<p>I'm a student in New York, and I play the tuba and guitar. For those who don't know, here we have an event every year called the Nyssma festival where students prepare a piece for months and play it to be graded by a judge. The pieces are sorted by level 1-6, with 6 being supposedly college level. </p>
<p>I'm just curious as to how out of state schools will view nyssma, especially for a non-music major looking for a scholarship. </p>
<p>I play the tuba and have done Nyssma as far back as elementary school, reaching level 6 this year (my junior year) as well as jazz guitar for the past 3 years, doing a level 5 this year.</p>
<p>We are New Yorkers, you will never be asked about your NYSSMA score by any college (at least we haven’t been). My son plays euph and was never asked and my daughter has been visiting schools and has never been asked. You are not required to do NYSSMA and many advanced students just don’t.</p>
<p>From everything I have either heard or seen directly with my S’s friends who are either entering music schools this fall or are already there, something like NYSSMA probably means little or nothing in terms of acceptance, that basically proficiency is measured by the audition process. </p>
<p>Something like that might be valuable is applying for a non performance degree, or for BA side of schools requiring joint degrees (like Bard and Rice), as part of the core of extracurriculars and achievements you put on a college application, but musically I suspect it won’t mean much. Even where there might be direct correlation (such as, for example, getting to a certain level on an ABRSM exam for music theory), schools don’t seem to recognize that for placement into theory (generally they do it by placement exam it sounds like).</p>
<p>High NYSSMA scores might be viewed as comparable to making “all-state” in some states. It falls into the category of “that’s nice” on an application: it doesn’t hurt, it might help, but it’s not a factor in conservatory admissions.</p>
<p>Now if you’re in the big admissions pool at a competitive college or university, high NYSSMA scores or all-state designation show commitment, dedication, and achievement. For someone like you, and I’m being serious here, if the school needs a tuba, this can tip your application into the favorable category. Violins may be a dime a dozen, but there won’t be hundreds of great SAT scores, great GPA’s who also play the tuba at an all-state level, so this could be a big help when you apply.</p>
<p>Sagiter’s comment is right on when it comes to who participates in these festivals. In my home state, some of the best instrumentalists do not participate in all-state but that said, to get to the top at all-state, you have to be outstanding because there are sufficient numbers of great musicians there to make it competitive and special.</p>