The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) annually invites music ensembles of all ages from across the state to submit recordings in order to be considered for a featured performance at the annual All-State conference, held each December in Rochester. This year, 11 school music ensembles were selected to represent the finest ensembles in New York. For the sixth time in fourteen years, an ensemble from Westfield Academy and Central School, The McClurg St. String Band, was selected. The McClurg Street String band is a unique musical group that performs varied styles of traditional music, from music of the Adirondacks, contemporary folk artists, ancient Scottish music and Irish jigs and reels. They perform as vocalists, dancers and on instruments that include guitar, mandolin, fiddle, Irish harp, bass, hammered dulcimer and Irish whistle. The membership comes from music students in the Westfield High School in grades 10-12 and it’s not uncommon for students to perform on multiple instruments and as vocalists. The McClurg Street String Band presented a concert in the Rochester Convention Center that was attended by an enthusiastic audience of music educators, collegiate music students, music professionals and parents and were rewarded with a standing ovation at the conclusion of their program. The ensemble has been selected to perform at NYSSMA all-state on two different occasions, twice at the All-Eastern United States music conference, by video at the International Symposium for Music Education in Vancouver, B.C., and as part of the Grammy In the School broadcast. The ensemble is directed by Westfield teacher, Kent Knappenberger.