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McKeesport Area School District will host the 2025 McKeesport Home Show featuring Winter Guard and Indoor Percussion Programs on Saturday, February 15th in Founders Hall beginning at 2 p.m. The program will feature about 30 of the finest Color Guard groups in the western part of the state, as well as Indoor Percussion performances. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and children five and under are free. McKeesport Percussion will perform at 2pm and McKeesport Winter Guard is scheduled for 6:37pm.
The 2025 McKeesport Indoor Percussion program is entitled "Scheherazade" (pronounced Shah-hair-ah-zahd) and is a symphonic suite composed in 1888 by the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov. “Scheherazade” depicts the classic tale of 1000 nights/Arabian nights. Composer Korsakov was a master orchestrator, and “Scheherazade” is a prime display of 19th century musical ideals in western music. The work’s programmatic nature, whimsical colors and tones and use of exoticism have inspired countless composers to follow Korsakov’s lead. “Scherazade” is important for the next generation of musicians, but specifically the percussionist. Not only does it paint the identity of early romantic ideals, but excerpts from “Scheherazade” appear on almost every major symphony audition in the country.
According to Joe Scifo, the director of McKeesport Concert Percussion, “This is VERY difficult music -- it's likely the hardest piece of music I've handed out in 5 years, and they perform without a conductor. They have to learn to communicate time, space, volume, and expression as a team to be successful. There are many moments the music speeds up, slows down, changes time signature, or metrically modulates, but this is all communicated by the musicians. The students are judged on Music (what they're playing) and Artistry (how they are playing it). They attended a non-scored preview on January 18th at Kiski High School, and received great compliments on early season preparation!”
The program was written by Jim Wunderlich, who was the front ensemble director of the Blue Devils drum and bugle corps for seven world championships, and four Fred Stanford percussion awards. The students very much love the Blue Devils, so the opportunity to play music arranged by someone of that caliber was very exciting to them, it was a driving force behind show choice this season.
McKeesport Concert Percussion started in 2022, and consists of 11 students playing mallets, percussion, drum set, and guitar. For most of these students, percussion is secondary during the indoor band season. Most come from brass or winds in the fall marching band season, and use indoor to learn a new instrument. Many of them also play in the musical and/or perform in the winter guard. To say they love music and performing is an understatement.
Tori Palermo directs the Winter Guard and explained that the McKeesport Color Guard group placed first on February 1, their first performance of this winter season in the Scholastic Regional A class in the TRWEA circuit, competing against 3 other groups and scoring a 70.56. They also competed in the WGI (Winterguard International) circuit this past weekend (Feb. 8) and made finals, placing 2nd out of 6 groups.
The Winter Guard’s 2025 show is “Cry Me a River” and is written to Justin Timberlake’s song of the same name. The show is an expression of betrayal, heartbreak, and angst from a broken relationship. Different performers are highlighted throughout the show to capture a visual storyline of hurt and separation. The show features the dichotomy of soft contemporary movement with hip hop stylistic movements. “We’ve nicknamed the vibe of the season ‘sad swag.’ It’s a really cool show and different than what we’ve been doing.” Palermo said.
Congratulations to our students Antoine Smith, Cooper Kuchma, Michael Pfeffercorn, Elizabeth Nemes, Lucas Sotereanos, Alexander Paulus, and Connor McGrew on an excellent performance at PMEA District 1 Chorus held at Mt. Lebanon High School.
The annual Groundhog Day Band Festival held Feb. 4th featured retired music teacher from Yough School District, Don Green, as guest conductor. Green handed an original piece of art by local artist Bob Weaver to Dr. James Gourlay of Duquesne University and the director of the River City Brass Band as a thank you for his participation in the festival. The world-renowned Dr. Gourlay played his tuba with the 5 bands who participated in the festival. The bands included host school, McKeesport Area High School, along with Clairton, South Allegheny, West Mifflin, and Serra Catholic. The performance was an excellent display of talent and versatility of the bands' musicians. Bravo to all involved!
Band students in five districts in the Mon Valley will perform together in the annual Groundhog Day Concert Band Festival, on Tuesday, February 4th at 7 p.m. in the McKeesport Area High School auditorium. “The festival began 18 years ago by former McKeesport Area Band Director Karen Cole.” explained Drew DeCarlo, current McKeesport Area Band Director, adding, “Mrs. Cole wanted to give the smaller schools in the Mon Valley area a chance to play together in a festival like the larger school bands have. We have held it every year except 2021 when COVID-19 was winding down. We had had our 2020 festival right before Covid hit.”
However, a special treat for this year’s concert held on Feb. 4 since Groundhog Day is Sunday, is the inclusion of a special guest. Dr. James Gourlay, the Wind Ensemble Conductor from Duquesne University, and the Artistic and General Director of the River City Brass Band, will perform on his tuba with the students. Gourlay is a familiar face to many music lovers in Pittsburgh.
Guest Conductor for the concert is Don Green. A retired music teacher of kindergarten general music to college marching band, Green spent most of his career as the high school band director at Yough School District. Green will be working with about 100 high school band students from McKeesport, South Allegheny, Clairton, West Mifflin, and Serra Catholic. Each district is currently practicing the music at their individual schools.
On February 4th, each band will spend the day at McKeesport Area High School where Green will rehearse with all student musicians performing together in the McKeesport High School Auditorium. The concert in the evening is open to the public, and a free-will donation will be collected to offset the cost of dinner for all the participants. The McKeesport Band Boosters will provide a meal to all student musicians prior to the 7 p.m. concert performance.
Green was excited to be asked to conduct this Groundhog Day Concert Band Festival and in reviewing the music, added one special number to make it official. Just as in the movie, “Groundhog Day,” the combined orchestra will play the favorite western PA song, the “Pennsylvania Polka.” Green is thrilled to play a concert with a long-time friend, the guest tuba player, Dr. James Gourlay. “He is a true advocate for music education, a wonderful friend and one of the top tuba players in the world. All the students will learn so much from having him join us. It will be great.” Green added.
After teaching 35 years, Green said that he enjoys having the student musicians learn the tricks of the trade by learning such things as when to play loudly to draw the audience in, and when to hold back in a quiet, softer way. Green said the part of teaching he enjoys most is being “a grunt who goes down into the trenches to work and teach the students the music.”
On the evening’s program are “Exaltation” by James Swearingen which is popular with many of the participants. “Rhythm of the Winds” by Frank Erickson, “Into the Clouds” by Richard Saucedo, “Flourish for Wind Band by R. Vaughan Williams, the “Pennsylvania Polka” arranged by Eric Osterling, and capped off at the end by “NOLA!,” a song by composer Felix Arndt in 1915 for his fiancé for Valentine’s Day, and rearranged by Green in 2015.
Some participating students were eager to talk about the collaborative concert. McKeesport Junior Marek Krol has played the alto saxophone for several years, and in the past, one of the Groundhog Day concert numbers was from “Star Wars.” “It was very difficult and taught me a lot. This year I’d have to say “Exaltation” is the hardest piece, but I do like a challenge.” Junior clarinetist Antoine Smith has played all 3 years of high school band and is impressed with “Rhythm of the Winds.” He explained that the music blends together and the sweet melody is very calm.” Antoine agreed that sometimes the music is challenging and it’s great to be able to play it with others and hear the success.
Senior Trevon Bowling, like Smith and Krol, has played since elementary school, and as a trumpet player, he likes “Exaltation.” Corry Sanders is a senior percussion player who has been involved since 10th grade and gives thumbs up to “Exaltation” as his favorite for this concert, too. Freshman flutist Maddie Florenz has played the flute since elementary school, and she said her favorite number in this unique concert is the “Pennsylvania Polka. It’s fun and upbeat to play.”