Chuck Dettmar is in his 37th year as a music educator, and over the course of his career has served as a middle school and high school band director, as well as an Orchestra Director

and string teacher. He has also directed various pit orchestras over the years for shows such as South Pacific, West Side Story and Grease and has served as ensemble director for the

Columbus Saints, an indoor soundsport DCI drum corp. 

A 1981 Graduate of Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional High School, Mr. D. attended Susquehanna University where he received his Bachelor of Music degree, and has completed graduate studies at New Jersey City University, where he served as baritone saxophonist in the Symphony of Winds and Percussion under the direction of Nicholas Ceratto, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where he studied drum set technique with the great Marc Dicciani and Capital University, where he takes part in the annual band director clinics during the summer. Mr D. has always been into jazz, and studied jazz saxophone technique with the late, great Charlie Leads of the Louis Prima Big Band all through high school and college. In his professional life Mr. D. currently plays lead alto sax with the Knox Community Jazz Orchestra in Mount Vernon.

Mr. D’s parents are really to thank for his successes as they, even from a young age, were very supportive of his music studies and endeavors. His Mom and Dad loved to go into the city (NYC) and did so every few weeks. They would go to a jazz club, to a cabaret, to hear some jazz in the Village or maybe the Empire Room of the Waldorf Astoria to see the great Miss Peggy Lee… and he was lucky… they almost always asked him to tag along! “I was lucky. Before I was even 15 years old I had already personally met some great musicians including Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Mel Lewis, Maria Schneider, Cy Coleman and the lyricist Sammy Cahn, and it was all because of my parents”! As a band director and professional musician Mr. D. has also been fortunate enough to work with some other great musicians in their own rite. While at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia he was able to take seminars in music and had the chance to study jazz improvisation with Dennis DiBlasio (musician and arranger for Maynard Ferguson), Ed Sueta of the Ed Sueta Instrumental Music Series and Composer and arranger Dr. Quincy Hilliard.  He has also worked with and alongside Jazz Composer and Arranger Rich DeRosa (Currently of UNT), Andy Fusco (Former player for the 49’ers and lead alto sax for the Buddy Rich Band) and former student, Dave Heilman, currently touring with his own band in Norway.

“All of these people and experiences shaped who I have become, and have all helped, influenced and guided me in one way or another”. “What I try to do is pass-on my experiences and knowledge to my students… giving them just a little bit of what I’ve learned from everyone over the years. I think that’s what a good teacher does!

In his personal life Mr. D’s big hobby is wood working, home renovation and architectural design. He had a lot of classes in high school such as wood shop, auto shop, cabinet making,

drafting and architectural design and has a passion for it. He’s also an avid boogie boarder, but tends to spend just as much time these days body surfing the “not-so-big” waves anymore. This is only because he can’t stay upright on a surfboard any longer. Oh well!  Mr.D’s also an RV enthusiast, and whenever he’s not in Ohio making music he can be found RV-ing in places like

York Beach, Maine, Cape Cod, Myrtle Beach, the Outer Banks, The New Orleans French Quarter, Ormond Beach Florida and sometimes Tarpon springs, Florida.

Food? “Well, I’m from Jersey, ya know, and all my neighbors were Italian… Let’s see… ya had the Veninatas (their house always smelled like marinara sauce) the Canones (she had

homemade mozzarella (moots), pepperoni and prosciutto (proshute) and capicola (gabagol) hanging from her garage rafters, and of course my other neighbors the Calcagnos,

D’Annunzios, Minios, Sanguilianos and my very next door neighbor Angelina Decristifaro, who used to make me homemade pizzas for cutting her lawn (fugetaboutit)... so I guess Italian is my favorite food, and my favorite place to eat it is at Vincent’s on the corner of Mott and Hester St. in Little Italy (go for the fried calamari “galamad” with extra hot marinara on the side.  A very close second would be a great Jewish deli - for a piled-high tongue and corned beef sandwich on rye, or maybe a hot pastrami sandwich with extra kraut! Yeah… that’s the ticket!  Oh, almost forgot.. Gotta have my Jersey breakfast sandwich; Taylor ham (Trenton pork roll), egg and cheese on a hard roll.

Mr. D. loves teaching at Centerburg, loves working with the kids (most of the time) and wants the very best for them. He doesn’t want their “glory days” to be from high school, he

wants them to go out into the world and make a name for themselves… in whatever it is they wish to pursue! God bless!