We planned to arrive 45 minutes earlier, and it’s a good thing because we not only hit traffic, but it took us almost 25 minutes to find a parking spot. If you aren’t familiar with the area, traffic is a little crazy and parking can be difficult, so I would suggest arriving much earlier. We are sent a letter to bring in to register with, and must arrive at least 15 minutes before our evaluation appointment to register. We apply with our piece of choice from a pre-approved selection, and inform them of what scales the applicant has ready. For those of you who are planning to “do NYSSMA” in the future and curious about the procedure, here is what happens: I was nerve-wracked about the process (and how he’d be evaluated- even though I knew he was skilled and very confident), but it was really very smooth and everyone at NYSSMA at the Corona Arts & Sciences Academy made everything easy. NYSSMA stands for New York State School Music Association, and every year, thousands of students from all across the state perform for judges for evaluation in a variety of musical instruments. This will come with time, and I’m so proud of him. By the third play, I can sing and hum along, so I know he can read music well, even if he doesn’t necessarily play a new piece perfectly on his first sight reading.

When he first tries a song, he slowly plays through the piece, and by the second run through I can easily recognize it. He is a great piano player, currently playing songs like “Piano Man” by Billy Joel and “Canon in D Major” by Pachelbel. I also wasn’t allowed to take pictures of him during the evaluation (out of respect for privacy), so all our pictures are of him waiting for his turn, and after ☺️ He also had to sight read as part of his evaluation, during which we weren’t allowed in the room, so I don’t know what he played for this. This year my son participated with “First Sonatina” as his solo piece, and C, D, and G as his scales. There are 6 levels, and we are hoping to reach at least 4 (but if our young man wants to keep going all the way, we are going to keep going all that way!). He has been playing piano for over two years and plays beautifully, but since he hasn’t been heavily trained to sight read she suggested he start with Level I. NYSSMA offers an annual Spring Evaluation Festival every year, and our piano teacher suggested my son apply for this prestigious evaluation for professional feedback.

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