This past Saturday members of our Patchogue-Medford High School music department participated in the All-County NYSCAME festival at Hauppauge High School.  

For years now, PMHS juniors and seniors have participated in these county events to grasp the musical opportunities they’ve been given. Whether it’s learning new lessons, catching up with friends from other schools, or enjoying the music itself, PMHS music students have succeeded in their participation and nomination to these events. 

All-County NYSCAME is a county performance where students are expected to prepare music for three days of rehearsals. The organization aims to provide students with the opportunity of engaging in new environments within music and learning from renowned conductors. 

Here below will follow the experiences that students from PMHS had after attending the 2024 All-County NYSCAME festival! 

Band Ensemble  

Dr. Boonshaft, a professor at Hofstra University, conducted over 100 musicians hoping to impact each and every one of them. 

Gianna Touya (junior), an oboe player, said that she “learned about blending in large sections of individuals and [about the] importance of preparation”. Preparation was a major contributor to the success of participating at NYSCAME, especially considering that many students who attended are also planning to participate in this year’s All-State NYSSMA festival. 

A clarinetist from our wind ensemble, Charles Monahan (junior), recalled his experience of being humbling and finding the necessity for hard work placed in the music we played. From playing Khan by Julie Giroux to Hymn to the Infinite Sky by Satoshi Yagisawa, the experience fulfilled a passion of playing difficult music. 

Despina Carver (junior), a French horn player, said that “balance and fundamentals of sound in a large ensemble” were some of the biggest takeaways from attending NYSCAME. 

From PMHS own students planning on pursuing music as a career is Katie Curcio (senior), a trumpet player. She defined her experience at NYSCAME as appreciating “playing difficult music and unifying with new students”. She said “Dr. Boonshaft was entertaining during the rehearsal made the experience even more fun”. 

Ioshua Chacon (senior), a bass clarinetist, was grateful to experience a “different environment in comparison to [our] own band”. The experience of learning from a new perspective is always rewarding and NYSCAME definitely gave a new experience for many musicians. 

As for myself, a flute player, I left with one deep message from Dr. Boonshaft. Besides his moving anecdotes, he left the message of “Not again, better”. 

Choral Ensemble 

Conducted by Mary and Tucker Biddlecombe, lecturers at Vanderbilt University, the choral ensembles arranged beautiful harmonies to warm the hearts of many listeners. 

Kyla O’Sullivan (senior), a treble choir soprano, said she was able to learn “new singing techniques and appreciation for singing with unfamiliar people”. Getting out comfort zones can be difficult, especially in music, but finding the right way to blend one’s contribution to the mix of sounds is beautiful. 

From a bass in the mixed choir, Colin Jennings (junior) said that he was able to “get the experience of learning from a conductor from Vanderbilt [and learning to] sound like an adult choir”. A great opportunity that many musicians grasped from NYSCAME was gaining experience from new conductors and developing new skills. 

Joe LaMartina (junior), a bass in the mixed choir, found even “small movements of the mouth can change the sound of the choir” as something he learned for the duration of the rehearsals. 

Whether it was a small or large difference, the guest conductors gave students from PMHS the opportunity to learn new ways of approaching our music.  

Orchestra Ensemble 

From upstate New York, Ho-Yin Kwok from Ithaca College, conducted the orchestra the night of the festival. The pressing and intense music left everyone in the audience to adore the music being performed on stage. 

Miles Diekman (junior), a bass player, found that listening was one of the most important aspects of NYSCAME. “Listening is important, [listening] very good– always”, said Diekman when asked what his biggest takeaway was from the music festival. 

Alyssa Rodriguez (junior), a violinist, appreciated “making new friends in the violin section”, which draws back to the connections that many students made during the rehearsals. 

An upright bass of the orchestra, Michael Johnstone (senior) said that he loved how unified the orchestra was during his participation at the festival. From playing with such “talented individuals”, Johnstone was motivated for his own efforts at the NYSCAME festival and his future passion of music. 

Although the time spent in rehearsals for NYSCAME was short, many students gained new friendships, experience, and appreciation for music. Thank you to all the director the program that helped make this possible and to our very own Music and Arts Department that contributed to our participation. To a devotion and love for music, a greater appreciation of music bloomed from PMHS music students’ participation at All-County NYSCAME festival.