The Columbia High School Symphonic Band earned a Gold Rating at the NYSSMA Majors Festival on April 24 in the Columbia High School auditorium. The band performed three pieces, including:
- “Procession of the Nobles” by Rimsky-Korsakov
- “Groovy Loops” by J. Scott McKenzie
- “Block M March” by Jerry Bilik
“The students began learning the difficult level 5 music (6 being the most difficult) after the new year,” said Symphonic Band Director Scott Halliday. “We then tabled the music for several weeks to prepare for our March Pops concert. At the conclusion of the Pops season the students worked really hard to put a great deal of polish on the pieces leading up to majors.”
According to the NYSSMA rating scale, a Gold Rating is “awarded to organizations that have demonstrated an outstanding level of technical and artistic skill in each of the evaluative categories identified, for all three selections. Any weaknesses in any of the categories will have been minimal. Recommendations will be given to further enhance their music performance skills.”
Congratulations to all of the Symphonic Band Students!