Students selected for Region Band Festival
Two MAHS musicians were selected to perform in the 2026 PMEA Region III Band Festival.
“Pride of the Tribe” members attending the Region III festival included: Rayne Stevanus and Bella Delawder.
The Guest Conductor for the three-day festival was Dr. Julia Baumanis. Dr. Baumanis is the associate director of Bands at Rutgers University and the first female instrumental conductor at Rutgers University in its 259-year history.
Throughout the three days of intensive and rigorous rehearsals, musicians learned the following pieces: “Fanfare Politeia,” by Kimberly Archer; “A Hymn for Peace,” by Kevin Day; “Satiric Dances, I. Allegro Pesenate; II. Adagio Mesto; and Allegro Spumante,” by Norman Della Joio; “Illumination,” by David Maslanka; and “Fanfare – Hayabusa,” by Satoshi Yagisawa.
Participating in this festival was based on an audition process held during the PMEA District Band festival held earlier this year. Rayne Stevanus was selected for Tuba, Bella Delawder was selected for Horn 4. 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, McConnel;lsburg, 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.
For Rayne, the opportunity to return to the Regional festival for a second year was an honor.
“Region Band pushed me to play better, stay focused, and be part of something bigger than just my own part. I made a lot of new friends and memories at this festival and I look forward to doing it all again next year,” she stated.
Bella said the selections the musicians worked on were difficult but a joy to learn and then to perform.
“We played the song ‘Fanfare Politeia,’ and the last time it was played for a concert was in the President’s very own band for the 59th presidential inauguration. Dr. Baumanis gave us songs to shop around as an ensemble and we loved all the songs so much that we played all of them extremely well. The concert’s theme was more on the political standpoint yet it is her hope for music in the US that music could bring us together as a society,” Bella explained.
Katie Howard, Director of Bands, said she was proud of these two young ladies for their efforts and success at the festival.
“I’m very proud of the way that Rayne and Bella represented our school at Region Band. They rose to the challenge of performing very difficult pieces of music and did so with excellence. They both worked very hard prior to this festival and left for auditions last Wednesday being able to confidently walk into the audition room. Many people don’t realize how nerve-wracking it can be to perform individually before a panel of judges. Students are given the entire folder of music to rehearse and are only told at the audition time what excerpts they will be playing for the judges. I find this process to be incredibly stressful and I’m always impressed with how our students conduct themselves when under pressure,” she explained. “Both girls ranked well in their auditions and when I think about this year’s PMEA festival circuit, I’m proud of the effort that’s been put forth and am excited to watch them excel again next year. They’ve already begun practicing the audition music for November!”