TOWAMENCIN- The F-Pod hallway of North Penn High School is always alive with melodious voices and the tuning of instruments as they creep out of the hallway to be recognized by an audience outside of the North Penn community. Senior, Emma Moyer, singer, and junior Allison Yang, clarinetist, have been chosen to represent the North Penn School District’s musical talents in this year’s National Association for Music Education (NAFME) All National Honors Choir and Band. As Moyer grabs her choir folder and Yang packs her trusty clarinet, the pair will board a flight to sunny Orlando, Florida for four amazing days filled with fun, new people, and of course, music.

After auditions upon auditions for various groups, Moyer and Yang are ecstatic that their musical capabilities have taken them this far. The process of being selected for such a prestigious choir and band involve auditioning for districts, regions, all states, and a video audition for nationals. For each group made, the pair advanced to the next set of auditions in order to gain a musical experience like no other. Both Moyer and Yang were notified of their accomplishment mid-July and became  The group is extremely selective and limits the amount of spots available for high school musicians to keep each group perfectly balanced in each voice part and instrument group.

Emma Moyer, a now senior, has been singing since she joined her elementary school choir. It wasn’t until freshman year that she realized that singing beautiful arrangements and feeling the thrill of dynamics was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Her ninth grade self had grown an irreplaceable love for music, and it is imminent that her passion is not going anywhere.

“I went through all the phases every singer goes through. At first, I wanted to be a pop star, and then I wanted to be a Broadway star, and now I want to sing opera and teach choir.” laughed Moyer.

Although one day she hopes to teach a classroom similar to how Mr. Matthew Klenk (choral director) teaches her class, Moyer hopes that once she graduates from college, she gets the opportunity to sing in an opera. It’s clear that Moyer’s voice can be heard much further than the practice rooms located in the deepest corner or the chorus room. Her’s is a voice like no other alto’s. It carries grace and joy, reflected by her emotions when she sings. She is surprised yet thrilled at how far she has made it in her high school music career.

“I was in a state of shock. I am still not over the fact that I made chamber singers my sophomore year. It’s always been a dream of mine, and as I’m advancing, I find that I’m not having enough time to process the opportunities I am reaching. Nationals has been a dream that I’ve been trying to reach, and I never thought I would make it.” gushed Moyer when asked about her reaction from being selected for National Choir.

Moyer is one of the two altos selected from the state of Pennsylvania to participate in National Choir, and is excited for the independence and opportunity to meet many other talented musicians. In addition to the days spent with fellow music lovers and choir singers, Moyer is looking forward to the final performance when voices blend and perfect notes are matched into a beautiful symphony that reminds her just how much she loves music.

Junior, Ally Yang, is yet another extraordinary musician. Since students must audition to be in this group a year before, she auditioned as a sophomore and made first chair at all-states for playing the clarinet. Although it is a remarkable accomplishment, it certainly is not a surprise. Yang has been active with her musical talents from a young age. She started with the piano at age five and played at Carnegie Hall three times.

“I was a pretty competitive piano player. I’ve played for about ten years. Piano was my main instrument until eighth grade. After eighth grade, I decided to focus more on clarinet because I liked how you played in a group versus playing solo on the piano.” said Yang.

Yang originally wanted to play the bassoon, but on account of her parents saying it was too big, she chose the clarinet because it was similar. Once she picked a new instrument in the fourth grade, it wasn’t until middle school that she decided to take a break from the piano bench and move to first chair in band. She auditioned for the Philadelphia Sinfonia, a youth orchestra located in the city of brotherly love, and excelled at performances, chasing the thrill of improvement.

“I chose the clarinet because it’s a really melodic instrument. You can play low notes and high notes, and the solos are really fun because you can play fast and slow. It’s really expressive, and I found out that the more I practiced, I became better. Now, practicing isn’t a chore.” Yang explained.

Currently, Yang performs with the North Penn Wind Ensemble and loves every second of it. Every performance is a chance to improve herself, and Yang has certainly improved as she has surpassed her belief to excel at musical talents alike. Recalling the moment she was notified of being selected to perform at nationals, Yang was content with her accomplishment but had to suppress it.

“I was at a camp and I was actually taking a math class which I wasn’t paying attention to because I was checking my phone the whole time to get notified. When I found out, I was really happy but I couldn’t say anything because I was in the middle of class.” laughed Yang.

Although Yang has a passion for music, she plans on going into the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) field in college. She wants to focus on medicine, science, or math, but plans on joining her future college select music groups. After this experience, Yang will fulfill her high school musical dreams as she meets others her age who share her love and passion for quarter notes and time signatures.

The pair will spend November 26th to the 29th in Orlando soaking up the sun, energy, and most importantly experience from this educational event. North Penn is proud to have such talented musicians representing the NPSD music department across the entire nation, and looks forward to years of many more musicians being recognized for their talents and achievements.