Ten of the eleven students Armstrong High School sent to this year’s District Band Festival were selected to advance to Region Band in late February. 

“This was the most prepared group I’ve ever had going into a district band festival. You never know if that will completely translate in an audition, but in this case, it did in spades,” said AHS Band Director and Music Department Chair Mr. Jason Venesky in a Facebook post. 

The AHS musicians that attended District Band were Austin Stello, 12; Hailey Sellers, 12;  Caroline Holm, 12; Nathan Ferraro, 12; Zakk Boyer, 12; Abby Marcinek, 12; Madison Crossley, 11; Zoey Dobrosky, 11; Xabien Shoup, 10; Cara Campbell, 10; and Amber Bartl, 10. All but the latter will advance to Region Band. 

Five of the AHS students chaired first in their respective parts: Zakk Boyer, oboe 1; Abby Marcinek, clarinet 3; Hailey Sellers, bass clarinet; Austin Stello, cornet 1; and Nathan Ferraro, trombone 2.

Zakk Boyer, Hailey Sellers, and Austin Stello placed first in their overall sections based on the ranks they received via auditions. Zakk and Hailey both attended the  All-State Festival last year. 

The 2023 Pennsylvania Music Educator Association (PMEA) District III Band Festival took place at West Shamokin Junior-Senior High School in mid-January. About thirty schools from Armstrong, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson, Venango, and Forest counties attended the event.

This year’s PMEA Region II Band Festival will be held in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in late February. Thirteen counties from the northwestern Pennsylvania area are included in Region II. 

The songs that were performed at the concert were “Stillwater” by Kelijah Dunton, “An Epic Fanfare” by Julie Giroux, “A Longford Legend” by Robert Sheldon, “Radetzky March” by Johann Strauss, “Symphonic Dance No. 2” by Clifton Williams, and “Salute to P.M.E.A.” by Arthur D. Davenport.

On the day of the concert, power outages plagued West Shamokin Jr. Sr. High School and a majority of Armstrong County. The concert was delayed but continued despite the odds. At several intervals, the power was restored, but only temporarily. The performers played under the stage work lights that were powered by the school’s emergency generator.