Congratulations to Riley Grainger, who will perform as an Alto 1 in the 2021 All-State Mixed Chorus  at the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) 2021 All-State Winter Festival, to be held Dec. 2 to 5 in Rochester.

Molly Dubner was named as a Soprano 1 alternate and Elizabeth Skalski was named a mallet percussion alternate for the festival.

The festival features students who are the “best of the best” in New York State. They will practice with student colleagues from throughout the state, culminating with performances at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music’s Eastman Theatre.

Being selected for All-State is one of the highest student achievements in music education.

The All-State experience begins with a music educator, his or her student and an accompanist spending countless hours preparing a NYSSMA Level VI solo which must be selected from repertoire lists in the NYSSMA manual. The teachers who prepared them for their solos are Danielle Cornacchio, Matthew Christy, Joe Horner and Tom Stickney.

Adjudicators take their evaluations and follow a detailed process to determine the final make-up of eight performing ensembles.

In 2020, NYSSMA held virtual festival,  but this year’s event will be in-person.