The TI:ME Teacher of the Year for 2008 was announced at our National Conference in Grand Rapids Michigan, January 24-26, 2008. Congratulations to Ace Martin.
Ace Martin Bio
This year’s recipient of the Mike Kovins Teacher of the Year is Ace Martin.
Mr. Martin’s interest in electronic music began as an inquisitive teacher exploring what the development of MIDI might mean for his students and the future of music education. He started pursuing the study of electronic music in a professional development class with Don Muro (now a TI:ME Instructor) at the University of Florida one summer and the rest is history! Ace has been on the forefront of using new ideas in Electronic Music with his students and has inspired them to embrace the creativity and uniqueness that Electronic Music holds for them.
After 5 years of consistently trying to influence administrators and county technology personnel, his school began offering classes in Electronic Music 1998. Those classes have grown from one class per year to now having a 23-station tech lab that is used during every class period of every day. Ace starts by providing first year students with a survey of all available programs that will help them with theory, musical skills, and performance. The school has even added a full-blown recording studio using the latest HD version of ProTools. Working together with an on-campus TV/Film department can create a variety of music for all types of media. In advanced courses, students generate a variety of music for CD, Film, and commercials.
Mr. Martin thrives on inspiring creativity and providing hands-on experience in this medium. Most of all, Mr. Martin’s pride-and-joy are students who have studied electronic music at Douglas Anderson and are now successful in their musical ventures (including Ace’s son Matthew who, as a student Florida State, is a budding film composer and at age 18 has already written music for 4 films incorporating tools he learned in electronic music).
Ace Martin has been on the forefront of developing the Instrumental Music Department as department chair at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville, FL for 23 years. In his tenure, Ace has taught or directed Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Theory, and Electronic Music. His performing groups have consistently made superior ratings at District, National, and International Festivals. This past year, his Jazz Band was featured in a documentary film directed by Bruce Broder that follows the band’s journey to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival, where his band won the competition. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007. His Jazz Band had also had the honor of performing at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. (Ace performed at the same clinic as a part of the St. John’s River City Band.)
Ace Martin received a Bachelor of Music Education, and Master of Music Degree in Trumpet Performance from Florida State University. Mr. Martin has a wide background in both music education and performance. As a professional musician, Mr. Martin has pursued a varied background in classical and jazz. He has been a member of numerous symphony orchestras in Florida and Georgia, is a sought after soloist, has performed with many jazz artists, as a studio musician for commercials, and as a Broadway show pit-musician.
