(MADISON, NJ) -- Alto saxophonist/educator Julius Tolentino received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Jazz Education from DownBeat Magazine in 2024, the same year his Newark Academy jazz band, Chameleon, won first place in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Essentially Ellington competition. Tolentino is in his 19th year as NA's Jazz Director, and this year he has the added responsibility of Arts Department Chair, overseeing an Arts program that also encompasses theater, dance, and visual art.