The Pakanasink Elementary fifth-grade chorus, under the direction of Mary Sousa, earned an evaluation rating of Gold with Distinction for their performance at the NYSSMA Major Organization Festival at Wallkill High School on Tuesday, May 17. This is the highest rating possible and requires that students meet the qualifications of a gold rating “while having achieved a standard of performance deemed exceptional.”

 

For their performance, the Pakanasink chorus sang three choral selections: I Let Her Go-Go – a song from Trinidad and Tobago arranged by Douglas Beam, Art thou Troubled? – composed by George Frideric Handel and arranged by Jean Ashworth Bartle, and Haida, a Chassidic round arranged by Henry Leck.

NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) sponsors festivals across the state that give student musicians the chance to play or sing and receive an evaluation by trained professional adjudicators.

How great is that!!