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B-P Sr. High band and choir walk away with honors at NYSSMA Majors, Trills & Thrills

B-P Sr. High band and choir walk away with honors at NYSSMA Majors, Trills & Thrills

The Broadalbin-Perth Sr. High School concert band and choir recently received accolades at the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Major Organization Evaluation Festivals for their respective ensembles.

The Broadalbin-Perth Sr. High concert band, under the direction of Mike Graves, received a gold rating for their Level 4 pieces — the highest rating possible. The senior high concert choir, led by Alex Hitrick, received a silver rating for their Level 4 pieces.

Both the senior high concert band and concert choir also received superior ratings at the Trills & Thrills Music Festival in Queensbury this year, the highest rating possible at the festival.

"The kids truly did an awesome job," Graves said. "It was nice this year because we had three chances to perform the same set of music, at the Trills & Thrills Music Festival, the school concert, and then NYSSMA. For them to be recognized for their hard work was huge."

The choir students had a different experience, as they performed at NYSSMA before Trills & Thrills. The group used their NYSSMA experience to help them improve at Trills & Thrills.

"This was our first time going back to NYSSMA in many years," Hitrick said. "Given it has been a few years, I told the kids that we were going to shoot for silver or gold as our goal. Immediately after the performance, I asked them what they thought they got and they said silver, as they knew they did well, but there were a few areas where they felt they could improve. That is what I was most proud of — they took the silver and used that as an opportunity to reflect and improve, which helped at Trills & Thrills."

The choir was able to increase their rating from the previous year at Trills and Thrills, increasing their score by seven points from the year prior. The choir also recently learned they will perform on stage with the band Foreigner at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in July.

"We have a special group of kids this year," Graves said.

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