NYSSMA is a professional association of music teachers from throughout New York state with a mission to advocate for music education. The association sponsors festivals annually where students can perform prepared solos for ratings by impartial judges.

From Frewsburg, Laska and Sears, did both vocal and brass auditions last May. After scoring 100 on both, they were selected to participate in both the All-State mixed chorus and All-State orchestra. Laska’s mother, Alicia, is Frewsburg’s band director and Sear’s mother, Jen, is the choral director.

DeJoy is a senior at Jamestown High School.

Other students from Chautauqua County also were selected this year to participate.

Pictured are Kelson Laska, Jacob Sears and Madeline DeJoy, all of whom took part in the the New York State School Music Association All-State conference.

The NYSSMA conference took place from Dec. 1-4, finishing with the All-State chorus, band, and orchestra concert on Dec. 4.

Laska and Sears performed with the orchestra.

Shaun Laska, technology integration specialist and Laska’s father, said the event served as a culmination of the boys’ high school endeavors.

“Kelson has grown up in the band room since birth,” he said. “He began trombone lessons in fourth grade and switched to tuba in seventh grade. The same year, (my wife and I) helped to establish the F2CS Blue and Gold Vanguard, a combined marching band between Frewsburg and Falconer schools.

Nelson has been a member of that group for six years, several as a student leader, and his final year as a drum major.”

He added, “Jacob has also grown up around music.

Jacob was a student at Falconer through the eighth grade until transferring to Frewsburg in ninth grade, but occasionally took roles in Frewsburg musical productions while in middle school at Falconer.”

Both boys had the opportunity to study music with the late Bill Knight.

“Bill Knight was a truly inspirational figure in his students’ lives and it’s hard to encapsulate in words the impact he has had on the lives of literally hundreds of young musicians,” Shaun Laska said. “He offered the opportunity for students from different schools to connect through their shared love of music. Kelson and Jacob were excited to be joined in the All-State Orchestra by another of Mr. Knight’s students, Madeline DeJoy, a senior at Jamestown High School. To date, over 100 of Bill Knight’s students have been selected for All-State ensembles.”

Shaun Laska said a small school like Frewsburg to send two students to the NYSSMA conference in the same year is extremely rare.

“Thousands of students from schools of all sizes auditioned for 565 spots in this year’s All-State ensembles,” he said. “There are well over 600 school districts in New York, so it would be impossible for every district to send even one person. Larger, more affluent districts often send multiple students, but for our relatively small school to have two students selected is fairly rare. Furthermore, Kelson and Jacob each prepared a vocal and instrumental All-State audition and were selected to ensembles for both, meaning Frewsburg effectively earned four All-State spots this year.”

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