Community Happenings – Pennsylvania Music Educators Association

To submit your community happenings announcement for consideration, please fill out this form.

For Professional Development hosted by PMEA or NAfME, see the Professional Development Opportunities page of the PMEA Website.

East Coast Band Conference

After a postponement of three years due to the coronavirus pandemic, the eleventh East Coast Band Conference will again be hosted by the Ringgold Band in Reading, PA. The date will be Saturday, March 11, 2023.

The conference, dedicated to band history and repertoire, will consist of 30-minute talks from 9 a.m. until noon and an open rehearsal of rare band works from 2 to 4 p.m. Both events will take place in the Ringgold Band’s rehearsal room at 3539-A Freemont St., Laureldale, PA 19605. The rehearsal room is a veritable museum of Ringgold Band history and by extension Reading band history. There is ample free parking at the site. Members of the Ringgold Band, directed by Chuck Ebersole, will form the core of the players at the rehearsal.

You are encouraged to bring your instrument and augment the band. If you choose to do so, please write to Chuck Ebersole at 147 Walnut St., Mohnton, PA 19540 or email him at chucksfz@gmail.com and let him know.

The conference is free of charge and there is no formal
registration. In order to estimate attendance, however, please notify H.E. “Kit” Crissey, Jr. at hcrissey45@gmail.com of your intent to attend.

Susquehanna University High School Composition Competition | Deadline: Friday, Jan. 20, 2023 at 6 p.m.

Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland high school students currently in grades 9-12 are invited to enter a composition competition hosted by the Department of Music at Susquehanna University. Learn more about Composition at SU.

The composer of the winning piece will receive a $1,000 prize and an invitation to the premier of their piece at Susquehanna in the spring of 2023 (March/April).

Submission Specifications

Works must be for two to seven performers and three to 10 minutes in duration.
Instrumentation is flexible, although standard classical instruments are preferred. For example, a work for two singers, piano, flute, violin and percussion would be preferred over a work for four electric guitars and organ, although that work would still be eligible.
Submissions must be made electronically and should include both a notated score (PDF) and a recording (mp3). The recording may be computer-generated or from a live performance or reading session.
Submissions will be evaluated based on musical quality, originality and appropriateness for performance by undergraduate music majors (student chamber ensemble).

Winners will be contacted by February 20, 2023. Winners and runners-up will receive feedback from the jury. Please contact Patrick Long, professor of music, with any questions.

Hip-hip duo’s Creating a Joyful Noize program at the heart of instructional materials

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State invites you to consider three unique opportunities for your learners. Multimedia creative and hip-hop duo Soul Science Lab presents a way for you and your students to take a deep dive into its process of creating uplifting, educational, inspirational messages through hip-hop songwriting.

The three-part program consists of a screening of Soul Science Lab’s documentary film Creating Make a Joyful Noize, followed by a question-and-answer session; songwriting and music production curriculum; and an in-person School-Time Matinee event.

Learn more here.