High School students shine in Area All-State band

In elementary school, Angelina Masotti and Winter Gaspari discovered a love for music, in particular, for musical instruments.

In February, both Newfield High School (NHS) students were honored for their years of dedication by participating in the New York State Schools Music Association (NYSSMA) Area All-State Band Festival.

Both students participated at the senior level of Area All-State, which begins accepting applicants based on scores in an advanced solo test. The festival is two days long, with one day dedicated to rehearsal and the other consisting of rehearsal in the morning and a concert in the afternoon. Students are eligible for the senior level when they are sophomores.

This year’s festival took place at Ithaca College but was condensed to one day, as snow and inclement weather canceled the first rehearsal day.

“We’re really fortunate at all levels, we have kids that want to be involved in these programs, we have educators who take it very seriously and do such a nice job with our kids and give them all the opportunities that we can,” Newfield Central School District Superintendent (NCSD) Eric Hartz said. “The district sees that as really important to students being well-rounded in the educational area.”

When selecting students for Area All-State, NYSSMA divides New York into 15 geographical zones. NCSD falls into Zone 3, which consists of schools in the Central New York and Southern Tier counties of Broome, Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga, Tioga and Tompkins.

NHS band director Sharon Powell said the zone is competitive, and to have two students from one district qualify for the band is a mark of how hard they have worked.

“It is extremely gratifying to have students performing at this level,” Powell said in an email. “I also feel grateful to have these students and their families who devote countless hours and resources to honing their craft. To be selected for Area All-State represents years of training and dedication. I feel so incredibly honored to be a part of all of this.”

Masotti, who is a junior and plays the flute, was selected based on her perfect 100 NYSSMA score. She also was an alternate flutist for NYSSMA’s Conference All-State Band, which selects the top performers from across the state, not just from one zone.

While she has played the flute since fourth grade, Masotti also plays the piccolo and violin, and sings. She said she knows the basics of clarinet, piano, xylophone and double bass.

It was the second time she was selected for Senior Area All-State, and she said in both experiences, the most valuable part was meeting people from different schools and challenging herself with more complicated music.

“I learned a lot from those around me,” Masotti said. “Everybody I meet brings something new and different that I can learn from. I usually make friends with people from different schools in the flute section, and it’s just really fun. It’s fun to play more advanced music and it’s fun to play with a band where everybody has put in the effort to be there.” 

As a result of her NYSSMA score, she was also selected to perform in the New York State Band Directors Association [NYSBDA] Honor Band, which takes students from across the state. She performed in a concert on March 5 in Syracuse.

The festival was three days long, with extensive rehearsals in the two days leading up to the concert. Masotti also plays the violin in the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra, [CCO] and will be performing a spring recital at the First Unitarian Church in Ithaca on Sat., March 25 at 7 p.m. Her experience with CCO has made her accustomed to long rehearsals, but she said preparing for the NYSBDA concert still took a lot out of her. Still, she was able to make the most of her time in Syracuse.

“It was a lot. It was definitely tiring. I think I improved a lot because of it,” she said. “I had a lot of fun meeting new people. I met my roommate and we immediately bonded. I met some of her friends because she had done NYSBDA last year in the clarinet section. The music was incredible, and it was a challenge.”

Gaspari is a sophomore who has been playing trumpet for eight years. February was their first time performing at the Senior Area All-State Band level, but the quick turnaround time of morning rehearsal to afternoon concert didn’t phase them.

“It wasn’t too bad to be honest. We did a lot of work but it was still really fun,” they said. “I think it went really well. It is kind of like a big sports game—you prepare and prepare, and then you sort of show everyone what you’ve got.”

In elementary school, Gaspari found the trumpet and felt love for the instrument immediately. A fan of different kinds of music, they said the trumpet gave them a tool to play anything from blues or jazz to concert band pieces.

“It’s really beautiful,” they said. “You can do a lot of stuff with it. [You can play] any style and it works.”

Gaspari agreed with Masotti, saying that the music and students performing made the experience not just musically educational, but socially educational.

They admitted that they hadn’t heard of every school that was represented at the festival, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was being with like-minded people and playing music that challenged them.

“It was really cool,” Gaspari said. “It was nice to work with people who were really passionate about what they’re doing. We had a lot to do during the Saturday practice, but we were able to pull it off really well.”

Powell said the value of festivals like Area All-State or the NYSBDA Honor Band is found not only in the friendships formed during rehearsal time but also, as Masotti and Gaspari mentioned, in improving from being around talented musicians.

“I tell my students ‘if you want to get better, you have to play with people who are better than you,’” Powell said. “They form friendships and improve their ensemble skills under the batons of acclaimed conductors. You’ve heard of ‘keep your eye on the prize.’ This is the prize.”

Powell also said both students shouldn’t be labeled as musicians only, as they have multiple other endeavors. Gaspari has taken part in Kung Fu for five years, works part time as an IT assistant, and still has time to write, draw and compose music.

In addition to playing with CCO, Masotti also sings in NHS’s A Capella group. When she isn’t performing, she is a Sea Scout who has served as a boatswain on her ship. She is also working toward the Gold Award in her Girl Scout troop and an Eagle Scout rank in Scouts BSA. 

“In addition to their superior musicianship, both have so many other things that they excel at,” Powell said. “Angelina and Winter are both high honor roll students at Newfield. Plus they are caring, nurturing and humble people who strive for excellence every day.”

Masotti is also studying for a  pilot’s license, and as she starts to search for colleges, she is looking for programs in aviation.

Music can take up only so much of her heart, but she said it’s a very large part. Opportunities like Area All-State Band and the NYSBDA Honors Band have reminded her about the different places and people music can introduce her to.

Even if she doesn’t study music in college, she said it will most likely be a significant part of her life. 

“In middle school, [music was] what I wanted to do, but then I fell into aviation. I want to be a pilot,” she said. “I love music so much, and my plan was to keep playing but I don’t know how much I can separate myself from that world, because I am really loving opportunities like this. The music is incredible, it’s so much fun, and I have so much fun meeting these friends and spending time with people who care about the same things that I do and who I can talk to about these things.”

Newfield Notes appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or geoffpreston8@gmail.com.