Adam Zang and Tyler Swartzendruber, two exceptional Shaler Area students who have been selected for the PMEA All-State Chorus — an honor that places them among the very best young vocalists in Pennsylvania.

Following auditions held last week at the Scottish Rite Cathedral as part of the PMEA Region 1 Chorus Festival, both Adam and Tyler ranked in the top six singers in their respective vocal sections across all Region 1 — a truly remarkable accomplishment. Only 30 students per voice part are admitted into the All-State Chorus across the entire state of Pennsylvania. Students must first compete at the District level, then again at the Regional level, with only the very best advancing at each stage.

Adam Zang is a twelfth-grader who exemplifies what it means to be a well-rounded musician. He is a member of our Honors Chamber Choir, performs as a trumpet player in the Marching Band, and is also a member of the Honors Wind Ensemble — earning his All-State selection while balancing an extraordinary level of musical commitment across multiple ensembles.

Tyler Swartzendruber, a tenth-grader, is a member of our Honors Chamber Choir and has already distinguished himself as one of the top Bass I singers in the region — an impressive achievement for a student just in his sophomore year.

This April, Adam and Tyler will travel to Kalahari Resort in the Pocono Mountains to rehearse and perform alongside the top student musicians from across Pennsylvania at the PMEA Annual Conference, April 22–25, 2026.

The All-State Chorus will be led by Guest Conductor Dr. Brian J. Winnie, an internationally respected choral director and a native of Pennsylvania. Dr. Winnie serves as Director of Choral Studies at Western Illinois University, where he supervises the graduate choral conducting program and conducts the University Singers — an ensemble that has won gold medals at international competitions in Italy and France and was named the 2021 American Prize winner in the Performance of American Music. He is also the Artistic Director and founder of “withonevoice”, a professional non-profit vocal ensemble of 16 singers based in Illinois. Dr. Winnie received his B.S. in Music Education from Penn State University and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Washington and has been honored with the ‘Outstanding Young Conductor Award’ by the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.

We are incredibly proud of both young men. They are a credit to their families, to our collective music program, and to Shaler Area School District.