In December of 2023, several members of the GA Band and Orchestra successfully auditioned for PMEA Districts Band/Orchestra: Andrei Vava ‘24, Ethan Page ‘24, Dominic Perazza ‘25, Jianna Kim ‘25, Umang Mittal ‘25, Arthur Hu ‘26 and Rebecca Rong ‘26. PMEA, which stands for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, holds annual three-day festivals at the district, regional and state levels, where talented musicians from across the state practice and play together.
The Band festival took place from Jan. 10, to Jan. 12, and the Orchestra festival will take place from Feb. 8, to Feb. 9.
“My favorite part was meeting all the new people,” Kim, a flute player who earned first chair, the top placement in her section, said. “In PYO, which is the orchestra outside of school that I do, [everyone’s] from New Jersey or Delaware or farther away, so it was really cool to meet people who are in similar districts.”
Vava, a tenor saxophone player who also made first chair in his section, echoed Kim’s sentiment.
“I liked spending time with some of my friends,” Vava said. “I was there with [Arthur Hu ‘26], and we got to talk. It was also nice to meet new people, because I got to spend a lot of time with people who play the same instrument as me, so it was good to be able to bond in terms of music stuff.”
Rong, a violinist who will be participating in PMEA Orchestra for the second year in a row, added that she felt that being fully immersed in music for the duration of the festival was an immensely valuable experience.
“I think that the experience of playing with other musicians in an orchestra is something that is very important to being a musician,” Rong said. “Making music with other people is sort of like the epitome of classical music. There are so many great orchestral works and that requires the teamwork of many instruments together. I think district orchestra is a great way to get involved in that sort of stuff.”
Additionally, for Kim, in particular, the experience allowed her to explore different styles of playing, especially with her new role as the leader of her section.
“This year, I was able to experience being first chair,” Kim said. “Last year, I was third chair, so I was able to blend in more and learn how to support the first chair. But this year, it was cool to have the opportunity to play a solo and things like that, and it was nice to have experience trying to lead the way.”
However, the intensity and length of the festival, with rehearsals lasting for up to ten hours a day, can be a slight downside for some.
“In the moment, the rehearsals seemed really long and boring,” said Hu, an alto saxophone player. “After the experience was over, however, I realized how much I actually improved over the three days.”
Many of these musicians will start preparing audition materials and excerpts as early as the summer, to ensure they are ready for the extremely selective audition process.
“I started preparing over the summer a little bit, but then a few weeks into my practice, they decided to change the repertoire totally,” Rong said. “Before, they had a concerto that we were supposed to play, and then they changed that to some excerpts from orchestral pieces instead. I really started practicing hard about two months before the audition, which was just like, every single day.”
Kim and Vava shared similar experiences, both starting to prepare audition materials months beforehand and, at some points, practicing for over an hour each day.
Their hard work has evidently paid off, with a successful band concert and several students, including Vava, Kim, and Hu advancing to regionals, the next level of PMEA.
“The concert went pretty well,” Vava said. “I mean, there were some parts that I thought I wouldn’t get and I ended up getting them, and other parts, you know, it happens if you make a mistake you didn’t expect. But all in all, I think we performed well. It’s nice to see everything come together after a couple of days at work.”
Rong, whose festival hasn’t taken place yet, is looking forward to the festival and concert, inspired by her experiences in previous years.
“I’m looking forward to meeting a new guest conductor and seeing how they make the music, with their own interpretation, and have us be the ones to convey that to the audience,” Rong said. “I’m excited to make music with a lot of people and meet new musicians my age.”
For all of these musicians, PMEA has been a valuable experience in their growth as both musicians and people. It is one that they continue to participate in year after year.
“I would love to continue doing these auditions for the rest of high school,” Rong said. “I don’t know whether I’ll be playing the violin too much past school, so I really want to cherish these last years of playing music with my peers.”
“I guess I wasn’t really looking forward to it, to be honest,” Vava said. “I was like, I couldn’t really believe I had to spend three days practicing music, just going to the same school, but I think it was worth it and definitely worthwhile in the end.”
All in all, PMEA is an amazing experience for its participants to grow as musicians and as people and represents the culmination of months of hard work and dedication. Congratulations to everyone who made it!