On Friday, April 1 the Quaker Valley Middle School 8th Grade Orchestra under the direction of Mrs. Corrie Nye, and the Quaker Valley High School Orchestra under the direction of Mr. Cory Neville participated in an adjudication event designed to judge the proficiency and abilities of the orchestras. Mrs. Nye organized and hosted the adjudication at Quaker Valley Middle School. Dr. Jeffrey Tedford (Chair, Music Department; Associate Professor of Music; Director of Orchestras) from Grove City College served as the head adjudicator and was assisted by two of his associates from Grove City’s music department.
The adjudication followed the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Music Performance Assessment (MPA) format and protocols. Participating orchestras prepared two contrasting pieces of comparable difficulty to be performed for the judges. After the performance of the prepared pieces, groups were given two minutes to study a completely unfamiliar piece, followed by three minutes to talk through potential difficulties with their director before being expected to perform it at sight. With both the prepared pieces and sight-reading, the orchestras were judged in the areas of tone, tuning, accuracy, technique, and interpretation.
Using the PMEA Music Performance Assessment rubrics, Dr. Tedford and the rest of the adjudication team found that both the QVMS 8th Grade Orchestra and the QVHS Orchestra were deserving of earning “Superior/Outstanding/A+” ratings in all aspects of their performances which included the individual category areas, sight-reading, and overall performance. The rating of “Superior” is the highest possible rating in the PMEA MPA system and is reserved for music performing ensembles and soloists who have achieved and can demonstrate the highest levels of achievement and mastery.
Congratulations to the 8th Grade and High School Orchestras!