Freshman Jared Finkel of Katonah and junior Helena Belloff of Mahopac received high scores in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) piano solo festival held May 18 at Lakeland High School.
Finkel performed two jazz pieces, “Gimme Five” and “Groovy Man,” earning an “Excellent” rating from the NYSSMA judge who evaluates on such criteria as rhythm, accuracy of pitch, interpretation, sight reading, scales, correct fingering, and execution.
Helena Belloff, a junior at Harvey, earned an “Outstanding” rating for her performance, including a rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C-sharp minor.
Harvey School music teacher Kathryn Cushman gave high praise to Finkel and Belloff. “They accomplished something pretty amazing, having learned their pieces well enough to present them for judging in front of a trained pianist and teacher for adjudication.”
Finkel, a student of Katonah music teacher Jean Cilione, has been playing piano for almost four years. Belloff, playing piano for almost 10 years, is a student of Yelena Tartakovsky of Somers.
