Senior Elizabeth “Liz” Stack, a well-known musician within the Bellefonte community. An amazing cello player, a warm voice in Concert Choir, and a friend to many, the fruits of her efforts are coming to fruition. On April 23, she traveled alone to Kalahari, located in the Poconos, to perform in PMEA All-States as Alto I.
The Pennsylvania Music Educator Association (PMEA) is a name known by many kids in the fine arts for their performance festivals and competitions, consisting of numerous stages. First, every singer begins with auditioning into the district-level, and then region, and then moving onto All-States. To advance, singers have to compete against each other in the same vocal parts, ranging from the lowest Bass IIs to the highest of Soprano Is.
“At first, I was really just shocked. I couldn’t believe that I had performed that well when everyone there was so skilled. It made me excited to continue working with them and learning more challenging music,” Liz said.
So, what makes this event very prestigious? Combining the first two stages, singers have to rank in the top percent of their voice part, beating out roughly 60-80 other singers over the span of Districts and Regionals. Out of hundreds of singers, only 30 singers per voice part make it to All-States, with the opportunity of performing with the best of the best.
To make this accomplishment even more impressive, Liz is the first Bellefonte fine arts student to represent the high school at the All-State level, following in the footsteps of Bellefonte Alumni Katie Nugent in 2022.
As this event is a serious ceremony, Liz’s nerves were at an all time high.
“I feel that I’ve prepared the best I can thanks to my experiences at Districts and Regions and the support of my music teachers, including Mr. Brinser and Marisa Hickey, a family friend,” Liz said.
Now that the event has concluded, Liz’s chair placement was 14th out of 30. An impressive display of talent, with Liz placing over 50% of Alto Is in Pennsylvania.
“I’d like to thank my instructors for all they’ve done to teach me, my sisters and family for putting up with my singing, and apologize to my choir friends for abandoning them this year.”
Liz Stack has shown PA her incredible passion and talent for music at her All-State concert, performing an amazing concert with hundreds of other talented singers.
