Music

Syosset is a community that has long recognized the value and importance of a strong arts education for its children. We offer a comprehensive curriculum in music from grades K through 12. All students study music through the eighth grade, and most continue their musical studies into and through high school. Students have the opportunity to perform in their school’s band, orchestra and/or chorus. In addition, we offer many co-curricular performance groups such as instrumental and vocal jazz ensembles, musical theater productions and plays. In addition, Syosset High School has an extremely active and well recognized chapter of the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Our music program has received significant recognition for its excellence.

In Syosset, we believe music makes us better students and better citizens. Here’s how:

MATHEMATICS SKILLS: Certain types of music instruction help develop the capacity for spatial temporal reasoning, which is integral to the acquisition of important mathematics skills. Spatial temporal reasoning refers to the ability to understand the relationship of ideas and objects in space and time.

READING AND LANGUAGE SKILLS: Music instruction enhances and complements basic reading skills, language development and writing skills. The study of music provides a context for teaching language skills because music is a language and a powerful form of communication.

THINKING SKILLS: Reasoning ability, intuition, perception, imagination, inventiveness, creativity, problem-solving skills and expression are among the thought processes developed through the study of music.

SOCIAL SKILLS: Music education promotes growth in positive social skills including self-confidence, self-control, conflict resolution, collaboration, empathy and social tolerance.

MOTIVATION TO LEARN: Music nurtures a motivation to learn by emphasizing active engagement, disciplined and sustained attention, persistence and risk taking, among other competencies.

Source: Ruppert, Sandra S.: Critical Evidence – How the ARTS Benefit Student Achievement. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 2006.

NYSSMA stands for New York State School Music Association. It is a professional association of music teachers from throughout New York State. NYSSMA’s parent organization is the National Association for Music Education. NYSSMA’s mission is to advocate for and promote music education in New York. They sponsor conferences and professional development opportunities for its teacher members, proactively advocate for music education throughout the state, and present many programs for students in its member schools. 

NYSSMA is best known for sponsoring festivals each spring in which students have the opportunity to perform solos and small ensembles (duets, trios, etc.) for an impartial adjudication. This process has long been held up as one of the finest examples of authentic assessment and is designed to help students to improve their musical abilities. Participation in NYSSMA is voluntary and provides students an opportunity to evaluate their own level of achievement and to set goals for making progress.

More about NYSSMA and NYSSMA Festivals