Let the PMEA music season BEGIN!!

In the words of Mario, "Here we goooo!"

The winter/spring season means one thing for the Kennedy family:  music festivals!  We haven't gone a year since 2008 without at least one Kennedy child being involved with PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association) in the spring.  In fact, the Kennedys kids LOVE PMEA, because they are really, REALLY good at it.  

First, the kids must decide which PMEA festival(s) they will attend:  chorus, orchestra, or band.  Some of this depends on which ensembles they are a part of in school.  For my own personal records (and because Glo is feeling the pressure and keeps asking me this), here's how I remember it shaking down:

Ethan:  2008 (chorus--district, regionals); 2009 (chorus--district, regionals, All-State)

Mark:  2009, 2010, 2011 (chorus--district, regionals, All-State; band--district, regionals, All-State)

Johannah:  2012 (orchestra--district, regionals); 2013 (chorus--district, regionals, All-State); 2014 (chorus--??)

Yes, Mark was the beastliest PMEA kid we have had, but each one of the kids has their own hilarious/amazing stories of attending PMEA.  Remember Melvin Shoemaker, Cheese??

You might think that the kids just show up at the festival and have a good time.  I won't deny the good time part of the equation, but there is much preparation to do before the festivals.  Only a select percentage of the kids who attend actually get to advance to the next level, and those kids are decided by auditioning on their specific parts.  It basically means that they need to know their part (Tenor 1 for the boys, and Alto 2 for Johannah) for nine different songs cold.  They sing them in a blind audition, a cappella and alone, and with only a starting note.

I won't lie.  It definitely helps having me around to push the kids the practice, and I think they will all admit that they might not have succeeded had I not sat down at the piano with them for their parts for chorus.  In fact, this year Johannah didn't come to me until only six days before the festival began which is definitely not the way to do it.  I was really mad, and she endured a 3 minute rant about responsibility and success.  Of course, Johannah, being the amazing memorizer that she is, had the music learned in about three days, and without trying very hard, placed second out of 25 girls.  She will be attending the regional festival in a month (with nine new pieces and more practicing, hopefully sooner than six days before!)

The crazy thing is that Johannah has this crazy, beautiful voice.  She's had no voice lessons--it's just a gift.  While I sometimes think that she should have gone into voice (instead of viola), she reminds me that she much prefers orchestra peeps to choir peeps.  I'll say no more, but some of you probably know exactly what I'm talking about.

So, at the end of the four day festival is a concert, and Johannah was one of the two female featured soloists.  I personally would pass out if I had to sing a solo in front of a large audience, but Johannah is so poised, and so confident.  It just amazes me!

I just got my new camera for Christmas, and was so nervous for Johannah, that I didn't focus it very well.  However, you can definitely hear her.  Enjoy!

PMEA--The Famine Song