February has long been a busy month for the music educators of Chautauqua County.

Two county-wide events take place during this blustery month: CCMTA Solo Festival, and the CCMTA Winter All-County Festival. Both are sponsored by the Chautauqua County Music Teachers Association and rely for their success on not only the organization of the music educators from the 19 school districts in Chautauqua County, but also thousands of school aged music students throughout this corner of the state.

The Chautauqua Lake Central School Auditorium will be the site of the 2026 Winter All-County Festival and Concert at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31. The concert features the county’s best student musicians from the school districts located in Chautauqua County in one of several music ensembles. This year the All-County Treble Choir, Elementary Band, Junior Orchestra, Brass Choir, and All-County Jazz Ensemble are to be featured at this festival.

Tickets will be available at the door for $5 and can also be purchased in advance at any time through www.ticketleap.events/tickets/ccmta/ccmta-all-county-winter-festival-2026

The first group on the concert program will be the All-County Elementary Band, co-chaired by Gina Wakefield and Meghan Murray (Jamestown City Schools). The director for this section of the program will be Devin Vogel, who currently serves as the seventh through 12th grade band director at York Central School District.

The All-County Treble Chorus, chaired by Zachary Schaffer (Jamestown Public Schools) will be led by Maureen Reilly, a music educator and choral director with more than 33 years of experience. She served as choral director at Williamsville East High School for 30 years, where she directed four ensembles, developed the ninth through 12th grade choral curriculum, and consistently led students to top honors at NYSSMA Majors Festivals.

The next group of the concert will be the All-County Instrumental Jazz Ensemble, chaired by Jay Hagen (Forestville CS), and conducted by John Cross. Cross is the former director of bands at Cassadaga Valley High School since 1981 (retired June 2015). His high school concert and jazz bands consistently received gold medals and first place awards at national festivals held in Pittsburgh, Orlando, Williamsburg, Hershey, New Orleans, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

Cross was the director for the Infinity Big Band featuring aspiring high school and college jazz musicians from around the county (2000-2019), and was the founder and conductor of the Chautauqua Concert Band (1995-2019) that for 25 years brought middle school musicians to perform along, side by side with their teachers and other professional musicians in a formal concert.

In addition to performing with The Temptations, Don Menza, Grover Washington, Jr., Marian McPartland, the Bellamy Brothers, Manhattan Transfer, Vassar Clements, Lucie Arnaz, Denver Bierman, the 10,000 Maniacs, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, the Music School Festival Orchestra, and opening for national recording acts Waylon Jennings, Diamond Rio, Loretta Lynn, the Gatlin Brothers and Bob Newhart, Cross has the additional distinction as founder of the CCMTA Winter Festival and served as the Jazz Band Director.

Co-chairs Tim Przybelinski and Michelle Battaglia (Falconer Central School) invited Technical Sgt. Erik Lundquist to return to the county to conduct the All-County Brass Choir. He is a euphoniumist with the Ceremonial Brass, The United States Air Force Band, Joint Base Anacostia Bolling, Washington, D.C. A native of Jamestown, he joined the Air Force in 2016.

Lundquist earned a Bachelor of Music degree in music education and performance from the University of North Texas in 2014. In 2016, he received a Master of Music degree in performance from the University of North Texas. His principal teachers include Dr. Brian L Bowman, Dr. Jamie Lipton, and Rick Lundquist.

During his time in Texas, Lundquist won the 2016 international Tuba Euphonium Association Mock Euphonium Audition and took second place in the Falcone International Tuba Euphonium Competition the same year. Also in 2016, he was named Outstanding Graduate Student in Brass. In 2018, he traveled to Finland to compete in the Lieksa Brass Week International Euphonium Competition. where he was named one of eight semi-finalists out of over 30 euphonium players from around the world. As an active performer and educator, he has presented at conferences hosted by the United States Army Band, International Tuba Euphonium Association, New York State School Music Association, and the Midwest Clinic. His professional affiliations include the international Tuba Euphonium Association and the International Women’s Brass Conference. Lundquist’s Air Force career highlights include performances on NBCs Today Show, the 2017 Presidential inaugural Parade, and the 2017 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The last group of the evening will be the All-County Junior Orchestra, chaired by Kristen Terreri (Fredonia Central School), and will be conducted by Charlene Brooks. Brooks received her bachelor’s degree in music education from the Crane School of Music at the State University at Potsdam and her master’s degree in education from the State University at Buffalo. She is currently in her 17th year of teaching, 15 of which have been spent in the West Seneca Central School district. She is the director of the West Seneca East senior and middle school orchestras.

The organization for this festival begins nearly ten months prior to the program. Each student is selected first by their school’s music teacher. That list is pared down by the CCMTA chair people, who then select the students (in some cases by audition, teacher recommendation, or through a score received by playing a solo for a New York State-certified music adjudicator) who make the final roster for each group.

The concert itself lasts under two hours. Students begin rehearsing their music with their teacher as soon as they receive it sometime in early December from their chairperson. They may then be required to attend one or two additional rehearsals throughout the months of January and February.

On the day of the concert, music students begin arriving at the school between 8 and 8:30 a.m., for a prompt 9 a.m. rehearsal start. The day continues with rehearsals, lunch, and a few small breaks between, until 4:30 p.m. when the last students dress for the 5 p.m. concert start time.

For more information, visit CCMTA Online or contact your school district’s music department. CCMTA can also be liked on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CCMTAmusic.