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Top row left to right: Nayandeep Tummalapally, Evan Held, Anish Jindal
Bottom Row left to right: Kylie Tinnirella, Eliana Lavoie, Quinn Thompson
Six 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 will perform with the CMEA All-State Concert Band and Choirs at The Connecticut Convention Center on March 28:
Evan Held, junior tenor, sings tenor in the Suffield High School Choir. Evan was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Music Festival in 2026. This is his first selection into the All-State Festival.
Anish Jindal, senior bass, sings bass in the Suffield High School Choir. Anish was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Music Festival in 2025 and 2026. This is his first selection into the All-State Festival.
Eliana Lavoie, junior vocalist, sings soprano as a member of the Suffield High School Choir. She was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Festival in 2024, 2025 and 2026. She appeared as Éponine in Suffield High School’s production of Les Mis and is a member of the Suffield High School Tri-M Music Honors Society. Eliana also studies with Adam Barley at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music Community Division. This is her second selection into the CMEA All-State Festival.
Quinn Thompson, freshman tenor, sings tenor as a member of the Suffield High School Choir. He was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Mixed Choir in 2025, appeared as Marius in the Suffield High School Production of Les Mis in 2026 and performs with Unity House Theater in Springfield, Mass. This is Quinn’s first selection into the CMEA All-State Festival.
Kylie Tinnirella, senior 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, 2025, and 2026. Kylie also participated in the pit orchestra for the SHS drama’s productions of The Wizard of Oz and Les Mis and performs with the Greater Hartford Youth Wind Ensemble (GHYWE) at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford. She is the President of Suffield High School’s Tri-M Music Honors Society. This is her second selection into the CMEA All-State Festival, having performed with the All-State Concert Band in 2025, and performing with the All-State Jazz Ensemble this March. She plans to pursue a degree in Jazz Studies and play NCAA division III soccer next fall.
Nayandeep Tummalapally, senior 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, the Tin Man in the 2025 production of The Wizard of Oz, and as Javert in the 2026 production of Les Mis. He was accepted into the CMEA Northern Region Festival in 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026. A multi-instrumentalist, Nayan also qualified for All-State on alto saxophone. He is the Vice President of the Suffield High School Tri-M Music Honors society. This will be Nayan’s third performance with an All-State Ensemble, having previously performed with the CMEA All-State Band in 2024 and 2025. Nayan plans to attend the University of North Carolina to study Saxophone Performance and Biochemistry in the fall.