Beaver County students to participate in all-state honors music ensemble

Scott Tady, USATNetwork
Updated ·2 min read

Five students from Blackhawk, Beaver, Riverside and Lincoln Park reached the highest level a high school musician can achieve by earning a place in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Festival music ensembles.

Those students: Skye Lanham and Adrianna Petraitis from Blackhawk; Devin Montileone of Riverside, Alexa Young of Lincoln Park; and Ian McCarty-Cogis of Beaver.

Blackhawk High School students Adrianna Petraitis and Skye Lanham (from left), along with three students from the Beaver, Riverside and Lincoln Park Performing Arts high schools, earned a place in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Festival music ensembles.
Blackhawk High School students Adrianna Petraitis and Skye Lanham (from left), along with three students from the Beaver, Riverside and Lincoln Park Performing Arts high schools, earned a place in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Festival music ensembles.

Lanham, a soprano, will perform with the All-State Chorus; Petraitis (oboe), Montileone (trumpet), Young (violin) and McCarty-Cogis (string bass) will perform with their corresponding all-state bands/ensembles.

Each year, thousands of high school musicians across the state audition in their geographic area. Individually, students perform for a panel of judges. Student musicians who rank the highest advance to compete against student musicians from other parts of PMEA Regions. The highest-ranking student musicians at the PMEA region level qualify to perform in one of six Pennsylvania All-State music ensembles.

“Coming together for a unique performance experience like the PMEA All-State Festival is a top honor for student musicians in Pennsylvania," PMEA president Scott Cullen said. "They represent all of the amazing music programs from across the commonwealth. What these students can do as an ensemble in a few short days and hours together is truly remarkable.”

“Reaching this level takes years of preparation and practice, as well as confidence and poise," said Maura Saint, choir director at Blackhawk High School. "We are proud to be able to offer these educational opportunities through the Music Department at Blackhawk High School.”

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The student musicians who qualify will perform at the annual PMEA All-State Festival at the Kalahari Resort in The Poconos, Pennsylvania April 19-22. Nationally recognized conductors at the convention direct the groups who rehearse for two days and conclude with a performance. Learn more about the event and the guest conductors at pmea.net/pmeaall-stateinformation/

PMEA is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the musical development of all Pennsylvanians.

This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Beaver County students to participate in all-state honors music ensemble