Five Suffield High School musicians have been accepted into the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) All-State Ensembles this year. Approximately 2,000 student musicians from across the state auditioned for the festival in February, with about 25% being accepted. To qualify for the audition, students had to be previously accepted into their regional festival, which took place in January.
The following students performed with the CMEA All-State Concert Band and Choirs at Wethersfield High School on Saturday, March 29th:
Eliana Lavoie, sophomore vocalist, sings soprano as a member of the Suffield High School Choir. She was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Festival in 2024 and 2025.
Sam Melendez, sophomore vocalist, sings alto in the Suffield High School Choir. She was accepted into the Northern Region Festival in 2024 and 2025 and performed in SHS Drama’s productions of Into the Woods and The Wizard of Oz.
Heidi Storey, senior french hornist, has been accepted to the CMEA Northern Region Festival in 2023, 2024, and 2025. This will be her first performance with the All-State Band. She plays the French horn with the SHS Symphonic Band, previously performed with the SHS Jazz Ensemble on trumpet, and was part of the pit orchestra for SHS Drama’s production of Into the Woods.
Kylie Tinnirella, junior trumpeter, plays trumpet in both the Suffield High School Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble. She was accepted into the Northern Region Jazz Ensemble in 2024 and 2025 and will perform with the All-State Concert Band in 2025. Kylie also participated in the pit orchestra for the SHS production of The Wizard of Oz and performs with the Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble (GHYWE) at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford.
Nayandeep Tummalapally, junior bass clarinetist, plays bass clarinet and alto saxophone in the SHS Symphonic Band and is also a saxophonist in the SHS Jazz Ensemble. As a vocalist, Nayan performed as Jack in Suffield High School Drama Club’s production of Into the Woods in 2024 and the Tin Man in the 2025 production of The Wizard of Oz. He was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Festival in 2023, 2024, and 2025. This will be Nayan’s second performance with an All-State ensemble, having previously performed with the CMEA All-State Band in 2024.
