In December, several students auditioned for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) ensembles, and some earned spots in the District Orchestra and Band. On Jan. 8-10, Jianna Kim ‘25 and Dominic Perazza ‘25 participated in the District Orchestra and qualified for regionals. Umang Mittal ‘25 and Arthur Hu ‘26, as well as Kim and Perazza, played in the District Band on Jan. 23-24.
The PMEA auditions gather tons of musicians from schools across the state. Essentially, the musicians audition and compete for a spot in Districts, a combination of District Orchestra and Band. After the auditions, the District Orchestra and Band Festivals are held respectively.
The Festival is led by a collegiate-level conductor and gathers all the musicians who qualified for the PMEAs to rehearse together. This year, the District Band Festival was held at Wissahickon High School.
“The students get to work with a conductor at a really high level, and they get to be with kids that are really into music. The ensemble sound is amazing,” All-School Band Director Mr. Jeremy Correnti said. “It’s an opportunity for us to do college-level stuff with people from peer schools.”
Although the competition is intense, PMEAs and Districts provide a good learning experience, allowing students to explore their shared passion for music.
“I get to be surrounded by people who also enjoy music,” Kim said. “It’s just an enjoyable experience.”
Though it may be a lot of work, it allows students to have time purely for their love of music, as well as developing various skills.
“PMEA Districts is a lot of playing,” Hu said. “It’s pretty long, but I think it’s beneficial because you get to have that time to just solely dedicate to playing your instrument for a few days.”
“I think it definitely has increased my stamina and ability to focus on music because we practice so much,” Kim said. “I feel like it’s important because it helps you appreciate music in general more.”
Preparing for the PMEA auditions and the district festivals requires consistent work and practice. Though managing both schoolwork and extracurricular activities alongside the demands of Districts is challenging, students have learned to adjust their practice schedules based on their workload.
“Usually I try to get my work done at school, and I just limit how much I actually practice,” Hu said. “I spent most of my practicing and learning during the summer, and then I just limited how much I practiced during the school year.”
Students learn to manage their time and prioritize certain things as they prepare for their auditions.
“If I have multiple tests the next day, maybe I might push [practicing] off,” Kim said. “But I would make up for it by practicing more the next day,” Kim said.
Districts and PMEAs provide young musicians with the valuable experience of being in a group of people with the same passion as them. It allows students to meet others like them in an environment that highlights their common interest in music.
“It’s pretty valuable because it puts you in a community, a community of everyone who’s invested in music,” Kim said.
“It’s just nice to play with other people who practice a lot and dedicate a lot of their time to music,” Hu said.
Districts are also an opportunity to lean into and experience leadership. It provides students with the valuable chance to see various ways of guidance in the musical world.
“If you get into one of those [district] ensembles, you get to work with different kinds of conductors, and you’ll see different styles of leadership,” Mr. Correnti said. “So when you put that conductor up in front of the room, the students can see how they lead the ensemble.”
Overall, the experience at PMEAs and District ensembles allowed students to grow in many different ways, as well as providing them with a chance to meet people with some of the same interests as them. It offers them a valuable opportunity to expand their musical horizons and introduces them to a more sophisticated level of playing.