having begun in 1980 with the Clark Terry Big Band and later performed with Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones, Mario Bauza’s Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Mel Lewis, Bob Mintzer, the Mingus Big Band, Eddie Palmieri, Red Garland, Dave Liebman, Max Roach, Danilo Perez, and Brian Lynch. He has recorded 26 albums as a leader and voted #1 Jazz Trombone (TDWR) in the Downbeat International Jazz Critic’s Poll. The Jazz Journalists Association also nominated Herwig for “Trombonist of the Year” in 2015.

Marc Stasio – Assistant Director

Pianist, composer, arranger, and educator Marc Stasio actively produces scores for hire, serves as jazz faculty and has performed abroad for nearly 40 years. His work is heard on recordings and in performances with today’s top artists in jazz and contemporary music, including Michel Camilo, Conrad Herwig, Hiromi Uehara, Robby Ameen, Orrin Evans, Abraham Burton, Joe Magnarelli, Gerry Carboy (of David Sancious & Tone), and Kenny Davis. Marc earned a Bachelors degree in Arranging from Berklee College of Music, and a Masters in Jazz Studies from Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts. As a professor and managing director of jazz studies at Mason Gross, he specializes in composition and arranging, improvisation, history, and jazz piano instruction. Marc’s latest projects include large ensemble arrangements for pianist Orrin Evans, ensemble and piano charts for pianist Michel Camilo, some of which featured at the 25th Anniversary Heineken Jazz Festival, custom scores for Conrad Herwig including his 2016 release, “Reflections” on the Criss Cross label, arrangements for the Moscow Jazz Orchestra and WDR Big Band, as well as various media projects including pre-production scoring prep for the Sesame Street television series. He also received a special commission by Salsa legend Eddie Palmieri to score many of his original compositions for full orchestra. Visit http://marcstasio.com.

Registration and payment deadline: June 21, 2020
Health forms deadline: July 5, 2020
Students who have not submitted required health forms to the registration website by the health form deadline will not be allowed to participate in summer programs.

• All registration must be completed online, via the registration link above. No in-person or phone registrations are accepted for summer programs.
• Residential option is available for participants ages 14-18 and includes room, board, and activities.
• Participants under the age of 14 must commute to the program. Lunch and activities are included in the program fee.
• A minimum deposit of $150 is required at the time of registration.
• You may elect to pay your entire balance at the time of registration or to establish a credit-card-based payment plan.
• All tuition and fees must be paid in full no later than June 21, 2020.
• Please read our summer camp policies. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.

Auditions are not required of new applicants to the ASTA/NJ CMI, though a performance sample video is recommended at the time of registration in order to facilitate ensemble placement.

If you wish to submit a performance sample video, please complete the following steps:

• Create a video performing two contrasting solos, etudes, or excerpts.
• Post this video to a host site, such as YouTube, and share the URL via email to ASTA.CMI@mgsa.rutgers.edu.

Instructions on how to create your own YouTube channel can be found here.

Jhi Eun Gu – Co-Director

Neil Aaronson – Co-Director

Dr. Neil Aaronson has been working for the CMI since its founding in 2005.  He is an active board member of the NJ chapter of the American String Teachers Association.

Dr. Aaronson earned his BS in Physics from the College of New Jersey in 2002, his MS in Physics in 2004, MS in Electrical Engineering in 2006, and a Ph.D. in Physics in 2008 from Michigan State University.  His research focused on psychoacoustics and sound source localization.  He became a Professor of Physics at Stockton University in 2008, where he currently teaches, runs the Stockton Acoustics Lab, and is the Coordinator of the Physics Program.  His research includes sound localization, music perception, room acoustics, underwater acoustics, and sound source characterization.

Dr. Aaronson grew up playing the violin, eventually adding viola while in college.  Upon returning to New Jersey in 2008, he joined the viola section of the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey.  He was invited to join their Board of Directors in 2011, became the Vice President in 2013, and was elected to be the President of the Board of Directors in 2015.  He is also the Assistant Conductor of the Stockton Oratorio Society, and music director of Stockton’s three student a cappella ensembles, including the award-winning Stockapella.  He is the Director of Music and Conductor for the Fall and Spring musical productions at his alma mater, Cherokee High School in Marlton, NJ.

Peg Roberts – Artistic Director

Margaret Zufall Roberts is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Institute of ASTA/NJ, which began in 2005 at Kean University. An active board member and past president of the NJ Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, Ms. Roberts is frequently seen on site of one of ASTA/NJ’s many projects.

As a viola performance major, Ms. Roberts was the principal violist in the Ohio University Orchestra. After receiving her BM from Ohio University, she received an MME at Fairleigh Dickinson University and later did graduate work at California Institute of the Arts, where she was awarded a full scholarship to play in their graduate string quartet. Her teachers include Charles Ponall, Eugenie Dengel, Howard Beebe, Paul Doktor, Alan DeVeritch, and Jesse Levine. She was the principal violist of the Duluth Symphony Orchestra, and has performed at the Mozarteum in Salzberg, Austria, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

Currently the principal violist in the Montclair Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Roberts is a frequently heard performer of chamber music in the New York/New Jersey area. She has been featured during Music Week at the historic Mohonk Mountain House with members of the New York Philharmonic, and has performed with members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Weill Recital Hall, and as a guest performer on faculty recitals at the Lebanon Valley College.

Ms. Roberts teaches viola and violin in her home studio. She also coaches chamber music and sectional rehearsals for the New Jersey Youth Symphony, and the Youth Orchestras of Essex County. Having served on the Orchestra Procedures Committee for the NJ All State Orchestra for many years, she is now an adjunct faculty member at Montclair State University John J. Cali School of Music, teaching Instrumental Technique classes to all the undergraduate music education students. She also teaches string classes and private lessons at the Judith Wharton Music Center in Berkeley Heights, and conducts the Prelude Ensemble of the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra.

Registration and payment deadline: June 28, 2020
Health forms deadline: July 12, 2020
Students who have not submitted required health forms to the registration website by the health form deadline will not be allowed to participate in summer programs.

• All registration must be completed online, via the registration link above. No in-person or phone registrations are accepted for summer programs.
• Residential option is available for participants ages 14-18 and includes room, board, and activities.
• Participants under the age of 14 must commute to the program. Lunch and activities are included in the program fee.
• A minimum deposit of $150 is required at the time of registration.
• You may elect to pay your entire balance at the time of registration or to establish a credit-card-based payment plan.
• All tuition and fees must be paid in full no later than June 28, 2020.
• Please read our summer camp policies. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.

Todd Nichols – Director

Todd Nichols is the Director of University and Athletic Bands at Rutgers University. He also serves as artistic director and conductor for the Eastern Wind Symphony, a nationally recognized adult wind band.

Mr. Nichols serves on the executive board for ASPIRE, a national commissioning project, and has participated in national focus groups for the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and National Concert Band Festival. He has guest conducted the United States Army Field Band, and numerous tri-state area honor bands. Mr. Nichols has supported over twenty new commissions including works by David Gillingham, John Mackey, Julie Giroux, Joe Turrin, William Ryden, Kevin Bobo, Joseph Spaniola, Eric Whitacre, Bruce Yurko, and Dana Wilson.

Most recently Mr. Nichols was inducted into the prestigious American Band Master’s Association and American School Band Director Association.

Registration and payment deadline: July 5, 2020
Health forms deadline: July 19, 2020
Students who have not submitted required health forms to the registration website by the health form deadline will not be allowed to participate in summer programs.

• All registration must be completed online, via the registration link above. No in-person or phone registrations are accepted for summer programs.
• Residential option is available for participants ages 14-18 and includes room, board, and activities.
• Participants under the age of 14 must commute to the program. Lunch and activities are included in the program fee.
• A minimum deposit of $150 is required at the time of registration.
• You may elect to pay your entire balance at the time of registration or to establish a credit-card-based payment plan.
• All tuition and fees must be paid in full no later than July 5, 2020.
• Please read our summer camp policies. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.

Timothy Urban – Director

Dr. Timothy Urban holds graduate degrees in voice and recorder performance (SUNY Binghamton), early music performance practice (Sarah Lawrence College), and music theory and history (Rutgers University) and a doctorate in musicology from Rutgers University. He received a Fulbright scholarship for study at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary and a D.A.A.D. Fellowship for study at Leipzig University. His research interests include music of the Italian seicento, Hungarian folk music, and aural skills pedagogy. He has been a guest lecturer at Baptist University, Hong Kong, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan, and the University of San Diego, California. He was guest conductor of Conjunto de Musica Antiga, Universidad de Niteroi, Brazil and has performed in both chamber and solo recitals in Hungary, Brazil, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Dr. Urban also teaches classes in advanced sight-singing.

Registration and payment deadline: July 6, 2020
Health forms deadline: July 20, 2020
Students who have not submitted required health forms to the registration website by the health form deadline will not be allowed to participate in summer programs.

• All registration must be completed online, via the registration link above. No in-person or phone registrations are accepted for summer programs.
• A minimum deposit of $75 (half day registration) or $100 (full day registration) is required at the time of registration.
• You may elect to pay your entire balance at the time of registration or to establish a credit-card-based payment plan.
• All tuition and fees must be paid in full no later than July 6, 2020.
• Please read our summer camp policies. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.

Erin Banholzer – Director

Erin Banholzer enjoys an active career as an orchestral musician, soloist, and teacher. She has performed with major orchestras across the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra.  She has been invited to perform in Europe and the Middle East, including appearances for members of the Vatican in Rome and at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman.

Banholzer is artist-in-residence at Summer Music in Tuscany; she served as principal oboe of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and has also participated in the Britt, Castleton, Music Academy of the West, National Orchestral Institute, and Spoleto USA summer music festivals.  As a soloist, Banholzer has appeared with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra and the Rutgers University Symphonic Band.

Banholzer is an adjunct professor of oboe at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.  She founded the Rutgers Oboe Reed Making Intensive and has presented master classes at many institutions including Northwestern University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, New York University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Banholzer was born in upstate New York and raised in Ohio and New York.  She received her bachelor of music degree from Northwestern University and master of music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She participated in the performance residency program at Carnegie Mellon University and earned her doctor of musical arts degree from Rutgers University. Her principal teachers have included Nathan Hughes, Scott Bell, Jeffrey Rathbun, Scott Hostetler, and Michael Henoch.

Registration and payment deadline: June 8, 2020
Health forms deadline: June 22, 2020
Students who have not submitted required health forms to the registration website by the health form deadline will not be allowed to participate in summer programs.

• All registration must be completed online, via the registration link above. No in-person or phone registrations are accepted for summer programs.
• A minimum deposit of $100 is required at the time of registration.
• You may elect to pay your entire balance at the time of registration or to establish a credit-card-based payment plan.
• All tuition and fees must be paid in full no later than June 8, 2020.
• Please read our summer camp policies. Your completion of registration indicates your acknowledgment and agreement to abide by these policies.