Congratulations to East Rockaway High School senior Paul Lynch, who has been selected to perform with the New York State School Music Association’s (NYSSMA) All-State Mixed Chorus. Paul will travel to Rochester in December to participate in the NYSSMA All-State Conference, where he will rehearse and perform with the chorus alongside some of the top student musicians from across New York State.

All-State performers are selected from among the state’s strongest student musicians. During the conference, students rehearse and perform under the direction of renowned guest conductors.

The selection process begins with a solo performance evaluated by a NYSSMA adjudicator during the previous school year. Students who earn a score of 98 or higher are recommended for All-State consideration. Because many students achieve high scores, NYSSMA also considers additional factors, including music teacher and adjudicator recommendations, previous NYSSMA scores and participation in other performing organizations.

For his NYSSMA adjudication last spring, Paul performed “Wheels of a Dream” from the Broadway musical “Ragtime.” He plans to continue pursuing performance in college next year.

We congratulate Paul on this tremendous accomplishment and recognize East Rockaway High School choral director Seanna Silver for her guidance and coaching throughout the process.