MAHANOY CITY - After only rehearsing hours prior, band and orchestra students from Schuylkill, Berks and Carbon counties performed in the Mahanoy Area High School auditorium on Friday night.
The concert, which featured 110 band students and 20 orchestra students, all in grades 5 and 6, was the 2012 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 10 Elementary Band and Orchestra Fest.
PMEA is a statewide nonprofit organization of more than 5,000 members that is dedicated to promoting the musical development of all Pennsylvanians.
Coming from 30 schools, the students were nominated by their band and orchestra directors and arrived in Mahanoy City about noon Friday to practice the music for the concert.
PMEA District 10 First Vice President John Potlunas said that the festival was an opportunity to celebrate the work being done by students, teachers, parents and musical supporters, to promote the "great interrelated art and science of music."
"Without music teachers our radios would be quieter, our movies would contain only speech and the excitement that music adds to the scene would be limited to the drama and even our sporting events would be quieter," Potlunas said. "The silence would be deafening."
During the concert, first the District 10 Elementary Orchestra performed, followed by the District 10 Elementary Band, with the finale featuring the orchestra and band combined.
Both were led by guest conductors - Priscilla Hirschenhofer conducted the orchestra and Ann Cusano conducted the band.
Hirschenhofer taught strings and orchestras for more than 45 years, with 25 years at Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington, and is currently a member of the American String Teachers Association. Cusano recently retired from the Governor Mifflin School District, where she taught grades 4 through 6 band, woodwind and percussion lessons, and general music.
She is currently music supervisor for Genesius Theatre in Reading, where she performs regularly as a bassoonist and woodwind doubler, and maintains a private studio.
Schuylkill County students performing in the festival came from North Schuylkill, Tamaqua Area, Mahanoy Area, Blue Mountain, Tri-Valley, Pine Grove Area, Shenandoah Valley and Schuylkill Haven Area school districts.