In April Millersville University’s Wind Ensemble will travel to the Kalahari Resort in the Poconos to perform at the 2025 Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Annual Conference. Forty-five performing members including faculty soloists and alumni will travel to the invitation-only event with Dr. Joe Cernuto, director of bands and assistant professor of music. The event is designed for music educators and aspiring musicians to showcase their abilities and provide a platform to network in the field.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time in over 35 years that any Millersville Ensemble – not just the Wind Ensemble – has been selected for an event of this magnitude,” said Dr. Cernuto, “It may be the very first time for the wind ensemble – but records and memories don’t go beyond 35 years.”
Some of the students who will be performing with the Wind Ensemble weighed in on the upcoming experience.
“As a future music educator, it will look impressive on my resume to have performed at such a distinguished event,” said Nick Carter, a 3rd year student in Music Education. “The truth is that not everyone gets the opportunity to perform at such a large conference. So I will cherish this opportunity as it could help me acquire future opportunities.”
“For my resume, I think it will be helpful from the standpoint of music-based gigs/jobs in the future. While I may not be majoring in music, if I plan to play in future pit orchestras or other jobs that could be presented to me, it would certainly be helpful to mention that I was a part of a PMEA performing ensemble.“ – Patrick Jenkins, 2nd year, Information Technology (Management/Marketing).
“This is a great opportunity for the Wind ensemble. To be put on the map in a positive way is something that will greatly impact us and the Millersville community,” – Matthew Miller, 2nd year Music Education.“
“This is a pretty big boost to my resume as someone who has never performed at a major event like this before (at least for my major instrument). This makes me also want to push myself even more. If I am able to do this, what else can I do?” – Robert Harden, 2nd year, Music
“The opportunity to perform will enable me to show employers that I have experience performing at the highest level available to me and that I was able to take full advantage of the opportunity.” – Tymere Glenn-Peters, 1st year, Music Education.
“This is a great opportunity for the Wind Ensemble because we have worked extremely hard to produce and perform high-quality music. This is not only great for the Wind Ensemble but also the University as it will bring attention to the College.” – Mike Asprea, 4th year, Music Industry.
“It’s a big honor! My Junior year of high school I performed at the 2022 NJMEA conference in Atlantic City, so I’m aware of how prestigious this performance is. Because of this, I’m really looking forward to this opportunity again as I’ve matured and experienced another conference like this.” – Ethan Bathurst, 2nd year, Music Industry.
“As a student studying music education, I have attended the PMEA conference over the past three years and have seen many groups that are considered to be the best in the state. It is always a band director’s dream to bring their band to perform at PMEA and being able to have this experience is exciting to showcase what our music department is doing at the Tell School of Music. Being able to attend the conference and perform is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am ecstatic to be able to attend Millersville University.” – Luke George, 4th year, Music Education.
“I truly feel grateful for the opportunity to perform at PMEA as a musician and as a student to represent Millersville University. Being selected to perform at the conference is a huge honor and I cannot wait to do it with this amazing group of musicians.” – Sydney Rauchut, 3rd year, Music Education and Music Industry.
“I feel very excited and grateful to be a part of this process, especially as an incoming freshman in this program. I can’t wait to see where this experience takes us as an ensemble.” – Molly Hibshman, 1st year, Early Childhood Education.