The Tyrone Band recently sent five of its most talented musicians to Portage High School to compete against students from across the area for spots in this year’s District Band.

Of the five that auditioned, two will move on to the District Band competition. They are senior Emily Detwiler on alto saxophone, and sophomore Jacob Greene on percussion.

In addition to Detwiler and Greene, the other Tyrone students who participated in pre-auditions were Becca White on flute, Evan Snyder on trumpet, and Paige Webster on clarinet.

Getting selected for District Band is a very competitive process.

Before participating in District Band, students must qualify in pre-auditions, where they must do a series of musical scales and a solo.

To prepare for auditions, students are given a piece of music in May. They must learn the song to the best of their ability with all the basics in mind as well. On audition day, the students are split into holding rooms based on their instruments. When their numbers are called, the students are brought into a room for a blind audition, where the students must perform three musical scales and a solo from the piece of music the students were given in May.

Greene had some advice for his fellow musicians.

“Come prepared, you can be the best musician in the room, but if the others practiced the music more than you, you barely have a shot. Judges don’t care about how fast you can play all 26 rudiments. Or if you can perform metric modulation. They care if you know the material, and can play it well. Dedication is key,” said Greene.

Detwiler also received special recognition for finishing 9th overall in the saxaphone, but they split up the parts, so she is Alto Sax part 1, 5^th chair.

“When Mr. Hock told me that I got a chair, I thought that he was joking and I didn’t actually make it. I have been a representative of our school for the past two years, and I was overcome with joy when I found out that he wasn’t joking. It felt rewarding to know that all of the practice and hard work paid off,” said senior Emily Detwiler.

Both Detwiler and Greene will be traveling to Everett High School on February 12th to participate in the festival where they will also audition once again for a chance to move on to the regional level.

The event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. This year’s guest conductor is Dr. Jason Worzbyt, associate director of bands at Indiana University of PA.

The concert will take place on Friday, February 14th at 7:00 p.m. at Everett High School. Admission will be $5.00 for Adults, $3.00 for students and children 5 and under are free.

“I’m very proud of all of these students, even the ones that didn’t make it this year,” said band director David Hock.