GUILDERLAND — The 100 public high schools with the best music programs in the country are recognized each year as Grammy Signature School finalists. For 2008, Guilderland High School is among the finalists.
"I did a massive essay application," said Lori Hershenhart, the district’s music supervisor. "We have one month to finish our submission with recorded copies of performances."

The top 15 schools then receive grants, ranging from $1,000 to $25,000, she said, and the top several finalists have Grammy Award-winning performers come to their schools.

The screening is done by leading music educators and industry professionals. The winners are announced in January.

Hershenhart said she entered the competition last year, with no results; the year before that, Guilderland made it to the top 100 but no further.
"It’s nice to be recognized in any way," Hershenhart said. "You go against powerhouse schools."
She went on, "We’re just very excited to have the recognition for the work we do. We feel we have a top-notch program."
Music instruction in Guilderland’s five elementary schools starts in the first grade. "We have a very strong sequential curriculum," said Hershenhart, which focuses on the tonal and rhythmic qualities of music.

Beginning in fourth and fifth grades, students can take lessons on an instrument and join a choir.

The program builds through middle school and high school. Guilderland High School has 13 different performing groups, including bands, choruses, and orchestras — ranging from a jazz band to a chamber string group.
All the school concerts are free and open to the public. Hershenhart is particularly excited about an upcoming "master works concert." On Dec. 20 at 7:30 in the high-school auditorium, the concert choir and symphony orchestra will perform George Frideric Handel’s Messiah.

The high school has recently added courses in Advanced Placement music theory, which is taught at a college level, and on music technology.

The course on music technology is so popular that students are admitted by lottery, said Hershenhart. It is taught in a computer lab, she said, with students using keyboards that look like a piano but smaller, on which they can manipulate sound.
Hershenhart credited an "exemplary staff" for the success Guilderland music students have had in a wide range of competitions. Nancy Casellini, Kathy Ehlinger, Jeff Herchenroder, Lee Russo, and Rae Jean Teeter compose the high school music faculty.
But success is not just measured by those students performing at the pinnacle, Hershenhart said. "You can have excellence in the classroom when a child is playing a basic piece with pride," she said.
"We have marvelous teachers who are exquisite musicians," concluded Hershenhart. "They share their love and craft with their students."