director@nassausuffolk.org
Abby Behr is the founder and executive director of Nassau-Suffolk Performing Arts. She is a past president of the Nassau Music Educators' Association and has served on the New York State School Music Association Awards and Recognition Committee since 1998. She has also served on the New York State Council of Administrators and Music Educators' Advisory Board for Nassau County. Mrs. Behr has been cited in several editions of "Who's Who Among America's Teachers" and has been recognized for commitment to music education at the 1996 New York State School Music Association County Presidents' Assembly. She was awarded the New York State Congress of Parents and Teachers PTA Award for outstanding service to all children and youth in 1993 and 2002. Mrs. Behr has been the chairperson for the Music Educators' Eastern Division of Tri-M Music Honor Society from 2000 to the present time.
Abby Behr is the Director of Music and Art for the East Meadow Public Schools. The district has the distinction of being one of twelve districts in the United States recognized by the Music Educators National Conference for having Model Music Programs. During her tenure as a teacher in East Meadow, she was a band director on the elementary, middle and high school levels. Mrs. Behr was the chapter sponsor and advisor of East Meadow High School's Tri-M Music Honor Society and Color Guard Director of the marching band. She has taught music in the Brentwood, Lawrence and East Meadow Public Schools. Mrs. Behr holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Music and a Professional Degree in Educational Administration from Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus.
dragovich@nassausuffolk.org
James W. Dragovich has been a member of the music faculty of the Hewlett-Woodmere Public schools for the past twenty-four years, the last twenty as Director of Bands at George W. Hewlett High School. He holds both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Music Education from Long Island University, C. W. Post Campus, where he presently serves as an adjunct professor of Music Education teaching graduate and under-graduate classes in percussion methods. Mr. Dragovich also holds a Masters Degree from Hofstra University in Wind Conducting. While at Hofstra University he served as the Graduate Conducting Associate to both the Hofstra University Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. During the Spring Semester of 2002 he was appointed to the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music and served as Co-Director of Bands while Dr. Peter Loel Boonshaft was on sabbatical. Mr. Dragovich returned to the Hofstra campus in the Spring of 2007 as a member of the Music Education faculty.
Ensembles under Mr. Dragovich's direction have received numerous awards and recognitions. Both the Hewlett High School Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble have received gold ratings at NYSSMA Festivals, and the Hewlett High School Marching Band received a first place award in the New York City Columbus Day Parade. Mr. Dragovich has toured and conducted in Canada, Disney World and throughout the east coast. In addition, he has conducted numerous world premieres of music for wind band and jazz ensemble, and served as the original Director of the Nassau-Suffolk Jazz Band. He is now enjoying his fifth season as Conductor of the Nassau-Suffolk Concert Band. Mr. Dragovich works as a guest clinician presenting workshops at local universities, state conferences and for county organizations. He also serves as a guest conductor for Educational Tours Inc., and is a clinician for Heritage Music Festivals.
As a conductor, Mr. Dragovich has worked with many guest soloists including Stanley and Naomi Drucker, John Riley, Erik Ralske, Jack Schatz, Cecil Bridgewater, Mike Fahn and Jim Snidero. An active instrumentalist, Mr. Dragovich has performed with numerous artists including Billy Ekstine, Julius LaRosa, Jerry Vale, The Four Aces, Bobby Shew, Dave Pietro, The Four Freshmen, Ray Alexander and Clem DeRosa.
Mr. Dragovich presently resides in Rockville Centre NY with his wife Mindy, who is also a musician, and their children Charles, Jane and William.
hall@nassausuffolk.org
Robin Hall received a Bachelor of Music degree from the State University College at Fredonia, New York and a Master of Music degree in Jazz Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in New York. While at Queens College, Mrs. Hall studied with jazz greats Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Heath and Donald Byrd. For the past twenty-six years Mrs. Hall has been performing professionally as both a singer and a pianist in and around the Metropolitan area. Mrs. Hall has toured the United States and the Caribbean with various artists including Latin superstar Lisette Alvarez, Clint Holmes and Glenn Zottola, and served as house pianist at the Southampton Princess in Bermuda. She has performed at hundreds of venues throughout the tri-state area alongside many of the finest musicians in New York including Richie Iacona, Mike Carubia, Dave Lalama, Richie DeRosa, Jay Azzolina and Mike Hall.
For the past eleven years Mrs. Hall has been the accompanist for the NYSSMA All-State Vocal Jazz ensemble where she has worked with renowned jazz musicians/educators Kim Nazarian and Darmon Meader of the New York Voices, Dave Riley, April Arabian-Tini, Jeff Weicher, Bob Stoloff, Kirk Marcy and David Cross. She has served as accompanist for the Suffolk County Music Educators' Association Jazz Day Vocal Jazz Ensemble and has been the vocal jazz accompanist for the Nassau Music Educators' Association All-County Jazz Festival since it began four years ago. In 2008 Robin Hall is the Nassau Music Educators' Chairperson for Vocal Jazz. Mrs. Hall has directed middle and high school choirs since 1989 and has been Director of Choirs at W.T. Clarke High School since 1993. She has led her choirs to achieve numerous distinctions and awards.
Robin Hall was the Director of Vocal Jazz at Hofstra University for seven years, where she taught voice and directed the Hofstra Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She recently guest-conducted the Vermont All- County Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Mrs. Hall resides in Levittown with her husband, Mike Hall and daughters Jessica and Amanda.
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levy@nassausuffolk.org
Joel M. Levy received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the State University College at Potsdam, New York, and a Master of Music Degree in Performance from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. At Stony Brook Mr. Levy worked with clarinetist David Glazer, and studied flute, saxophone and clarinet with Eddie Daniels. As an active musician in the New York metropolitan area, Mr. Levy has performed with the Merrick Symphony, Long Island Concert Pops, Queens Festival Band, Long Island Masterworks Orchestra and the New York Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Levy played frequently in the Broadway production of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Additional Broadway credits include Fosse, Little Women and Sweet Charity. He has played with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Clem DeRosa's Mighty Swing Machine, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Lou Anderson Big Band, and many other jazz ensembles. He has worked as a backup musician for Phil Woods, Bob Mintzer, The Manhattan Transfer, Marvin Hamlisch, Al Martino, Tommy Tune and Jay Black.
Mr. Levy has taught at both the middle and high school levels on Long Island since 1980. He has been the Director of Bands at East Meadow High School for the past sixteen years. His various ensembles have won numerous awards of distinction. He currently serves as Music Department Chairperson of East Meadow High School.
Joel Levy has been a guest soloist and clinician for several Long Island school districts and he has served as guest conductor for the Suffolk All-County Festival Band on three occasions. In 1997 he was guest conductor of the concert band and jazz ensembles at the U. S. Eastern Music Camp at Colgate University. In April of 2005 Mr. Levy was the guest conductor of the combined bands comprising the Wind Symphony and the Symphonic Band at George Mason University in Virginia. Mr. Levy was also the guest conductor for the Atlantic Wind Symphony in 2006.
Under Mr. Levy's direction, the Nassau-Suffolk Wind Symphony has performed at All-National and All-Eastern MENC conferences. Guest soloists with the Wind Symphony have included Phil Smith, Joseph Alessi, Stanley Drucker, Carol Wincenc, Lew Tabackin, Erik Ralske and Patrick Sheridan.
Mr. Levy has taught courses for Five Towns College and the State University College at Potsdam, New York. He is currently an adjunct member of both the Suffolk Community College and C.W. Post, Long Island University faculties, teaching clarinet, saxophone and flute. Mr. Levy is pleased to have been listed in Who's Who Among American Teachers on numerous occasions.
katz@nassausuffolk.org
Bill Katz, a graduate of the University of Mississippi, received his Masters degree from the Crane School of Music at SUNY, Potsdam, New York, and did further studies in Music Education at the University of Arizona. He has been Coordinator of Instrumental Jazz Education for the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) for the past seventeen years. He conducts Adjudicator Seminars and is responsible for the certification of NYSSMA Jazz Adjudicators. He has also introduced a graded listing of Jazz solos for the NYSSMA Manual.
Mr. Katz has been Guest Conductor for All-State, Area All-State, All-County and Honors Jazz Ensembles throughout the eastern United States. He was saxophonist with the New York Jets Jazz Ensemble, which gave concerts at Shea Stadium and other venues in New York City and Long Island. Guest soloists Mr. Katz has worked with include Glenn Drewes, Randy Brecker, Frank Foster, Jim Masters, Billy Kerr, Gary Smulyan, Marvin Stamm, Jeff Jarvis, Dave Pietro, Lew Tabackin, John Fedchock, Joe Alessi, Jim Snidero, Ralph Lalama, Walt Weiskopf, Joe Magnarelli, Scott Wendholt, Conrad Herwig, John Marshall and Tom Brechtlein.
Bill Katz has always divided his musical energies between Jazz and Classical music. He was bassoonist with The Tucson Chamber Players, The Merrick Symphony, The Albert Einstein Orchestra, The Long Island Woodwind Quintet and the Concert Pops of Long Island.
Mr. Katz taught Music Education at Queens College, Molloy College and Hofstra University, giving graduate and undergraduate courses in Instrumental Music Methods. He has also taught at the Summer Music Programs of the University of Kansas and the University of New Hampshire. In addition, he conducts in-service workshops for music teachers in Long Island school districts.
Under Mr. Katz's direction the Nassau-Suffolk Jazz Ensemble has performed at the New York Brass Conference and twice at All Eastern MENC Conferences.
For many years Bill Katz was chairman of the Music Department and Director of Bands and Jazz Ensembles at East Meadow High School. The fact that so many of his former students have successful careers in performing and teaching music is a great source of pleasure to him. Bill Katz is a proud recipient of the NYSSMA Distinguished Service Award.
cjschaefer47@aol.com
Joseph Schaefer received a Bachelor of Music Degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, and a Master of Music Degree in composition from Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus. He has also studied recording engineering at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, NY. Mr. Schaefer has studied trombone with Phil Wilson and John Coffey, composition with John Bavicchi and Stephan Volpe, jazz arranging with Herb Pomeroy and recording engineering with Luke Delalio and Bill Finnerty. As a professional musician he has played with and arranged music for the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, and the Clem DeRosa Orchestra. Mr. Schaefer has performed with various recording artists including Tony Bennett, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Carmen McCrea, Clark Terry, Phil Woods and Gregory Hines.
From 1964 to 2002 Mr. Schaefer was a member of the Cold Spring Harbor Public Schools Music Department. While at Cold Spring Harbor, Mr. Schaefer worked with various jazz artists and clinicians including Rick Petrone, Jimmy and Marian McPartland, Clark Terry, Joyce DeCamillo and Leonard Gaskin. In 1978 Mr. Schaefer designed and constructed an analog and digital recording studio at Cold Spring Harbor High School. He was responsible for developing the curriculum and teaching classes in recording technology. At the time of his retirement in June of 2002, Mr. Schaefer was Director of Bands and Jazz Ensembles at Cold Spring Harbor High School. Mr. Schaefer was guest conductor at the 2005 New Hampshire All-State Jazz Festival.
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