Young Maestros of Keystone Central School District: Band Students Excel and Advance at PMEA Band Festival
By Emily Wright
High school band students within the Keystone Central School District recently showcased their exceptional talent and determination at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 4 Band Festival at Juniata Valley Junior-Senior High School in Alexandria, PA, from January 23-25, 2025. Several students from Central Mountain High School (CMHS), Bucktail Area High School, and Sugar Valley Rural Charter School (SVRCS) performed so well that they advanced to the Regional III Band Festival, which is set for March 5-7 at Huntingdon Area High School.
At Central Mountain, Ashley Crust, band director and instrumental music teacher, proudly shared with The Record that 10 of her students participated in this year’s District Band Festival, with seven of them advancing on to regionals. The talented students chosen to participate at the district level this year were Camden Mann, Jacob Flook, Erin Thompson, Seth Reitz, Sarah Long, Connie Samaniego, Tyce Greenwood, Samantha Darrow, Joseph Long, and Emily Bechdel.
The CMHS band students who qualified to move onto the next stage, the Regional III Band Festival, include Jacob Flook, Seth Reitz, Sarah Long, Tyce Greenwood, Samantha Darrow, Joseph Long, and Emily Bechdel, underscoring their musical dedication and growth.
In addition to the district band festival, Crust also had students compete at the Keystone String Fest, held on January 17, 2025, at Clearfield Area Jr./Sr. High School. Both CMHS and CMMS students attended, including Piper Grimes, Jocelyn Askey, Mateo Garcia Rivera, and Lorelei Douty from CMMS, and Josie Crawford and Xian Deems from CMHS.
Central Mountain’s musical talent and competitive spirit didn’t stop there—eight CMHS students also participated in the District Orchestra Festival in January at Westmont-Hilltop Jr./Sr. High School in Johnstown. These students were Ava Grimes, Chloe Corbin, Sarah Long, Connie Samaniego, Joseph Long, Seth Reitz, Erin Thompson, and Tyce Greenwood. Among them, Ava Grimes, Joseph Long, and Tyce Greenwood qualified for the Western Region Orchestra Festival at Richland High School in Johnstown, taking place from February 20 to February 22.
Crust is thrilled to announce that the auditorium at CMMS will echo with live music from students all around the central region this spring., stating, “I am hosting Sixth Grade Band Fest at Central Mountain Middle School on Friday, April 25. I’m excited to provide that opportunity to over 100 sixth graders from central Pennsylvania, and I anticipate that we will impress the many CMMS students who walk by the auditorium during our rehearsal time!”
While the band at Bucktail Area High School/Middle School may be small, the school’s band and choir director, Brandon Kahley, has made impressive strides in expanding student participation. When Kahley accepted his position at Bucktail in 2022, he had just five students enrolled in the band program. Since then, he’s focused on promoting the program and now has 17 band students with hopes of boosting participation each year as interest continues to grow.
Kahley expanded the band program to include younger students, generating interest earlier in their education and accommodating a more complex repertoire that requires multiple sections— a testament to his commitment to creating the sizable band that Bucktail has always featured. Because of Kahley’s efforts, the band program now spans from 4th to 12th grade, and although each year it loses its graduating senior members, he hopes to fill those spots with even more younger students as they move up. At the elementary and middle school levels, Kahley currently has 36 students participating in the band program, but students cannot participate in the PMEA District 4 Band Festival until they reach high school.
Kahley proudly sent five of his high school band students to the district competition this year, with two of them securing top positions in their sections, an achievement never before seen at Bucktail. The students who were selected to compete at the district competition this year were Martin Lewis in the Tuba section, Trenton Goodling in the Baritone section, Willow Kitchen, competing in the Clarinet section, Kedda Bissman in Percussion, and Michael Goss, in Trumpet II.
Kahley celebrated the success of Kedda Bissman and Michael Goss, who both earned principal chairs at districts and will head to the Regional III Band Festival in March, marking a very big achievement for a small-town school. Having two band students place first in their sections at the district level and move on to the regional competition is a historic moment for Bucktail.
Kedda Bissman, a junior at Bucktail, secured the principal chair in percussion at the PMEA District 4 Band Festival, taking the number one spot out of 10 other percussionists. Bissman is no stranger to Bucktail’s music programs; she will also participate in the District 4 Choir Festival at Huntingdon Area High School before heading to regionals. Originally scheduled to start on Thursday, February 6, the district choir competition was delayed due to bad weather and took place on Friday, February 7, and Saturday, February 8, concluding with a concert on Saturday.
Michael Goss, a Bucktail senior, secured first chair in the Trumpet II section in his third and final year of competing at districts, advancing him to the Regional III Band Festival. Notably, Goss has been playing the trumpet for nearly 10 years, a testament to his dedication to musicianship.
Kahley emphasized the significant role the district band festival plays in students’ musical education and growth. “Coming from a small school, these festivals give our students a chance to play more challenging and interesting repertoire,” he said. He highlighted the noticeable improvement when students return from a district competition: “When they get back, they sound better, and they play better, and this happens every year after a festival.”
During the district band festival, students have the opportunity to play alongside peers with various skill levels while learning more advanced music, which inspires them to further excel with their instruments. Kahley hopes that the PMEA District 4 Band Festival experience instilled a sense of pride in the five Bucktail students who participated, recognizing the hard work required to be chosen to compete at the district level.
At Sugar Valley Rural Charter School (SVRCS), band director Joe Mauck was excited to send two of his highly-skilled band students, Nasier Staton and Noah Smith, to the District 4 Band Festival this year and proudly reported that one of them advanced to regionals.
In his first year competing at the District 4 Band Festival, 10th-grade band student Nasier Staton placed 6th out of seven participants in the Alto Sax section. Noah Smith, a junior at SVRCS who competed in the Trumpet II section, took 3rd chair out of 5 other students, paving the way for him to the regional competition. Smith will also participate in the PMEA District 4 Chorus Festival before heading to regionals.
Mauck highlighted that the district band festival provides students with invaluable experiences and feedback from the judges, which significantly impacts their musicianship. Students audition in front of panels of judges and receive feedback from them before the festival ends. “The auditions are an extremely stressful process, but it gives the students extremely specific feedback from someone other than their band director, so it really helps to solidify what they need to work on,” Mauck explained.
He also emphasized the educational value of the festival, stating, “Districts contributes tremendously to the students’ musical education and growth because these students are working many, many hours on their own time after school, at home, during school hours, and during lessons to play the music that, in many cases, is much harder than the music the school itself puts on.”
To get another perspective on how district-level competitions enhance musicianship, The Record spoke with Sugar Valley’s choir director and music educator, Shelby Folmar. “For both band and chorus, it kind of gives them insight into what it’s like to play with a larger ensemble and work with other musicians of various skill sets,” Folmar said. “They learn how to work cohesively to play music that they haven’t attempted before.”
Regarding his students’ key takeaways from the festival, Mauck underscored his hope that they gain an understanding of the connection between music and emotion and how music can influence feelings. He also wants his district band students to return with renewed enthusiasm to keep honing their musical skills. Whether or not they advance to regionals, Mauck encourages his students to view districts as a valuable and unique learning experience. Folmar is hopeful that a key takeaway for the SVRCS district band students is that they’ve gained new perspectives and feel more passionate about making music.
In closing, the band directors wanted to announce that the Clinton County Band Festival, previously on hold due to COVID-19, was successfully revived by music educators from Bucktail, Central Mountain, and Sugar Valley. The festival is hosted at one of the three schools on a rotating basis each year, and Kahley excitedly announced that Bucktail Area H.S. will be hosting it on Monday, March 10, and Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
The festival features select students from instrumental programs at CMHS/CMMS, Bucktail, and SVRCS. Music educators from each school also join their students on stage for a performance at the end of the event.
To catch a glimpse of the young musical talent within the Keystone Central School District, be sure to mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 11, and head to Bucktail High School to watch the Clinton County Band Festival concert at 6:30 p.m. While this event is not affiliated with PMEA, students from CMMS/CMHS, Bucktail, and SVRCS participate similarly to the way they did at the District 4 Band Festival.
As the highly skilled instrumental students from all three schools continue to hone their skills or prepare for the next level of the competition, their accomplishments at the district festival continue to resonate and instill a sense of pride in their local communities.
