TOWAMENCIN – “If there is something wrong with music education, I don’t know what it is if we can do this in 48 hours,” stated Dr. Gregory Martin, guest conductor for the PMEA District 11 band.

Each year, the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association conducts auditions throughout the state to compose selective ensembles throughout the districts of Pennsylvania. This year, North Penn High School was chosen as the host school for the District 11 Band Festival, meaning that it would house musicians from thirty-two different schools to rehearse for the Thursday and Friday prior to their culminating concert Friday night, January 9th. Fourteen students were selected from North Penn and host director Mr. Mike Britcher selected additional students from North Penn to join the ensemble. On Wednesday night, members participated in re-auditions for   Pennsylvania’s regional select ensemble and eight North Penn students were chosen to move on to this level of musicianship.

Visiting students spent Wednesday and Thursday night in hotels allowing for the maximum amount of time for preparation as they rehearsed from early in the school day to mid-evening throughout Thursday and Friday. Students had received the music beforehand, but this past week was the first time they had ever played together as a full ensemble. This fact would never have been guessed by the audience Friday night as the band performed an unbelievably difficult repertoire with incredible precision, skill, and talent.

“They have been wrecking me emotionally with that for the past two days, they just play it so well,” expressed Dr. Martin after the band’s performance of Robert Sheldon’s “A Longford Legend,” a sentiment that was certainly shared by an audience that erupted in thunderous applause at its conclusion.

Attacking a lighter selection of up-tempo fanfares for the first portion of the concert, the band saved their most emotional content for after the intermission, diving into John Mackey’s “Aurora Awakes,” a selection that left their now beloved director Martin in tears. As the performance came to a close, the band members looked out on one of the most packed audiences a music event at North Penn has ever seen giving them an uproarious standing ovation.

Speaking with North Penn flute player Cara Pearson after the concert she noted that “The intermission was for us, not the audience,” indicating how strenuous the band’s set list was on its players, not to mention their rigorous rehearsal schedule. Their hard work certainly did pay off though as the PMEA District 11 Band put on the performance of their lives, presenting an impressive showcase of the talent held in Pennsylvania’s music programs.