Jazzy new teacher at Rocky Heights Middle School
Anderies at the Youth Culture Festival in Chicago last July.
Article by Kathy Dunker with photos courtesy of Joe Anderies
New to Rocky Heights Middle School (RHMS) this year is band and orchestra director Joe Anderies.
Seventeen years at Heritage Elementary School, Anderies is a welcome addition to the RHMS band room. In addition to his teaching schedule, Anderies has been active as a professional jazz musician for over 35 years and has even been featured on national recordings.
Anderies attended Mesa State College and North Texas State University where he majored in jazz studies and flute performance, later graduating from Metro State College in Denver with degrees in flute performance and music education. Subsequently, he obtained his
masters degree at the University of Colorado in music education and saxophone.
For the past 20 plus years, he has been teaching music in Douglas County and Denver public schools. As Anderies says, “I love being able to share professional aspects of music with the kids.”
A former resident of Castle Pines Village, Anderies now resides in Denver. During the past 23 years, he has been developing the “Music Beyond Borders” concept and curriculum for elementary students. This features an overlay of technology assisted jazz instruction, call and response improvisation work, and professional mentor integration with beginning instrumentalists. Anderies is now in the process of expanding these concepts in his new assignment at RHMS.
Anderies has served as Colorado president of several jazz education organizations and has been involved with teaching at noted jazz camps as well as the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts mentoring program. He continues to work as a music, band and jazz clinician and mentor for youth of all ages and levels. His clinics on techniques for improvisation have been featured at numerous jazz festivals.
Anderies continues to perform occasionally as time allows. Anderies favorite weapons of choice are tenor and soprano saxophone as well as alto flute. Anderies played tenor sax to sold out audience with the Jim Stranahan Septet at Dazzle Restaurant & Lounge in Denver last month (pictured left). Dazzle was voted Best Live Music by 5280 Magazine for 2010. To find out more about Dazzle’s jazz performances, visit their website at www.dazzlejazz.com.
