Region VI – 2021 All-State Band Audition – Winds Only:
Region VI – 2021 All-Band Audition – Percussion Only:
The District 11 Professional Development Committee invites you to attend the first PMEA District 11 Virtual Conference, which will be held from Monday, March 1 through Saturday, March 6, 2021. The sessions will occur through Zoom in the evening during the week and in the morning on Saturday. There is no cost to attend and Act 48 hours will be available. For those that are unable to attend, we will be recording the sessions and storing them on the District 11 website for the month of March for later viewing.
Check the Professional Development tab for more information, or visit the PMEA D11 Professional Development Website.
Any student that has successfully auditioned into the District 11 ensembles this year is eligible to audition for the All-State ensembles. Information and time lines can be found on the state website, under the Conference & Events tab.
The PMEA State website (pmea.net) has been updated with the following All-State information:
Please check the state website for all dates and questions regarding the All-State Ensembles.
We’re providing a quick update to you as it relates to Governor Wolf’s updated guidance for gatherings in person. On August 24th, we sent you an update relating to PIAA’s decision to move ahead with fall sports and how that intersects with limitations on in-person meetings as well as marching band.
Yesterday (9/2/20), the Governor’s office updated their guidance to say that spectators can now attend youth athletic events in-person, however the 250 person max for outdoor gatherings is still in place. The guidance also removed previous language that said “Band and cheer are also allowed in a sports setting, but individuals involved in such activities count towards gathering limitations and must comply with face covering order and social distancing guidelines.”
This new policy and removal of previous language DOES NOT mean that band and cheer cannot attend youth sports events. Here’s what it does mean:
- The 250 person max outdoor gathering rule is still in place statewide
- Some localities have implemented smaller max gathering limits for their jurisdiction and they may have more specific rules defining how to reach their local max and/or the state max
- Now that spectators are allowed, the max for outdoor gatherings stays at 250 (including athletes, cheer, band, staff. etc)
- There is no guidance from the state or PIAA on how to divide up the 250 to athletes, spectators etc. Local school administrators will make those decisions.
With that information known, if you are a high school band director and you have planned or want to have your marching band at a football game, you need to get in touch with your administration immediately. Your local administration will make the decision on how to divide up the 250 people.
If your district decides to allow spectators – and athletes, cheerleaders and band are part of the in-person event – you need to remind your administrators that the spectators can’t just be athletic parents. You know that and we know that, however your administration may not be thinking along those lines. You need to remind them of this information as they will be deciding how many spectators can attend and who those spectators will be.
PMEA has reached out to the Governor’s office to see if they can offer some clarity to this most recent guidance by putting “band” back into wording.
As always, please reach out with any questions.
PMEA Advocacy Council Chair