This Friday and Saturday, Weedsport will be sending 24 high school band students (five of whom will be first chair players) and 12 middle school choir students to Southern Cayuga Jr./Sr. High School to participate in the Spring All-County Music Festival, an event for which our students have been preparing for a long time. At Southern Cayuga high school, our students will encounter eight hours of rigorous rehearsal, during which they will piece together the songs they have been learning. On Saturday at 2:00pm, the students will present the work they have done to an audience as a show of their hard work and skill. All-County faces students with a challenge that gives them the chance to broaden their horizons in music and work with other young musicians in a new setting with a director they would not normally work with. To help those who might want to know more, the Johnny Green spoke with two of our first chair players in order to gather more information about the event; Mackenzie Hill will be playing first chair on the flute and Lydia Treat will be playing for the trumpet section.

Mackenzie Hill

Q: Can you tell us about what all-county is and what it takes to get in?

A: “All-county is a select band for students in your county. To get in you need to have a score from solo fest or NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association). Basically you have to learn a solo and play it in front of judges. The higher the score you get, the more likely you are to get in and the higher chair you’ll get. There are also different levels of solos, six being the highest.”

Q: Can you describe the process for getting into all-county?

A: “In about January you pick a solo. Then you have from that time until NYSSMA solo fest in May, or CCMEA solo fest in June to practice. An all-state solo counts for more points if you do it. To do it you have to have a pianist accompany you, then you have to practice with them as well. AT That is what I did for my solo. AT solo fest you have to perform the solo for a judge. You also have to play three scales for the judge’s choosing and do sight-reading. The judge gives you a score. Then, in about December or January, the people for all-county choose who is in the band, based on the scores.”

Lydia Treat

Q: How has/will all-county impact your life, especially being a first chair player?

A: “Playing in more advanced ensembles like all-county has encouraged me to branch out and do other ensembles such as the Syracuse honors youth ensemble, because I realized I really enjoyed meeting other young musicians and playing more complex pieces than we do in our regular wind ensemble.”

Q: What is it like being a part of all-county band?

A:  “It’s a really cool thing to experience because you get to work with so many talented people and you also get to work with new conductors who are always really interesting. We also get to work on more complex pieces than we do in our regular wind ensemble, which really helps me to improve my skills as a musician. Being first chair has definitely helped me to fine-tune how I play because I have to lead my section. I’ve really improved in the past few weeks just from practicing the pieces and I’m excited to see how this year’s ensemble sounds together.”

The staff here at the Johnny Green wish them the best of luck on their performances!