Congratulations to senior Ben Allen (trumpet) and sophomores Michael Chou (violin) and Claire Samaha (saxophone) on being selected to join the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 11 2020-2021. The students were chosen from a pool of hundreds of students who auditioned from schools across Bucks and Montgomery counties.

Ben, who has been playing trumpet since the 4th grade, is a veteran of the PMEA; he was also selected last year. He noted that this year's virtual experience was very different compared to last year's. He missed the intensive three-day, in-person auditioning process and hopes he can experience something like that again. He enjoyed the "huge powerful sound machine" that comes from an ensemble of over 100 people. Ben is also part of the local Youth Philadelphia Sinfonia and is still looking at college options, with Temple at the top. He doesn't think music will ultimately be his career choice. He is considering Environmental Sciences as his major and hopes to be part of an ensemble in college.

Claire has been playing the alto saxophone for seven years. In choosing her instrument, she knew she wanted to play a woodwind instrument and was drawn to the saxophone when her cousin sent her one from Minnesota. Claire was inspired by her sister, who also participated in the PMEA, and it became Claire's goal to join after learning more about it in fifth grade. "It was nice to finally do it this year and achieve what I wanted to achieve," Claire said. She is very much looking forward to auditioning again next year and having the chance to be around other musicians in person. Moving forward, she's not sure if she wants to aspire to a career in music, but she is certain she wants music to be a part of her life. "It's something that I really enjoy doing, and it's special to me," she said.

Michael started playing violin when he was a toddler, gaining valuable instruction from his father, who is a professional violinist and conductor. Michael jokes about the free lessons. "Currently I owe my dad about $400k!" he said. After successfully being selected this year, he plans to focus on the All-State auditions as his next step. He appreciated Middle & Upper School music teacher Carl Bradley's help wading through the audition information, which Michael described as somewhat confusing. While Michael doesn't see himself pursuing a musical career, he says that he will, "always support the arts and use music as a form to express myself."

Ben said that working with Mr. Bradley helped, "change my perspective in music" and "make mature musical decisions." He noted that Mr. Bradley's ability to emphasize the emotional connection to the music has a profound impact and is not something most teachers do. Claire is also in Jazz Band and Orchestra with Mr. Bradley. While she labels herself a classical musician, she said that Jazz band has been "freeing." "It's cool to see other people improvise. That's something really new to me. It's been a good experience," Claire said.

The PMEA is an affiliate of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and its membership includes all levels of public, private, parochial, college and university, as well as retired music educators, administrators, and music industry representatives from throughout the area. The PMEA sponsors several honors ensembles annually throughout Pennsylvania. There are three levels of ensembles for Band, Orchestra, and Choir that students may audition for: District, Region, and All-State. The organization aims to advance the study of music education throughout the commonwealth and encourage excellence in the study and teaching of music. The association supports and promotes quality music education through statewide workshops, conferences, performances and festivals.

Congratulations to Ben, Claire, and Michael!

Pictured from right: Claire Samaha, Michael Chou, Ben Allen