Chittenango — Two talented students will be going to NYSSMA Area All-State in Rochester in December. Derek Gay made it in as a bass 2 and Natalie DiGennero made it in as an Oboe player.
Of the many students that try and hundreds of students that want to apply for Area All-State, only a few of the best players actually get in. This makes it hard to be able to have the opportunity to be in Area All’State and both Natalie and Derek managed to get in with high NYSSMA scores.
Back in the 2025 spring students went to Mexico to perform their solo for a judge and received their NYSSMA scores. Natalie did “Sonata for Oboe and Piano”, a level six solo, and Derek did “O Isis und Osiris” from The Magic Flute, a level six solo.
When asked Derek said, “I feel very honored to be in Area All-State, I’m very excited for this opportunity, I’m really glad that I got selected, and I’ll know that it will be a very fun time out in Rochester.”
Meanwhile, Natalie said, “I feel like a mix of everything. I’m a little worried because I remember when Sophia did it she said that like all of the woodwinds had all of the runs down on the first day, like they were like crazy runs”.
Both of these high school seniors put in a lot of effort and work with their practicing and with their auditions and it paid off. They will be heading to Rochester for Area All-State this December. Congratulations Natalie and Derek!
