Music Department faq
NYSSMA, What does it mean?
Many of our student musicians perform in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) solo and ensemble festivals. Students may play more than one instrument (or voice) and ensemble. If a student performs as a soloist, he/she must prepare scales from memory, a solo from the official NYSSMA manual, and must sight-read eight measures of music. Students will perform this before an official NYSSMA adjudicator. The resultant ratings for levels I-IV of O (outstanding), E (excellent), G (good), F (fair) and levels V-IV of a letter grade are determined by an overall performance score. Each student will receive his or her own adjudication sheet that explains the grade. Students that perform in an ensemble (duets, trios, etc.) will only perform the selected piece. Students who perform at the top three levels receive a medal for their efforts. Additional information concerning NYSSMA is obtainable through the organizations website: www.nyssma.org
Why should students perform at NYSSMA?
The student’s written evaluation will reinforce what they do well and will also get constructive criticism by an adjudicator who specializes on the student’s particular instrument. The adjudication sheet will then be copied by our music department and used to assist in nomination students for possible participation to All-County, All-State and All-Eastern groups.
What are All-County, All-State, and All-Eastern?
All-County:
LISFA, NYSCAME/SCMEA, SCMEA
The Long Island String Festival Association (LISFA), The New York State Council of Music Administrators for Music Education- Suffolk Chapter/Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association (NYSCAME/SCMEA) and The Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association (SCMEA) are county music organizations that offer students the ability to perform with students from other districts in annual All-County Concert Festivals throughout Suffolk County. The students are selected from nomination lists submitted by music teachers for consideration to perform in these annual concert festivals. All fifth through twelfth grade students are eligible for nomination to their categorical division. These honor groups rehearse for two or three days and perform a concert at the conclusion of the rehearsals. Although performing at NYSSMA is not required for All-County nominations, participation is highly recommended.
LISFA
Students recommended to participate in LISFA should be competent at the following NYSSMA Solo Levels:
Grade 5, Solo level 1 or 2 (minimum)
Grade 6-7, Solo level 2, Major Organization level 3/4 (minimum)
Grade 8-9, Solo level 3/4, Major Organization level 4/5 (minimum)
Grade 10-12, Solo level 5, Major Organization level 5/6 (minimum)
Additional information concerning LISFA is obtainable through the organizations website: http://www.lisfamusic.org
NYSCAME/SCMEA
Students recommended to participate in NYSCAME/SCMEA should be competent at the following NYSSMA Solo Levels:
Grades 11/12 All-County Concert Festival- Level VI All-State Solo
SCMEA
Students recommended to participate in SCMEA should be competent at the following NYSSMA Solo Levels and capable of performing at the following NYSSMA Major Organization Levels:
Division I (Grades 5/6) - Solo level 2, Major Organization level 2
Division II (Grades 7/8) - Solo level 4, Major Organization level 3/4
Division III (Grades 9/10) - Solo level 5, Major Organization level 5
Additional information concerning NYSCAME & SCMEA are obtainable through the organizations website:
www.nyscamesuffolk.org
www.scmea.org
All-State
Students in their sophomore and junior year are eligible to perform at NYSSMA All-State. Students must perform a level VI NYSSMA solo (the highest level) and must be accompanied by a pianist. Students with very high marks are nominated and possibly selected to an NYSSMA All-State performing ensemble. This NYSSMA All-State festival is traditionally after Thanksgiving vacation and lasts three days.
All-Eastern
Students that participate in NYSSMA All-State are then nominated to participate in the Bi-annual NAfME All-Eastern Honors groups. This is the highest honor a music student can achieve.
Additional information concerning NAfME is obtainable through the organizations website: www.nafme.org