Two Colonie Central High School seniors Josie Diodato and Amber Elk have recently been accepted into Area All State Mixed Chorus.
The New York State School Music Association, popularly known as NYSSMA, divides the state into 15 Zones, or areas, and they all host an Area All State festival in the fall.
“Area All State festivals give students an additional opportunity to participate in an advanced ensemble,” said chorus and music theory teacher Mrs. Tess McCarthy.
South Colonie is part of Zone 7, which includes nine counties: Hamilton, Warren, Washington, Rensselear, Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga, Fulton, and Montgomery. Students are nominated by their music teacher in the fall, and a selection committee meets and reviews all of the nominations, and selects the participants in each of the ensembles.
“Josie and Amber have both been selected for the Zone 7 Area All State Mixed Choir. It is a great honor and I am very proud of them,” McCarthy added.
The two will participate in a workshop and concert scheduled for November 18-19, 2022.
In addition to their acceptance to participate in Area All State, both Diodato and Elk have been selected to participate in CBS Albany’s Melodies of Christmas.
“The concert weekend begins Thursday, Dec. 15 and runs through Sunday,
Dec. 18 at the MainState at Proctors in Schenectady,” added McCarthy. “The Covid Pandemic caused a brief pause in the annual benefit concert but there is a lot of excitement building around the return of this year’s event.”
High school vocalists from schools across the region and Empire State Youth Orchestra’s flagship Symphony Orchestra are the heart of the benefit performance, which has raised over $8 million for the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer & Blood Disorders at Albany Med.