NORWICH – A pair of Norwich High School students have been recognized by the New York State School Music Associate (NYSSMA) for their respective musical talents and will travel to Rochester this weekend for the organization’s 76th annual Winter Conference.
According to Vocal Music Teacher Mary Mayo, senior Dillan Smith has been selected to attend the Conference All-State Chorus, while sophomore Jason Handy’s talents will be featured in the NYSSMA Piano Showcase for a second straight year.
Smith and Handy will perform Sunday morning in Eastman Hall and Friday afternoon at the Rochester Convention Center respectively.
Smith was selected from a group of over 7,000 candidates statewide based on a perfect score he received on his Level 6 NYSSMA solo in May. The NHS senior will join a select group of Mixed Choir members to perform what Mayo called a challenging program come Sunday.
“This is the highest state honor for choral students,” she added.
A student of piano instructor Anita Humer, Handy will join 11 other pianists – selected from a group of 52 candidates who received perfect scores on their Level 6 NYSSMA piano solos – for a performance of Sergei Rachmaninov’s “?Polichinelle?” for music educators and piano teachers on Friday.
