Lynbrook students take All-state honors

Lynbrook High School students Toniann Butler and Chelsea Carver both qualified to perform in the 2010 New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) All-State Winter Conference. This is the second consecutive year that Chelsea was chosen for this honor. She will be singing in the All-State Mixed Chorus. Toniann was chosen for the Women’s Chorus. They will be attending the annual All-State Conference on December 2-5, 2010, where they will have the distinction of performing at the renowned Eastman Theater. Their classmates Christina Cuevas (voice), Benjamin Barnett (trombone) and Ryan Dusenbury (saxophone) were all selected as alternates.

This is one of the highest honors bestowed on high school music students in New York State. Thousands of students auditioned at the Solo Evaluation Festivals held across the state last year. All five received scores of 98 or above, performing the most difficult Level 6 music. Chelsea, Christina and Ryan all achieved perfect scores.

A six-time All-County musician, Chelsea is president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and has performed in numerous high school dramatic productions and musicals. Toniann is a four-time All-County singer. Christina, who also plays viola, has qualified for All-County every year since fifth grade and has also performed in the Long Island String Festival. Ben is a three-time All-County musician. All five students are Tri-M members.

“We congratulate all five of these fine young musicians for this impressive accomplishment,” said Director of Fine and Performing Arts Joseph Pallotta. “This recognition is a reflection of their talent and their dedication, and a great source of pride for our school community.”