For Immediate Release
Date: May 28, 2003
Re: Five Williamsport Students make PMEA All-State
Five Williamsport Area High School students represented the District in All-State Ensembles at the 2003 Pennsylvania Music Educators’ Association Conference held April 9-12 at the Hershey Convention Center. Their portraits will be featured in the new WAHS Music Wall of Fame being placed in the lobby of the WAHS auditorium as recognition of their accomplishments.
Senior violist, Jessica Owens, daughter of Carlenda and James Owens, and senior violinist, Sarah Hamm, daughter of Michael and Nancy Hamm, represented the Williamsport Area High School at the 2003 Pennsylvania Music Educators' Association All-State Orchestra Festival in Hershey this year.
This is the second year in a row that Jessica Owens has qualified for All-State. Owens has also qualified for the All-State Chorus Festival for the past two years. Owens moved to Williamsport during her junior year. In the past two years she has been an active member of the Williamsport Drama club serving one year as vice president and has performed in the dramas "Wiley and the Hairy Man" and "Twelfth Night" along with the musical "Grease". Sitting principal violist in the WAHS Symphony Orchestra, Owens enjoys daily musical challenges thrown her way. Owens is also a member of the prestigious Williamsport Strolling Strings. She just won "Best Vocalist" while singing main vocals with the Williamsport Jazz Band at the Music in the Parks Festival in Hershey. Owens' main love lies with singing, playing, reading, dancing, and learning.
Academically, Owens has maintained a 4.0 GPA all four years of high school. She is a member of the National Honor Society and has a place on the National Honor Roll. This fall, she will be attending Ithaca School of Music in Ithaca, NY. She will be studying music with a concentration in viola and a minor in dance.
Sarah Hamm began playing the piano in second grade and violin in the third grade. She has been taking private lessons in both ever since. She has been in school orchestras since third grade. She has been a member of the WAHS Strolling Strings for four years. She was selected for District and Regional Orchestra tenth through twelfth grade. This year she came in second in the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition and she won the Williamsport Music Club scholarship. She has been a member of the Williamsport Symphony Youth Orchestra for the past two years, and served as concertmaster during the past season. Next year she will be going to Penn State to major in music education and music performance.
Senior trombonist, Shane Kozen, son of Ray and Jeannine Kozen, and junior euphoniumist, Carl Ma, represented Williamsport Area High School at the 2003 Pennsylvania Music Educators' Association All-State Band Festival in Hershey this year.
Shane Kozen is very active in the WAHS band program performing in the Marching Millionaires, Jazz Ensemble, and the Wind Ensemble. Outside of school, Shane has participated in the Lycoming County Junior Honors Band Festival for 2 years and Senior County Honors Band for 3 years. Kozen has also performed with the Williamsport Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Jersey Shore Town Band, and performs regularly with the Repasz Band of Williamsport, the oldest non-military band in the United States.
For the second straight year, Carl Ma was one of six euphonium players selected for the All-State Band. He is a member of the Williamsport Area High School Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band. He has performed with the WAHS Marching Millionaires and the Williamsport Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to his musical pursuits, he also involved in the Mock Trial team, Key Club, National Art Honor Society, and Cherry and White Literary Magazine. Carl will be attending the Governor’s School for Science at Carnegie Mellon University for the summer.
For the third consecutive year, Kacie Weaver, daughter of Craig and Gale Weaver, Williamsport, represented Williamsport Area High School at the Pennsylvania Music Educator's Association All-State Choral Festival In addition to her All-State appearances, Weaver, a senior, has been a member of Les Chanteuses, a twelve voice women's ensemble, at WAHS for four years. In this capacity she has performed for Gov. Ridge at the Governor's Mansion in Harrisburg. She has performed the National Anthem at basketball and football games, United Way functions, and at the Little League World Series. Active on stage, Weaver has performed at the Community Theatre, in Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra, and recently played Sandy in Grease, this year's WAHS musical.
Weaver, has studied piano with Alice Nacinovich and Timothy LeVan and is a voice student of Dr. Douglas Crowder. She is a member of the National Honor Society and has been named to Who’s Who in American High Schools for the past four years. Weaver will attend Ithaca College next fall majoring in both vocal performance and music education.
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