On Oct. 20, students participated in PMEA All-District choir auditions held at Williamsport Area High School. PMEA is a non-profit organization that supports music education in Pennsylvania. PMEA organizes festivals for bands, orchestras, and choirs at the district, regional, and all-state level. 

 Students are able to advance to the next level in the festival by singing in a blind acapella audition. Judges score the students based on tone, rhythm, and musicality. PMEA’s goal is to promote music education and musical development for all students in PA. The organization also advocates and believes in lifelong learning in music, a push for high-quality programs, and helping music educators with their needs. 

Eleven students in the high school auditioned, all of which qualified to compete in the festival for districts and are then able to audition for the festival for regionals. One Williamsport student who participated in the auditions, Caroline Pelly, claimed that “PMEA is a great learning experience to get more information about choral singing…it’s a good opportunity to show what we learn in choir class since our school has such an amazing choir program.” 

Another participating student, Johanna Pelly, added that “You can meet other people from other schools who have a shared love for music.”