Elana Xu
Writer '18
NYSSMA Piano Festival was hosted by John L. Miller Great Neck North High School on March 24th and March 25th. Great Neck North High School helped host Piano NYSSMA for several years, while LIU Post hosted the remaining half of students. With Mr. Rutkowski’s diligent work to gather the judges and plan for accommodations, the Piano festival ran smoothly. Many students in North’s Tri-M Music Honors Society Chapter 3605 volunteered to help as runners (collect score sheets) and monitors (direct students to their rooms). In addition, the pianos were moved into the classrooms on Thursday and chairs were set in the halls right after school Friday.
The school was filled with 800 students and their families from all over Long Island. These students have been practicing endlessly to present their solo to their adjudicators. As families started to shuffle in, volunteers ran to their stations, ready to welcome nervous students with a big smile. The infamous level 6 NYSSMA piece, Chopin waltz op. 64 no. 2, could be heard from two to three classrooms in every hall as the runners dropped of the score sheets to the NYSSMA Office. Similar to previous years, the halls were filled with various pieces and melodies. Parents stood outside of their child’s room, putting their ear against the door to hear how their child is performing. Meanwhile, the musicians paced back and forth in front of the classroom door waiting for the adjudicator to call them in.
Furthermore, relief filled the air as musicians walked out of the classrooms, proud of their performance, and glad of the results of their hard work the past few months. Although, there were other emotions present, the sense of worry evident by teary faces of parents and musicians who believed that their performance was not up to par with their expectations. As the sky outside got darker, the monitors, runners, staff, and adjudicators became weary; they gladly went on a dinner break at 7pm to re-energize themselves in order to prepare for the second half of the night. The first night of Great Neck North High School's 2017 Piano NYSSMA Festival ended at 10pm with musicians, adjudicators, and staff clearing the halls and building, allowing the janitors to clean and set up for the next day of piano NYSSMA. The next day repeated the excitement of the previous day. Overall, the Piano NYSSMA Festival was a success!
Writer '18
NYSSMA Piano Festival was hosted by John L. Miller Great Neck North High School on March 24th and March 25th. Great Neck North High School helped host Piano NYSSMA for several years, while LIU Post hosted the remaining half of students. With Mr. Rutkowski’s diligent work to gather the judges and plan for accommodations, the Piano festival ran smoothly. Many students in North’s Tri-M Music Honors Society Chapter 3605 volunteered to help as runners (collect score sheets) and monitors (direct students to their rooms). In addition, the pianos were moved into the classrooms on Thursday and chairs were set in the halls right after school Friday.
The school was filled with 800 students and their families from all over Long Island. These students have been practicing endlessly to present their solo to their adjudicators. As families started to shuffle in, volunteers ran to their stations, ready to welcome nervous students with a big smile. The infamous level 6 NYSSMA piece, Chopin waltz op. 64 no. 2, could be heard from two to three classrooms in every hall as the runners dropped of the score sheets to the NYSSMA Office. Similar to previous years, the halls were filled with various pieces and melodies. Parents stood outside of their child’s room, putting their ear against the door to hear how their child is performing. Meanwhile, the musicians paced back and forth in front of the classroom door waiting for the adjudicator to call them in.
Furthermore, relief filled the air as musicians walked out of the classrooms, proud of their performance, and glad of the results of their hard work the past few months. Although, there were other emotions present, the sense of worry evident by teary faces of parents and musicians who believed that their performance was not up to par with their expectations. As the sky outside got darker, the monitors, runners, staff, and adjudicators became weary; they gladly went on a dinner break at 7pm to re-energize themselves in order to prepare for the second half of the night. The first night of Great Neck North High School's 2017 Piano NYSSMA Festival ended at 10pm with musicians, adjudicators, and staff clearing the halls and building, allowing the janitors to clean and set up for the next day of piano NYSSMA. The next day repeated the excitement of the previous day. Overall, the Piano NYSSMA Festival was a success!