After much dedication and practice, Souderton’s rock band performed at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association [PMEA] conference to propose modern rock bands at the state level for music educators on April 24.
In order to be a part of the three rock bands chosen to perform at the conference this year, an audition was submitted.
The audition included a video or audio recording of the band performing.
According to rock band director Adam Tucker, he submitted a video of the ensemble in May 2025. Tucker did not find out that they were chosen until September 2025.
“It has to meet a certain amount of requirements and it has to meet a certain time,” Tucker said.
For Tucker, the most time consuming part of the process was figuring out what songs the ensemble would perform at the conference.
“I have been formulating a set list for the entirety of the [school] year,” Tucker said. “Going from the first songs that we selected, and then after performing at our first concert.”
Junior Skyler Bass had the same outlook.
“We have discussions about set lists, timing and sectioning out our class time to practice different songs,” Bass said. “We run through the entire set multiple times.”
According to Bass, he enjoys how much creative freedom is given in rock band.
He also enjoys how different rock band is from regular band classes.
“I think the accessibility of the class is very important in the art and music department,” Bass said.
For junior Garrett Schlank, he also enjoys how much creativity is given to the rock band students compared to other ensembles.
“I think rock band, especially compared to other music programs, gives a lot more creative access to students based on what music they actually want to do,” Schlank said.
According to junior Kendal Hoover, she likes how the music rock band performance allows for the students who are a part of this course to come together.
“If you love music, you can come together and you can just play music with other people that love playing music,” Hoover said.
For senior Aidan Golla, he enjoyed the criticism that the group received from a panel of judges after their performance.
Golla found it “beneficial” for the entire group.
“There are professionals from the state,” Bass said. “It is interesting to hear what they all said. We can take that for future performances and improve.”
According to Bass, he thinks that modern bands can be very positive for high schoolers.
“It incorporates modern band into the rest of the band programs,” Bass said. “You get the performance aspect that is purely modern.”
For Tucker, modern bands are very important to him as they are a new style of teaching.
“I think the important thing for performing at PMEA was to show a lot of music teachers, especially some that are older and set in their ways, it is a new style of education,” Tucker said. “This is a new style of thinking especially for music education.”
According to Hoover, she enjoys being a part of rock band as performing makes her feel “like a rock star.”