Take Note

A new year means we're getting closer to the 2023 PMEA All-State Festival. Mary Lynne Peters, PMEA All-State Festival Coordinator, joins us to preview what we can expect this year and we learn more about her. This is a great episode for directors and students that will be part of the 2023 All-State Festival experience!

PMEA's Crescendo Student Conference will take place on January 31, 2023. We're joined by PMEA Executive Director, Abi Young, and Rebecca Sensor, music educator in the Dubois Area School District, to talk about what Crescendo is and why middle and high school students should attend.

PMEA member, Dr. Jeffrey Gemmell, teaches at Millersville University. He joins us to talk about his area of research and a product of that research - the Lititz Moravian Collegium Musicum.

We're profiling another PMEA member doing amazing things. Chad Toporski talks with us about his career, his school, his military service, and he shares some advice for young music educators.

Marcia Neel joins us to discuss the current state of music education and tips and tricks you can use starting today!

We're joined by Tom Hiravi, a PMEA member in the Danville Area School District. Tom talks to us about proven advocacy strategies that have worked in his program and in other programs in his area. You'll find some great takeaways from Tom and learn just how easy it can be to get funding to get instruments in the hands of kids like he did!

We're joined by Bailey Karst. Bailey is a music education major at West Chester University and, in 2022, was one of the drum majors for Pennsylvania based drum corps, The Cadets. She talks with us about her drum corps career, what it's like to be a drum major, and how she plans to take her experiences with The Cadets into her career.

We talk with PMEA member, Shawn Campopiano, about his summer vacation in which he donated a liver to a former music instructor of his, Mark Morningstar. Shawn's story and how he is teaching his high school band while recovering proves to be an inspiration for all teachers but especially music teachers.

Becky Sensor teaches in the DuBois Area School District. She joins us to talk about where to find funding for your music education program. She details just how easy it really is and provides many tips. You'll hear of her innovative successes in finding funding and how she keeps doing it!

We're joined by Pennsylvania's own Scott Sheehan who is a music educator in the Hollidaysburg Area School District. He has also just taken over as president of NAfME for the next two years, Scott joins us to talk about plans for his presidency and his views on some big issues in music education.