Farmingdale hosts The NYSSMA solo festival.

The annual NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) solo festival was held at Farmingdale High School this year on March 24th and 25th. NYSSMA is a test of one’s musical ability with sight reading, scales, and a solo which changes in difficulty depending on level. There are six levels, with one being the lowest difficulty and six being the highest. Solos are a song chosen from a handbook grading system that determines what level difficulty each song is. 

The NYSSMA festival was one of the most successful festivals ever held. Many performers going into the festival were stressed about their results. Even the little ones who have just started their musical careers would come out nervous about their run-through or would be jumping with joy. 

The results had Farmingdale teachers saying this was one of the best years. We had all the way from freshman to juniors earn high scores. Multiple people even scored 99s and 100s, which is a great achievement. NYSSMA is about your own individual skill level, so the grade would reflect how you did in that room. 

NYSSMA has pressure added to it because in order to get into the Wind Ensemble, you must score a 97 or higher on level 5 and a 95 on level 6. The scores came out and the music teachers announced who got into the Wind Ensemble and who will be going into the Symphonic Band. With Nyssma finally over, some musicians are looking forward to NYSSMA Majors, which is a more advanced NYSSMA with an age restriction, and others will look forward to the last concert of the season. To all the musicians that took on NYSSMA 2023, congratulations on another successful year.