NBC Student Elizabeth Berry Participates in Honor Bands

Elizabeth (Ebbie) Berry qualified for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Concert Band in 2022 on Bassoon. It includes a multi-level process that begins with a solo audition into the PMEA District 6 Band. At that two-and-a-half day festival, each student must then audition again for chair placement and place in the top half of their section to advance to PMEA Region III Band. The process continues in the same way with an audition but the student must place in the top one or two chairs (depending on the instrument section) to qualify for the PMEA All-State Ensemble, as Berry did last year placing first chair on first bassoon.

"Being a part of these ensembles was an incredible experience," Berry said. "And although it was a lot of work, I'd gladly do it all again."

Qualifying for an All-State Ensemble enables a student to apply for the National Association for Music Education (Nafme) All-Eastern Ensembles, which includes 13 states on the east coast and Europe. At the conclusion of the 2022 school year, Berry auditioned, via video recording, and was accepted into the 2023 All-Eastern Symphonic Band. The All-Eastern Conference was held in Rochester, NY, on April 13 through 16.

Berry also qualified for the PMEA All-State Wind Ensemble for 2023. But this time she qualified on the Euphonium by earning a 1st chair position in the PMEA Region III Band. This festival happened in the week following the All-Eastern Conference. She only had about 3 days off in between festivals, but she didn't take it off. She was immediately picked up from Rochester, NY by her parents and headed straight to Hershey, PA for the State FBLA conference where her team placed 3rd in E-business earning her another team a National FBLA visit to Atlanta, GA this summer.

Following the conclusion of the FBLA conference Mr. Larry Sarvey, her band director, picked her up and headed to the Poconos for the PMEA All-State Conference. This took a lot of planning and working with other teachers to ensure we had Ebbie at all of the festivals, hotel check ins, student registrations, and much more.

"I'm really proud of all of our students that go through this festival process," Sarvey said. "Students always come back to our ensembles sharing their experiences, passion, and knowledge from being in these honors ensembles."

Accomplishing all of this on two instruments is a great feat. Usually most students would only be able to qualify on one instrument, and even accomplishing that is still quite difficult. Jokingly, teachers have been asking Berry what instrument she'd like to qualify for next year.

"I'm especially proud of Ebbie. She's had the rare opportunity to serve in some of the highest honor bands in our state and our side of the country," Sarvey said. "That's a big accomplishment not only for her, but for the Northern Bedford County School District."