Rensselaer All-County Music Festivals

Every year the Rensselaer County School Music Association hosts two music festivals. (Dates and locations can be found on the Music Department Concert Schedule link.) This is an opportunity for students from Brittonkill to perform with students from other school districts throughout Rensselaer County. These events are open to vocal and instrumental students in grades 5 – 12. These festivals are optional for students, and require the recommendation of their teacher. 

Students who are selected to participate in these events are required to come to extra practices to prepare the music and also must practice the music on their own. Two rehearsals are held prior to the final concert. The Thursday before the concert the rehearsal begins at 4:00 pm and runs until 7:30 pm. The Saturday of the concert rehearsals run from 9:00 am until the concert at 3:00 pm. Students must attend both rehearsals in order to participate in the concert.  It is a great honor to be recommended and selected to perform in these outstanding ensembles.

There is a small fee to participate in these festivals that is to be paid by the student. The student must commit to the dates in writing before their names can be submitted for application.

RCSMA Scholarship Festival

Each March, the RCSMA (Rensselaer County School  Music Association) sponsors a scholarship festival.  The festival's objectives are to develop musical excellence of students as solo performers, to encourage the performance of solo literature, to foster the continued study of music, and to recognize outstanding performing musicians of Rensselaer County.  Participants compete for one of three scholarship categories: $250 for middle school, $250 for high school, and $1000 for college (awarded to a high school senior continuing music studies in college). Information and applications can be received from middle and high school music teachers.

New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Festival

Every year NYSSMA hosts festivals throughout the state for students in grades 5 – 12. This is an opportunity for students to perform either as a soloist or in a small ensemble for an adjudicator. This event is optional, but highly recommended for music students who are advanced or showing great interest in music. 

Students who choose to perform a solo prepare a single piece of music that is listed in the NYSSMA manual. Music in the NYSSMA manual is divided into grades. Grade 1 is the easiest and proceeds to grade 6, the most difficult. Your child’s teacher can help guide the student as to what grade level is appropriate for their abilities. Another part of the festival is sight reading. Students perform a short selection of music that they have never seen before. Instrumental students are also required to perform required scales depending on the grade level of their solo. Students in ensembles are only required to perform their selected piece of music. 

Students are given comments and grading based on their performance.