Delightful squeaking sounds echoed through the hallways Saturday at Shaler Area Middle School.

Clarinet players unpacked cases, swapped reeds and compared notes with strangers who instantly became friends during Steel City Clarinet Day — an annual event at which the clarinet community comes together to play, learn and celebrate their shared obsession with the woodwind instrument.

“The clarinet sounds more similar to the human voice than any other instrument. Because of that, it has enormous singing qualities,” said Lynda Dembowski, 55, a clarinetist for the U.S. Naval Academy Band.

Now in its seventh year, Steel City Clarinet Day has grown into something of a clarinet family reunion.

It’s an event for everyone with a soft spot for the clarinet. That includes 13-year-old beginners just

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