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Congratulations!

The Ipswich Public Schools are proud to announce the professional recognition of two music teachers. Gerald Dolan, Fine Arts Director and Director of Bands, has received the Paul Smith Hall of Fame Award from the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association. This award is presented annually to a Massachusetts music conductor who is a musical and personal inspiration to students, the community and other professional conductors. Nominated by his peers statewide, Mr. Dolan is one of only two conductors per year who are admitted to the Hall of Fame. A Fulbright Scholar, Mr. Dolan has also been honored with the MMEA Lowell Mason Award and the Olmstead Award for excellence in secondary school teaching from Williams College. He is Music Director of the Northeast Massachusetts Youth Orchestras (NMYO), and he teaches Instrumental Conducting at Gordon College in the Graduate Summer Degree Program.The Paul Smith Award is given in honor of the Late Paul Smith in recognition of his high personal, musical, and professional standards as former director of Music in the Abington, Massachusetts Public School System.

Laurie Colitti, General Music Teacher and 4th and 5th Grade Choral Director at the Winthrop Elementary School, has received the Lowell Mason Award, from the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (MMEA). This award is given in statewide recognition of leaders in music education who have made important contributions to music and music education. Ms. Colitti has taught in the Ipswich Public Schools for 18 years. She has served the MMEA as Northeaster District Secretary, Concert Band Manager, Concert Coordinator, and Auditions Adjudicator. A bassoonist, she performs with the Salem Philharmonic Orchestra and the Perfect Fifth Woodwind Quintet.

PROJECT Trio

Known for their improvisational mix of classical, hip hop and jazz styles, IMADA brought PROJECT Trio to Ipswich in 2011 and we are proud to have welcomed them back to Ipswich on January 16th. Project Trio provided day-long master classes, in-school concerts, and an amazing evening concert at the Ipswich Performing Arts Center. The group wowed both students and the community with their virtuosity and upbeat style... an amazing experience!

Here are photos from the IHS Master Class:

Congratulations to Gillette!

Congratulations to senior Zoe Gillette, whose work
"Old Iron Lungs" received the People's Choice
Award for high school artwork at the Crane Estate
Art Show & Sale held last fall.

Tiwary heads to Nationals!

Ipswich High School senior Anagh Tiwary and his baritone sax participated in the All-National Honor Ensembles with the help of IMADA which provided
the $650 registration fee for the event. He is
pictured here with Fine Arts Director Gerry Dolan
and IMADA President Trina Schell. "This is a remarkable achievement," said Schell, "and it
deserves to be supported and celebrated."

IMADA's program supporting students in the arts,
made possible by contributions from the community, disbursed $20,000 last year.

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Join Us at Our
Next Business Meeting

If you have a child participating in music, art or drama activities at the Ipswich Middle or High Schools - we invite you to attend our meetings. There, you can help plan events and learn what is happening in the classroom. Ipswich community members interested in supporting the arts are also invited.

When: March 3, 2015
7:00 PM
Where: IHS Guidance Office
Learn more about IMADA

Spotlight Sponsors

Thank you to New England BioLabs and the Ipswich Cultural Council who co-sponsored the recent Girls Play Jazz Too! event.

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Supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council

IMADA, the Ipswich Music, Arts & Drama Association, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization of parents committed to supporting and enhancing the fine arts programs in the Ipswich Middle and High Schools. Learn more