Students from across much of western Pennsylvania came together February 7–9 at Hickory High School under the direction of Dr. Jungho Kim to put together a performance worthy of a standing ovation.
Beaver Area was represented at PMEA District 2, 3, 5 Orchestra Festival by six musicians: sophomores Eric Bouwers (cello) and Shawn Bouwers (violin); junior Josh Dahma (tuba); and seniors Anthony Tabone (bassoon), Cailin Downer (flute), and Ian McCarty-Cogis (bass).
The guest conductor, Dr. Kim, has nothing short of an astounding resume. Born in Seoul, Korea, Kim earned his masters degree in violin performance, and has gone on to conduct orchestras in Canada, Hungary, Italy, and found himself standing in front of 128 high school students.
Thirty schools participated in the District 2, 3, 5 Orchestra. The reasoning behind the combined districts, different from all other district festivals, is just a numbers game—many of these schools are small and have limited numbers of students in orchestra programs, if their school has one at all. Some students only study with private instructors and are involved in other youth orchestras local to them.
Don’t be led astray though. This festival’s “orchestra” is really a symphony orchestra meaning both strings and wind instruments play together.
Upon arrival at the festival, students auditioned for section seating order and the chance to advance into Western Region Orchestra. The following students scored high enough and will perform later in March at Butler: Eric Bouwers, Shawn Bouwers, Dahma, Downer, and McCarty-Cogis.
If you’ve followed along from the other music articles this year, I’m sure you’re dying to know if and what food items were passed around at this festival (remember the potato?).
Luckily for you, musicians had three separate items make their way around the ensemble: a mini can of Mug root beer, a coconut with sunglasses, and, of course, a sweet potato (with the bites taken out of it and everything).
Over the long days of practice, students worked on a contemporary piece composed by Lincoln Park teacher Todd Goodman, three pieces written by Johannes Brahms, and finally one selection by Jean Sibelius (a whole 14 minutes long!).
Dr. Kim shared with students that for many of us, we have two vocal cords that vibrate together that allow us to speak. He however only has one vocal cord, so he challenged the students to really listen both around the ensemble and especially to him.
He led the festival with great musical advice and personal anecdotes from his life experiences.
Dahma commented on his first orchestra performance, saying, “I always enjoy attending PMEA festivals because all the musicians there are motivated to do their best, and they all want to be there.”
Many schools in the area don’t offer many opportunities for creating symphonic music, something many musicians look forward to about this festival in particular.
Ian McCarty-Cogis, who went all the way to the State convention last year, said, “I thought the best part of PMEA was the people I connected with and got to perform with.”
Comments and similar sentiments are heard at festivals quite often. With the number of schools these events pull together, students get the opportunity to meet fellow musicians from all over the state but who are all there for the same purpose.
Dahma also spoke on the mindset shift pre and post audition saying that “There’s sort of a competitive nature to see who can do the best in their auditions to advance, but afterwards, everyone is so nice to each other and there is such a nice group mentality both on the stage and off.”
Follow the ECHO and follow the musicians to Western Region Orchestra!