The Central Cambria marching band performs at halftime during a football game. Courtesy photo

EBENSBURG — When Central Cambria students take the stage Sunday to present their annual spring concert, they’re not only showcasing their musical talents, but also celebrating the importance of music education in schools.

Recently, the district’s music department received national recognition as a “best community for music education” by the National Association of Music Merchant Foundation because of the opportunities the district offers within its community.

In order to receive the national recognition, music teachers completed a lengthy application about the district’s course offerings, graduation requirements, facilities, funding and community support, high school music teacher Michelle Kokus said.

“It is truly an honor to be recognized for all of the hard work and commitment of our music educators and students, as well as the unwavering support we receive from the administration, families, and the community who value our music program at all levels,” she said.

Music is important because it gives students a chance to express themselves in class and be involved in extracurriculars outside of school, said Tyler Engel, a music teacher at Jackson Elementary School.

Engel said no matter their age, students can be enveloped in music.

“They can do a lot with music, if they want to,” he said, adding students can join choir and band beginning in the fourth grade. “There’s lots of different ways to music.”

This year is Engel’s fourth with the district, and since he helps mentor the high school’s marching band alongside Josh Duman, he was able to see his former fifth grade concert band students grow both as performers and people. He said next year will be even more special for him because the then-fourth graders will be part of the marching band as well.

At a young age, learning music is more about getting the students to enjoy the process, Engel said.

“It’s more getting their feet wet,” he said, adding more and more is expected of them as they get older, which is why the district is able to offer robust programs all the way through high school.

“If they’re there and they’re doing their best, that’s what we want,” he said.

Both the middle school and the high school offer a variety of music classes and extracurriculars for all types of musical interests and abilities, Kokus said.

Middle school students can choose from musical electives like Middle School Musical, Music in Film, Basics of Guitar and Ukulele, History of Rock ‘n’ Roll and Pop Icons.

At the high school, students can be part of the chorus, band, select auditioned choir and jazz band, plus schedule other electives such as Guitar I and II and Music Theatre Production.

“Many of our students also audition and participate in festivals sponsored by Pennsylvania Music Educators Association at the district,” she said, adding students are also members of other area performing groups, such as the Johnstown Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Cresson Lake Playhouse.

This weekend’s concert will feature an example of how music enriches student learning in the district.

During the concert band portion of the evening, the last piece will be performed as a side-by-side selection with middle school students who participated in the Cambria County Honors Band last fall.

“The side-by-side gives the middle school students the opportunity to sit in with the older students to challenge their musical skills with a more advanced group and for the older students to serve as peer mentors,” Kokus said.

“I am really proud of the musical growth of all of the ensembles and excited for the students to share their talents with their family and friends.”

During the April 8 Central Cambria School Board meeting, board member Patricia Allbaugh said she was proud of both the students and their teachers for the work and effort they put in to help the district’s music department gain recognition as one of the best within the community.

“I would just like to thank our music educators,” she said, adding the music department’s concerts are always a joy to attend.

‘Don’t have to be a performer’

At Jackson Elementary, students in Engel’s fifth grade general music class worked independently or in a group of up to four people on a “make your own musical” project for the first time this year.

Students used their creativity to design projects with written reports, acting as the director, composer, set designer and costume designer of their own musical.

Engel said he introduced the project because he wants the students to understand they don’t have to be performers to be part of a musical and to love music.

“Those different people are still part of the show, part of the production, but they’re not on stage,” he said. “The biggest part of this is to have them realize that they don’t have to be a performer to be involved with music. They can do other things.”

He said students who aren’t involved in concert band or chorus still did well with the project because they picked a topic they wanted to do and could pursue something that they enjoyed.

Fifth grader Izabella Meier said she and her partners created a musical about rapper Ice Spice because they wanted to honor her life and career with the assignment.

“We just thought of a famous singer and we thought ‘Why not make that into a musical?’ and she was one of the first people that we thought of,” she said.

Abigail Amigh, another student in the same class, said she has a golf cart with a mustache on it at her family’s campground, so she and her partner, Meadow Parks, made their musical about a game they created called “the mustache golf cart” in which they’re lost at camp without a GPS and have to find their way back with the golf cart.

Meier and Amigh said they enjoy the class because of the topics covered. Both girls also play the clarinet in the fifth-grade concert band.

Meier said she originally wanted to play the flute but couldn’t quite figure it out.

“So I asked Mr. Engel what was the second closest, and he said the clarinet. I tried that and thought it was pretty easy because the fingering was very easy,” she said.

Amigh, on the other hand, chose the clarinet because her older sister played the instrument, and she wanted to see whether she could, too.

Engel said he enjoys seeing his students “get it” as they learn to play.

“Seeing them music, as a verb. … I enjoy seeing that happen a lot,” he said. “Even though it’s elementary school and they just started playing the clarinet or they just started singing, seeing them develop from one year to the next is really cool.”

He said an important part of the district’s extracurricular opportunities is the idea of culture and bond within the group of students. He especially sees this bond within the marching band students.

“No matter if they’ve done it for five years, three years, two years, even one year, seniors would say this is a family,” he said. “That helps them become the best team they can be, be the best band and create the best performance, sound and also time together.”

Superintendent Jason Moore said the district’s board of directors value the essential nature of music education and the importance of the arts — both visual and performing — providing choices for students to be creative, to try, to fail and to try again.

“Our job in public education is to prepare our students for whatever they choose to do next,” he said. “Our stellar music department is vital to the continued success of our school district.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.

If you go

What: Central Cambria High School music department’s spring concert

Where: High school auditorium

When: 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28

Cost: $2 per person; children under 5 are admitted free