Dear PMEA Members:
I hope you have been able to find some time for rest and rejuvenation this summer. PMEA has been and continues to monitor the changing landscape in education as our schools deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. While we value the music and educational experiences our fests, festivals and Music Performance Assessments (MPAs) provide our students, we have to first and foremost acknowledge the health and safety of our members, students and their families.
The PMEA State Board has made the difficult decision to suspend all in-person student events for the 2020-21 school year for the safety of the students, members and all others involved. This includes the PMEA District, Region and All-State festivals, District level fests and MPAs (adjudication). As these events involve students from multiple schools and school districts from throughout the Commonwealth, it is essential for PMEA to limit any potential risk of COVID infection.
The PMEA districts will now determine student eligibility to audition for the 2021 PMEA Virtual All-State Ensembles as the board approved the suspension of Region level festivals of any kind – in-person or virtual. The state will provide the audition material from the public domain and the region formulas will remain in place to determine the students selected for the 2021 All-State Ensembles (Band/Wind Ensemble, Chorus & Orchestra).
We understand that music is an essential part of the school curriculum and our communities and we are working diligently to offer as many musical opportunities throughout this upcoming school year. We will be holding a virtual annual conference and All-State event in the spring, and will assist our PMEA districts with hosting their own virtual events, should they choose to do so.
We are working hard to help make this year as musical as can be within the confines in which we find ourselves. PMEA has taken the lead in communicating with other arts and education associations as well as distributing information and assistance to its members in a variety of ways including numerous webinar series and the 2020 PMEA Virtual Summer Conference. Please continue to look to our website’s toolbox for up to date information and resources and don’t hesitate to reach out for assistance. Music is essential and we will continue to work to be the leading voice and advocate for music education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Phil Stattel
PMEA President