ABOUT ME
Who is Barbara Retzko?
Effective July 1, 2020, Barbara Retzko retired from the position of full-time Director of Choral Activities at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA where she led the award-winning Ridge Chorale, Concert Choir and A Cappella Choir Honors. From 2000-2002 she served as Choral
Director at the International School of Düsseldorf, Germany where her singers performed in Honor Choirs in Den Hague, Netherlands; Stavanger, Norway and Berlin, Germany. In May 2002, May 2006 and May 2019, she was chosen as Guest Conductor for International Honor Choirs in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland. From 2006-2013, Barbara served as Associate Professor at Rutgers University (Douglass College campus), directing the Voorhees Choir.
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Barbara Retzko possesses a strong commitment and dedication to the Choral education of all singers. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Trenton State College, New Jersey and her Master of Arts, Summa cum laude, in Choral Conducting from the same.
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She is a member of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME) and has served on the state board of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) representing Repertoire & Standards – Senior High School and Women’s Choirs. In retirement, she will continue to serve the New Jersey All-State Choral Procedures Committee as Audition Registration Manager and Historian. Barbara lives in Bernardsville, New Jersey with her amazing husband, Rick.
Guest Conductor Achievements
Awards and Accolades
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1991 New Jersey All-State Mixed Chorus
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1998 New Jersey Region II Mixed Chorus.
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2002 Independent School Choral Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina,.
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2002 International Honors Choirs in Zurich
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2006 International Honors Choirs in Zurich
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2008 Sussex County Chorus
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2009 Region II Women’s Choir
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2011 New Jersey All-State Women’s Chorus
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2017 All-Eastern Treble Honors Choir
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2019 International Honors Choirs in Zurich
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Governor's Teacher Award for Teacher of the Year at Ridge High School in 1998
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first Excellence in Arts Education Award from the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission in 2005.
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Master Music Teacher by the New Jersey Music Educators Association and received a Distinguished Leadership and Service Award 2008 & 2015.
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American Music Abroad RED Tour to Europe Conductor 1998, 1999, 2006, 2011 and 2018.
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Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence and Commitment to the Arts in Bernards Township.