NYSSMA Piano-Only Festival
April 10-11, 2026
Walter Panas High School

December 9, 2025

Dear Music Colleagues,

I hope your Winter Concert season is off to a good start! Walter Panas High School will host this year’s NYSSMA Piano Festival on April 10-11, 2026. This festival is for classical piano only – we will not host any Jazz Piano auditions. All jazz solos will be heard at the Up-County festival in Somers on May 29-30.

Please note that PIANO fees for the 2026 festival season are as follows:

Levels I-IV: $26
Levels V-VI: $36

Our festival will be held at:

Walter Panas High School
300 Croton Avenue
Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567

Registration will begin: January 19, 2026. Registration will close: February 27, 2026.

All registrations will be submitted through DaCapo at:
https://www.dacapomusicfestivals.com/

*Please, when registering students, check with your colleagues in grades 1-12 regarding siblings. Only put in sibling info if they are also attending the piano festival! Other festivals are irrelevant to the scheduling of this one. Please check that parents of siblings requested the same time preference for all of their children to avoid confusion and more work for everyone later on.*

Any questions or concerns can be directed to festival host Patrick Murphy via email at: nyssma@lakelandschools.org (please use this email for NYSSMA-related questions instead of my personal account).

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year! I look forward to working with you and your student musicians in 2026!

Patrick Murphy