During Jan. 13 and 14, the orchestra participated in districts. The first day was done over a google meet and the second day the orchestra students in districts went to Juniata Elementary in Mifflintown, PA.

This year, districts worked differently due to COVID-19.

“The students had a virtual day on Thursday, Jan 13,” orchestra director Kelly Detwiler said. “They each had an hour to meet with the conductor who went over all the details of the music that needed to be discussed so Friday when they met in person, he could focus on other things. Then Friday, we traveled to Juniata High School and rehearsed all day and had a virtual concert that evening. We normally have a three day festival and the students spend the two nights in a hotel. We also normally have a live concert. Neither of these happened due to trying to keep everyone safe during COVID-19.”

Some students expressed feelings of excitement about going to districts.

“I’m really excited about playing in Districts this year, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19 two years ago cut the entire Pennsylvania Music Education Association [PMEA] festival short,” senior Brooke Ajay said. “It’s very fun to be playing in a large orchestra again, as well as competing for regions.”

The fact that half of district practice was done over google meet made some students feel frustrated.

“It was a bit harder than anticipated. There wasn’t much that we could learn and play along with doing it online,” junior Alison Keirn said.

When they were playing, some students felt that they did well.

“It went better than I expected actually,” Keirn said. “I was expecting all of us to be all over the place when it came to playing the songs; but when we played, we all knew what to do. The only thing that I have to complain about is that the concert itself was live streamed from YouTube and from what I heard, the quality was not the greatest.”

Some students didn’t like that half of the practice on Thursday.

With the experience that the students have gained in districts, some have decided to go further if given the opportunity.

“If my auditions go well, hopefully I’ll be able to make it to regions and states,” Ajay said. “I didn’t get in two years ago or last year because of COVID-19, so I’m hoping my auditions this year make the cut. I haven’t been to regions yet, but the fun thing about it is that you get to play more serious music with more serious musicians. The guest conductors are always really fun to work with too. If this year was normal, we’d be able to stay overnight in a hotel somewhere, which is something I looked forward to, but I’m not sure that’s the case this year.”