KCSD Students Participate in PMEA Region III Band

Central Mountain Participants – Back row (l to r): Jacob Flook, Tyce Greenwood, Joseph Long, Seth Reitz; Front row (l to r): Samantha Darrow, Sarah Long, Emily Bechdel

All-State Band Qualifiers (l to r): CMHS junior, Jacob Flook (bass clarinet) and CMHS sophomore, Joseph Long (alto saxophone)

Bucktail Participants – McKenna Bissman, Michael Goss, and Bucktail Band Director Brandon Kahley

Nine KCSD high school students recently participated in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Region III Band Festival at Altoona Area High School. Bucktail students McKenna Bissman and Michael Goss, and Central Mountain students Emily Bechdel, Samantha Darrow, Jacob Flook, Tyce Greenwood, Joseph Long, Sarah Long, and Seth Reitz, spent two days in early March working under the masterful direction of Dr. Russell McCutcheon, Director of Bands in the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College. 

The KCSD students rehearsed with an ensemble of 185 of the best high school musicians in the central Pennsylvania region, which covers eleven Pennsylvania counties and stretches from Clinton County to the Maryland border. Through the audition process, Central Mountain students Jacob Flook and Joseph Long qualified for the All-State Band Festival and will be heading to Pocono Manor, PA, on April 9-12, to perform with the top musicians in the state. 

Both the Bucks and the Wildcats represented the Keystone Central School District proudly. The 1,200 seat auditorium at Altoona High was packed with family and friends and other supporters of the arts on Friday evening, March 7. At the conclusion of the concert, the band received a standing ovation for a truly superb performance.