Apr. 20—The sounds of a concert about to start — the trills of singers warming up, the noodling of orchestra members — can be heard across the commonwealth today, metaphorically speaking at least.

They can literally be heard at the Kalahari Convention Center in Pocono Manor, where high school virtuosos began arriving Wednesday for the annual Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Festival.

Among the prodigies of percussion, the woodwind wunderkinds and the euphony experts of all sorts are nine students from local school districts representing Crawford County among the best of the very best that high school music has to offer in Pennsylvania.

Conneaut Area Senior High (CASH) Band Director Glenn Cameron had the group's three CASH students in mind when he offered an evaluation, but he could just as easily been talking about all of the performers.

"All of the kids," he said, "are hard working, outstanding musicians."

The payoff of that hard work — the trip to Pocono Manor — is worth it, according to Meadville Area Senior High (MASH) Director of Choirs Molly Moyer.

"For the kids it's wonderful," she said. "They are singing or playing with the kids who are the best in the state of Pennsylvania, getting one of the best musical experiences possible."

Already, the 650 students participating are well into two days of rehearsals that will ready them for two days of concerts that, for many of the seniors participating, will cap their scholastic musical careers.

Though each participant is limited to participating in one of the ensembles at the All-State Festival due to the logistics of rehearsals and the finite time available for preparation and performance, several local students qualified for more than one.

Among the group was one triple threat: Katherine Gillette, a CASH sophomore who was all-state in band, chorus and orchestra.

"Katie was the only student from CASH to advance to Region Orchestra and the first since consolidation to qualify for state orchestra," Cameron said of the young trumpeter. Gillette, an alto 2, was also just the second student to qualify for three all-state ensembles in Cameron's 32 years with the district.

Joining Gillette in the chorus is Pasquale Mattera, who sings bass 1.

CASH's Katherine Miller was one of several double qualifiers, having made the all-state ensembles in both chorus and vocal jazz. The alto will be singing with the vocal jazz ensemble in Pocono Manor.

All three of the Cochranton Junior-Senior High musicians headed to the All-State Festival were double qualifiers in both chorus and band. Seniors Spencer Freysinger, a bass 1 vocalist and trumpet player, and Kyran Miller, an alto 1 and a euphonium player, and junior Amanda Merritt, a soprano 2 and euphonium player, qualified for All-State Chorus when the regional chorus festival was held at MASH in February.

A brass band with just the three Cochranton horn players might not make much of a visual impression by marching, but they would likely be pleasing to listen to: Freysinger qualified as first chair at the Region 2 Band Festival held in March at Marion Center High, Miller was first chair as well, and Merritt was just two seats away from Freysinger in qualifying as the third trumpet chair. They trio will be singing with the All-State Chorus because those auditions were held first, according to Cochranton Band Director Carl Miller.

MASH sent two musicians to the festival: Cooper Breckenridge, a junior tenor 2, will sing in the chorus, and Avi Maisner, a junior euphonium player, will play in the concert band (the euphonium, part of the brass family of instruments, typically has four valves and plays tenor to the tuba's bass).

Breckenridge was competing on his home field in qualifying for chorus when the regionals were held at MASH, but Moyer said that's not always the advantage it might be in athletic competitions.

"Oftentimes when a festival is hosted, the kids don't do as well," she said. "They're so invested in helping with the festival, they lose track of the demands of the audition process."

Things worked out well for Breckenridge, however, who was seated as the third chair in his section of 20 tenors.

Things didn't work out too badly for Maisner, either, who was the second chair euphonium player. MASH Band Director Armond Walter said Maisner also plays the trombone — she placed first at the district-level jazz festival on the instrument — and plays the sousaphone for the school's marching band.

"She's definitely a leader for our musical ensembles," Walter said, citing perseverance as key to Maisner bouncing back from missing the cut for regionals last year by one place. "She's been very driven to be successful and to master the parts she's playing."

Only 18 students in the state perform in the All-State Jazz Ensemble, noted Jamie Gardner, director of bands at Maplewood Junior-Senior High, and in a typical year, the ensemble draws heavily from the state's metropolitan areas.

This year, one of those 18 is from a rural part of the state: Maplewood's Jeffrey Schmid will play trombone in the ensemble.

Schmid and his fellow jazz specialists will have their chance to swing along with the vocal jazz ensemble Friday evening in the festival's first concert at Pocono Mountain West High. The concerts move to the Kalahari on Saturday, first with a morning concert featuring the wind ensemble and the chorus. The performances conclude with the concert band and orchestra concert Saturday afternoon.

"Coming together for a unique performance experience like the PMEA All-State Festival is a top honor for student musicians in Pennsylvania," said Scott Cullen, PMEA president and music educator in Octorara Area School District. "What these students can do as an ensemble in a few short days and hours together is truly remarkable."

PMEA All-State Festival qualifiers from local districts and the ensembles in which they will participate:

Conneaut Area Senior High

Chorus

Katherine Gillette, alto 2

Pasquale Mattera, bass 1

Vocal Jazz Ensemble

Katherine Miller, alto

Cochranton Junior-Senior High

Chorus

Spencer Freysinger, bass 1

Alison Merritt, soprano 2

Kyran Miller, alto 1

Meadville Area Senior High

Chorus

Cooper Breckenridge, tenor 2

Concert Band

Avi Maisner, euphonium

Maplewood Junior-Senior High

Jazz Ensemble

Jeffrey Schmid, trombone 2

Mike Crowley can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at mcrowley@meadvilletribune.com.