Three of LHS’s musicians, senior Zach Buxton and juniors Liam Mylan and Jack Ceglie, attended and performed at the prestigious New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) All-State Conference from Thursday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 3. The boys experienced a weekend of rehearsing, socializing, learning, and high-level musicianship.
While other activities, such as sports or fine arts, have their own divisions of All-County or All-Conference, the music conferences are unique in that they contain a performance aspect, with All-State being one of the highest levels at which a high school musician can perform. “All-State is an annual concert series featuring some of the most advanced musicians in New York State,” said orchestra teacher Veronica Underhill. Ensembles include the Mixed Chorus in which Buxton, Mylan, and Ceglie all performed; the Symphonic Band; the Symphony Orchestra; and the Instrumental and Vocal Jazz Ensembles. In short, Buxton, Mylan, and Ceglie were selected “to represent the most advanced musicians New York has [this] year,” Underhill explained.
For this year’s conference, the boys’ journey of musical exploration began with the trip to Rochester on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 30. “We started off with a long, seven-hour bus ride to Rochester, and then we checked in, and after that, it [was] basically ‘rehearsal-mania,’” Buxton recalled. Although musicians are expected to prepare for the conference in advance by learning the music and submitting online part-checks, hours of rehearsal are still required in order to perfect the performance of such a large chorus. “The days were very structured. We would wake up, have breakfast, have our first rehearsal, break for lunch, have a second rehearsal, break for dinner, then have our last rehearsal of the day of which at that point we were done,” Ceglie explained.
When selecting the programs for their concert series, NYSSMA tends to follow a theme. “[Buxton, Mylan, and Ceglie] sang songs not only in English, but also French and German. The songs ranged in topic from the joy of the spring season…to finding joy despite facing adversity, [to] dreaming, and they finished with a lovely traditional spiritual,” Underhill shared. “The music was, to put it simply, beautiful. It was very obvious as to why [NYSSMA] picked each song because everything had a great meaning behind it,” Ceglie reminisced.
Not only were the lyrics of the songs beautiful, but so was the sound of the Mixed Chorus. “The most memorable part of the conference for me was definitely when I heard the choir sing together for the first time. Although I expected the chorus to be astounding, my expectations were exceeded,” Mylan expressed. This sound quality was further enhanced in the Sunday, Dec. 3 performance at the historic Eastman Theatre. Mylan elaborately described the theater: “[It] was the most beautiful theater I’ve ever had the pleasure of performing in. The walls included paintings and columns with a gold color. The ceiling had a fantastic chandelier surrounded by golden flowers.”
Aside from the rehearsals and performances, the All-State Conference provides invaluable learning opportunities, both music and non-music related, for the musicians who receive the honor of being accepted and attending. “There was so much, honestly, that I couldn’t even pinpoint one thing. You learn so much technique that I’m going to bring back to Lynbrook to share with all of the Concert Choir and my colleagues,” Buxton chuckled. Although this year’s three All-State musicians were accepted to the Mixed Chorus, the lessons can be applied to all musicians and groups. “We learned the proper ways to cut off notes, to sustain notes, proper dynamic techniques, how vowels and consonants should sound for voice. It’s learning overload with the amount of new material,” Buxton explained. Non-music-related lessons learned at the All-State conference were responsibility, independence, and accountability. “All-County is after school and everyone is still home every night. [All-State] is a big step up since it’s four days away from home!” Underhill exclaimed.
While it would appear that the boys had a weekend of nonstop music and rehearsing, there, of course, was still time for fun after the nighttime rehearsals concluded. “We all, meaning Zach, Liam, and [our roommates], would sort of congregate in my room and just hang out because we didn’t have to worry about anything else other than making it back to your own room at curfew,” Ceglie shared. What were the boys doing exactly after those long days of rehearsals? “We played Super Smash Bros….it really served as a bonding experience for all of us because we had like, eight guys in there,…and we were all just having fun, really taking a break from the craziness of the weekend,” Buxton revealed.
Buxton had a unique All-State experience in that this was not his first, but his second year at an All-State conference. As for what has changed for him over the last two years, Buxton had this to say: “I felt more at home this year, and knowing what to expect really enabled me to appreciate the more fun parts [of the conference], and I was also prepared for the long days ahead, like the three-and-a-half-hour rehearsal. More specifically, I really came to accept that it was the last time I would be able to do this.” Senior year in the music department is typically bittersweet, but Buxton felt it especially at this year’s All-State Conference. “This year,…I felt like I had really earned my spot there, that I was like a leader in the room, and that I honestly deserved to be there…It was a little surreal at the end, to say the least,” Buxton reflected.
It is an honor to the Lynbrook Music Department when a musician gets accepted to All-State, but having three musicians all accepted to the same ensemble is even more memorable. “Seeing Zach, Jack, and Liam sing together was so much fun!” Underhill exclaimed.
