Region Band Festival

The Meyersdale Area High School music program continues to shine as six musicians recently participated and performed in the 2025 PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) Region III Band Festival. Hosted by the Altoona Area School District, this prestigious event welcomed student-musicians from 50 other school districts.

“Pride of the Tribe” members attending the Region III festival included: Hope Canfield, Rayne Stevanus, Mallory Emerick, Amber Long and Ryan Sechler. Nolan Easton, a member of the MAHS Jazz and Marching bands, was also in attendance, representing the Salisbury-Elk Lick School District.

The guest conductor for the three-day festival was Dr. Russell McCutcheon. McCutcheon is the Director of Bands in the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College. In addition to an outstanding body of work as an educator, instructor and conductor, McCutcheon is also the author of a series of best-selling books Teaching Music through Performance in Bands.

Throughout the three days of intensive and rigorous rehearsals, musicians learned the following pieces: “Tuttarana,” by Reena Esmail; “O Magnum Mysterium,” by Morten Lauridsen, tr. Reynolds; “Prelude, Siciliano and Rondo,” by Malcom Arnold; “Forward/Still,” by Omar Thomas; and “Slava!”, by Leonard Bernstein, arranged by Clare Grundman.

Participating in this festival was based on an audition process held during the PMEA District Band festival held earlier this year. Ryan Sechler was selected for his talent playing the euphonium; Rayne Stevana for the tuba; Hope Canfield for the baritone saxophone; Nolan Easton was selected for cornet II; Amber Long was selected for cornet III; and Mallory Emerick was selected for the flute I section.  They joined the talented ranks of nearly two hundred students from the following school districts: Altoona, Bald Eagle, Bedford, Bellefonte, Bellwood-Antis, Berlin, Bishop Guilfoyle, Bishop McCort, Blacklick Valley, Bucktail, Cambria Heights, Central (Spring Cove), Central Cambria, Central Mountain, Claysburg-Kimmel, Clearfield, Conemaugh Township, Curwensville, Everett, Ferndale, Forest Hills, Greater Johnstown, Hollidaysburg, Huntingdon, Johnstown Christian, Juniata, Juniata Valley, McConnellsburg, Mifflin County, Mount Union, North Star, Northern Bedford, Northern Cambria, Penn Cambria, Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola, Portage, Richland, Rockwood, Shanksville, Somerset, Southern Fulton, Southern Huntingdon, State College, Sugar Valley, Tussey Mountain, Tyrone, West Branch, Westmont Hilltop and Williamsburg.

Mallory Emerick said the experience was unforgettable. “It is very humbling to be in a room with so many talented people who are almost all better than you, and who work just as hard or harder than you do. It is a completely different experience from any other band I’ve been in, and even though the long days are exhausting, my time spent there and the friends I have made will be remembered and cherished for a long time.”

For Rayne Stevanus, attending Region Band was a thrill. “I had a wonderful experience and look forward to achieving this goal in the future,” she explained. “One of the very best parts was getting to hear a concert by the Altoona Brass and getting to meet Jerry Berry, he’s awesome!”

Senior Hope Canfield said the experience was a highlight of her high school career. “I had so much fun at Region band! I am truly blessed to have the honor to attend such a prestigious honor band. There is nothing quite like playing alongside so many students who are as passionate as you in the music industry. The director was very engaging and made the 17 hours of rehearsal fly by!”

Amber Long added, “Region band was so fun, I met a lot of new people. The songs were really fun to play, and we sounded good all together. The guest conductor was really fun to be around. I really enjoyed the trip.”

Katie Howard, director of bands, said selection for the Region Band Festival is a highly competitive process and demonstrates the talent, skill and dedication these students have for music.

“I’m incredibly proud of all of the students who represented our school at Region III band this year. The opportunity that they had to rub shoulders with other outstanding musicians in our part of the state, combined with a great guest conductor, gave them a wonderful experience that I’m sure they will remember for many years to come.”