To view information regarding the upcoming Honors Band festival, please refer to this site provided by host Jeff Kesser:

http://www.wmasd.org/webpages/jkesser/index.cfm?subpage=1665006

Dear Choir Director,

Welcome back. We hope that the upcoming year will be a memorable one for you and your students. We are very excited that the Belle Vernon Area and Elizabeth Forward School Districts will serve as the co-hosts for the 2014 PMEA District 1 Honors Choir Festival. Please read the following information carefully regarding the Festival and auditions. In order for your students to participate, you must be an active member of PMEA with current dues paid in full.

The festival will be held at Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center in Greensburg, PA on Friday, October 24 and Saturday, October 25 with the final performance at 2:00PM on Saturday afternoon. We will continue to follow the same structure as in the past few years with two separate choirs; an Honors Women's Choir and an Honors Men's Choir. The guest conductors for the Festival will be Dr. Peggy Dettwiler, director of choirs at Mansfield University conducting the Honors Women's Choir and Dr. Christopher Kiver, director of choirs at Penn State University conducting the Honors Men's Choir. Both conductors are well respected in the choral community and we look forward to seeing them work with all of our students.

Please note the following PMEA District 1 Honors Choir AUDITION information:

Date:  Monday, September 22, 2014
Location:  South Fayette High School
       3640 Old Oakdale Road
       McDonald, PA 15057
Registration:  3:00-4:30 pm in the theatre lobby
Director's Meeting:  4:30 pm in the choral room
Auditions:  5:00 pm
Cost:  $5.00 per student due at registration

**PMEA MEMBERSHIP CARD AND DIRECTOR FESTIVAL FORM REQUIRED @ REGISTRATION

AUDITION PIECE: Exsultate Deo by Allessandro Scarlatti edited by Norman Greyson, SATB, Bourne Co., Inc.

REHEARSAL TRACK:  Available on-line compliments of Angie Berna Milliren.  To access go to: http://www.efsd.net/webpages/amilliren/pmead1.cfm  Questions? Email Angie at amilliren@efsd.net.

FORMS FOR FESTIVAL: All forms and further communication will be made available on our google drive. Please forward all emails with festival question or concerns to districtonehonorschoir2014@gmail.com

Audition registration will begin at 3:00PM, the director meeting will begin at 4:30PM and auditions will begin promptly at 5:00PM. Students should report to the theatre and directors may report to the choral room, where food and beverages will be provided (Directors are asked to pay $5.00 each to offset the cost of the food).  Students may purchase food at the theatre reception booth. 

Please take a few moments to email Chris Elek (clelek@southfayette.org) the following information by Wednesday, September 10, so that she may better prepare for the auditions:

• Teacher Name and email contact information
  
• Approximate number of students attending
  
• Dietary restrictions for students and/or directors, if any.
  

If you have any questions or concerns regarding auditions, please contact Chris by email:  clelek@southfayette.org, or phone: (412) 221-4542, ext. 694. Any questions or concerns regarding the festival should be directed to Michael at michael.rozell@bellevernonarea.net or Angie at amilliren@efsd.net. 

A few quick reminders about auditions:

• There is a $5 audition fee per student to audition. Checks made payable to: PMEA District 1.
• STUDENTS MUST HAVE ORIGINAL COPIES OF THE AUDITION PIECE. PHOTOCOPIES ARE NOT PERMITTED.
• A starting pitch only will be given by the pitch pipe and like voice. We do not give students a count-off for them to begin.
• Restart: if a student stops before the midpoint, they may restart once from the beginning. Once the student passes the midpoint, they restart from the midpoint with a new pitch sounded for them. Students only receive one restart. They must finish the audition after re-starting.
• In order to be considered for representation, should none of your students be chosen for the choir, you must bring at least two students of different voice parts. Also, remember representation is optional. Numerous directors choose not to have students selected by representation if none make it by audition.
• Results of auditions will be posted on the PMEA website. Directors can check them at their convenience. The website address and password will be given out at the directors' meeting.
• All directors must be present for the entire evening of auditions.
• All music for the festival will be ordered from Musik Innovations and participating directors should plan on some form of payment to Musik Innovations when they receive their music in the week or two following auditions. Festival materials (medical forms, CD information, etc.) will be distributed at the audition meeting on Monday, September 23.
• DON'T FORGET, you must bring a copy of your PMEA Membership Card to the audition.

If you have questions regarding the Festival, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you have never participated in the Honors Choir Festival before, I encourage you to put it on your "to do" list.  We look forward to seeing you at the auditions!

Thank you,

Chris Elek
Michael Rozell
Angie Berna Milliren

Hello District 1 Membership!

I hope the beginning of the school year has proven to be rewarding and that a sense of calm and normalcy have begun to set in. For those of you who are new PMEA members or new teachers, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Emily Wardle and I am an elementary general music teacher in the Washington School District. I am your District 1 Music Advocacy Representative and am here as a resource, support point person, and help center for you. 

I will be sending out bimonthly e-newsletters that provide hands-on Advocacy tips and suggestions, and am always available at emily.s.wardle@gmail.com. If you would like to see past "Conducting Advocacy" newsletters, please look to http://district1.pmea.net/advocacy. If you need anything or catch word of musical movement that would be beneficial for the D1 membership or Executive Committee to know about, please contact me via my email address or through the District 1 Advocacy Tab.

I look forward to being in touch this school year and seeing you at various PMEA functions! Thank you!

Emily

Dear Orchestra Director,

Chartiers Valley High School is pleased to host the 2014 PMEA Honors String Orchestra Festival. Auditions will be held on Monday, September 15, 2014 with the festival being held on Saturday, November 8, 2014 and Sunday, November 9, 2014, at Chartiers Valley High School.

A student information letter, schedule, and directions to Chartiers Valley High School will be mailed to you soon after auditions. Upon selection you will receive medical forms, contracts and an invoice for the festival.

The guest conductor for this festival will be Mr. Roy Sonne. After 28 years in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and 12 years as Music Director of the Edgewood Symphony Orchestra, Roy Sonne took early retirement in order to devote himself to an ever-increasing number of musical projects and interests.  Roy is currently working to organize an after school music program in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, based on the spectacularly successful El Sistema program in Venezuela, which  has transformed the lives of over 800,000 Venezuelan children from impoverished circumstances.

Rehearsal on Saturday will begin at 9am. Students should plan on arriving Saturday at 8:30am so that they may check-in and warm-up before 9am. Meals and snacks will be provided across both days for all students. Please let me know of any students that have dietary restrictions. No students may leave during the festival days. All students must be in attendance for the entire schedule according to the PMEA guidelines.

The concert will be Sunday, November 9, 2014 at 2pm in the Chartiers Valley High School Auditorium. Tickets will be available at the door ($5 per ticket). Directors may identify themselves to those selling tickets to receive complimentary tickets. A CD will be available for purchase. Orders may be placed before or after the concert for the CD. Students and parents will not be permitted to record the concert.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns either by email or phone.

Sincerely,

Sally Shollenberger
PMEA Honors Orchestra Host
Chartiers Valley High School
50 Thoms Run Road
Bridgeville, PA 15017
Phone: 412-429-2257
E-mail: shollesas@yahoo.com or sshollenberger@cvsd.net