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New Hyde Park Memorial High School hosted the 62nd Sewanhaka Central High School All District Music Festival, an annual celebration of students’ musical talents, on February 6, 2025. The festival featured three performing groups: the band, chorus and orchestra. The ensembles were played by students from all over the Sewanhaka District.
As the host school, NHP’s music department took the lead in organizing the festival. Mr. Monat, the festival chairperson, was responsible for overseeing the entire event, with ensemble chair people managing specific groups: Ms. Bagley for the band, Ms. Tomkiw for the orchestra and Mr. McLeer for the chorus. They were supported by assistant ensemble chairs, who are music teachers from other district schools.
“My favorite part of district was that I got to better enhance my playing skills while playing along with many of my peers from school. While it might be tiring with it being around 4 hours long, it made up for it with the great experience it provided,” sophomore Alphonse Jaison said.
The festival took an extreme amount of preparation and planning, starting all the way from June with the process of selecting a conductor for each performance group. Each year, the district has the opportunity to bring in professional educators and conductors from outside the district. The conductors are chosen by the music teachers at the host school who look for professionals, usually college professors or experienced music educators, that will provide students with fresh perspectives and high-level instruction.
“We look for conductors who are highly experienced with this age level of students, passionate about music, and able to lead a brand-new ensemble to a successful concert,” band teacher Ms. Bagley said. “The ideal conductor will pick musical selections that are appropriately challenging for the group, while also being varied in style and mood.”
In order to participate and play in the festival, each instrument and voice has specific audition material taken from the concert pieces. The students audition in front of adjudicators, music teachers outside of the Sewanhaka district, who then score and rank everyone in the section. The music teachers at the host school balance the group with the necessary instrument ratios and determine acceptance from there. The audition music is sent out in October and auditions are in early November, demonstrating the extensive process to coordinate the festival.
“Students who perform a successful audition are, above all, well-prepared, showing that they have a strong work ethic and can learn independently,” music chairperson Noel Monat said. “Skilled musicians have a clear sound, excellent sense of rhythm and time, and can play expressively, following the volume and style changes in the music.”
Leading up to the performance, students attended four rehearsals a few days before the concert, where they worked closely with conductors to refine their pieces. Through dedication and long hours of rehearsal, students were able to showcase their incredible talent and hard work, making months of preparation well worth the effort.
“As a seventh grader, this was my first District Music Festival. It was a great opportunity for me to meet other talented musicians in the district and preform great music with them. I thought the entire concert experience was amazing, and I can’t wait to play again next year,” seventh grade violinist and soloist Chloe Lee said.
“Playing with musicians from all the schools in our district was an amazing experience,” sophomore Joshua Chacko said. “You can tell everyone put in a lot of effort because the concert went great, and the audience’s reaction showed they loved it too.”
