Three Thiel College band students selected for statewide collegiate music competition

Posted February 27, 2020 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Three Thiel Tomcat Marching Pride members will perform at the 73rd annual Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Band Festival from Friday, February 29 through Sunday, March 1 at the California University of Pennsylvania.

Representing Thiel College are

Camryn Sankey ’22, of Jamestown, Pa., is a biology major and a 2019 graduate of Jamestown Junior-Senior High School.
Justin Olah ’20, of Frenchville, Pa., is a binary engineering major and a 2018 graduate of Clearfield Area High School.
Mary Jones ’22, of Greenville, Pa., is a binary engineering major and a 2018 graduate of Greenville Senior High School.

Sankey plays clarinet; Olah plays the alto saxophone; and Jones plays the trombone. This is each student’s first time participating in the festival. The festival will conclude at 2 p.m. Sunday with guest conductor Dennis Fisher, wind band director emeritus from the University of North Texas.

Fisher has a wide variety of experience and expertise as a conductor, arranger, clinician, and consultant. He has conducted extensively and lectured in 32 states along with international appearances across the globe. Fisher holds many professional memberships and is a voting member for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammys).

The Intercollegiate Band Festival, established in 1948, is held annually at different colleges throughout Pennsylvania. It is the longest-running band festival of its kind in the United States. Every year, institutions who are members of the Pennsylvania Collegiate Bandmasters Association submit student applications for the Intercollegiate Band Festival. Additionally, a well-known guest conductor is chosen and selects a challenging repertoire of music to perform for the festival. Selected musicians and their conductors partake in two days of intense rehearsals at a host school, followed by a concert on Sunday afternoon to showcase their hard work.

In the past four years, Thiel College has had eight student musicians participate in the band festival.