Recently, members of the Pottstown School District Music Department brought their music to our state capitol building in Harrisburg. Students, under the direction of Brian Langdon, Ben Hayes, and Nancy Mest, performed in the Rotunda of our state capitol as part of the Music In Our Schools Month program sponsored by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association. A total of four ensembles made the trip to the state capitol. Representing the elementary schools was the Elementary Brass Quintet with the following members: Jacob Eagle, Anthony Russo, Veronica Gomez, David Hicks, and Emily Weber. A jazz ensemble represented the middle school program. Performers included: Soaad Elbahwati, Emily Greiss, Dylan Brandt, London Aquino, Cole Sellers, and Casey Mest. Both the high school flute ensemble and clarinet ensemble rounded out the performances with performers including: Jenna Endy, Amira Mohamed, Claudia La, Maxine Bacon, and Ziarra Caballero for the flutes; and Kelsey Shumaker, Kelsie Andrews, Tatiana Robinson, Katie Kolbmann, Marlee DeBlase, and Nicolas Muriel for the clarinets. The trip was more than entertainment. Students enjoyed a meeting with State Senator John Rafferty and were given a guided tour of the historic state capitol. During the tour, they were able to look in on both the House of Representatives and Senate meetings. Brian Langdon, one of the conductors and organizers of the trip, explained, “This trip is a valuable tool for our students and community to demonstrate the value that the performing arts play in our educational system. Our students were proud to be able to represent our school district and to take part in an extremely educational experience.”
