John McNeur: 2008 Music Educator of Note
 John McNeur, founder and Executive Director of the Glen Head-based Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra Academy, is a career educator who has taught all aspects of music over the past twenty five years. He is currently Director of Music for the GRAMMY Signature Gold School Award-winning Herricks Public Schools, national chair for the Tri-M Music Honor Society, past-president of the Nassau Music Educators Association, and chair of the committee responsible for organizing The Balanced Mind Curriculum Conferences.
For six years he served as general chair for the Music Educators National Conference All-Eastern Honors Ensembles, organizing festivals in Rochester, Baltimore and at Carnegie Hall. Mr. McNeur has served as conductor of the Stamford Young Peoples Orchestra, The Fairfield County Student Operetta Orchestra, The North Shore Youth Operetta Orchestra and the MYO Summer Touring Orchestra, and is sought as a consultant, clinician and conductor. He lives in Glen Head.
More about his work with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra at http://www.myo.org/ and The Balanced Mind Curriculum Conference at http://www.balancedmind.org/.
Meet Our 2007 Music Educator of Note:
Herbert A Deutsch
Stars Lend Support
To Education Board
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is proud to announce the formation of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's Education Advisory Board. Led by Long Island teacher, filmmaker and radio host, Tom Needham, the Education Advisory Board's job is to help carry out the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's vast education mission.
Dan Zanes
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Lending star power and educational expertise to the Education Board is a growing list of celebrities and educators, including The Magic Garden's Carole and Paula, RUN-DMC's DMC, Jimmy Rosica of the Brooklyn Bridge, Blues Clues' Steve Burns, singer and bassist Brady Rymer, award-winning singer/songwriter Patricia Shih, the Disney Channel's rock star Dan Zanes, as well as music educator Paul Graf. For twelve years, Carole and Paula entertained thousands of children and fans on the hit WPIX show, The Magic Garden. As a key member of the legendary rap group RUN-DMC, DMC helped bring hip hop to mainstream audiences, and eventually sold over twenty million records. Jimmy Rosica, founding member of Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge, is the proprietor and principal instructor of the wonderful and innovative Very Cool Music School. Equally successfully in the area of children's television is actor, singer and guitarist Steve Burns, who is known as one of the creators and host of the long-running Nick Jr. show Blues Clues, and is now making new rock music
DMC
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with Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips. Also a hit on The Disney Channel is former Del Fuegos singer Dan Zanes, whose recent CD hit #4 on the Billboard Kids Audio Charts. Dan was awarded a 2006 Grammy for Best Children's Musical Album for his Catch That Train CD! Patricia Shih has written over 250 songs and performs for audiences of all ages, appearing on T.V. and radio, in clubs, concerts, schools, libraries, major music festivals, and other venues, and touring internationally. Brady Rymer is a founding member of the RCA roots-rock band From Good Homes and has recorded several children's albums, including Every Day is a Birthday. Paul Graf has guided the education of thousands of children as Principal of Smithtown Elementary School.
Patricia Shih
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All of these stars and educators are lending their expertise to the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's Education Board.
Demas & Janis
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Just recently, Carole and Paula generously announced their decision to perform a benefit concert for the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's Education Board this upcoming September. This is going to be an important fund raising event, and hopefully a treat for fans of the original Magic Garden.
Lastly, the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's Education Board has been hard at work creating future music education programs. This past January, Norm Prusslin, retired Manager of WUSB FM, helped organize a gathering of educators, administrators and musicians at Stony Brook University. The group also presented the very successful Marketing for Musicians in the Digital Age workshops on Tuesday, April 17 in the Auditorium of the Student Union of Stony Brook University. This is available for download on the Long Island Music Hall of Fame section of http://podarama.com/. The Advisory Board is currently working on the selection of the first Music Educator of the Year Award. Together, this diverse board is striving to bring their love of music to future generations of kids for years to come.
Brady Rymer
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Jimmy Rosica & Alison
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Visit our Education Advisory Board members online:
Steve Burns - www.steveswebpage.com
Carole and Paula - www.caroleandpaula.com
DMC - www.me-dmc.com
Patricia Shih - www.patriciashih.com/
Dan Zanes - www.danzanes.com
Brady Rymer - www.rymersongs.com
Jimmy Rosica and The Very Cool Music School - http://theverycoolmusicschool.com/
Our Current Exhibit
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame's current exhibit runs at the Long Beach Public Library at 111 West Park Ave. in Long Beach, NY from August 27th through September 8th, 2008. The event is concurrent with the library's yearly JazzFest (September 4th - 7th), which usually attracts over 3000 audience members. Visit the library online at http://www.nassaulibrary.org/longbeach/.
The show, which is already receiving great praise from library visitors and staff members, features some wonderful pieces of memorabilia that trace Long Island's rich musical history. A walk through the exhibit will take you from the days of George M. Cohan right through to Run-DMC. A careful look will reveal a very young Billy Joel, a 'newcomer' named Carole King, and a behind-the-stage glimpse at a pre-Tommy Hilfiger Jones Beach Theatre.
The exhibit has been a been a big hit in the communities that have experienced it so far, and the Hall of Fame will continue to travel with the show as the group prepares to occupy its new home in Port Jefferson. The show changes and grows with each exhibit, so be sure to check out the current selection of items and artists now! Look for more libraries in the area to feature the Long Island Music Hall of Fame exhibit in the near future.
LIMHoF's Inaugural Exhibit, "A First Look," was seen at the Port Washington and Oceanside Public Libraries. If you would like to have this or any of our other Long Island Music Hall of Fame exhibits for your library, please contact us at:
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
PO Box 1274
Lake Grove NY 11755
631-828-3914
We look forward to hearing from you!
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