The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) has selected Catskill High School’s Isabel Johnston for All-State, a musical performance opportunity reserved for the most highly-rated high school musicians in the state. Isabel will travel to the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music to attend All-State December 4-7, where she will rehearse and perform with the All-State band under the direction of a renowned guest conductor.

An oboist, Isabel gained the attention of the All-State selection committee through her exemplary audition at the 2025 regional NYSSMA Solo & Small Ensemble Festival. There, Isabel wowed the judges with her level-6 (highest skill level) solo and earned a perfect score of 100. With thousands of students vying to get in, even a perfect score doesn’t guarantee a spot All-State, so Isabel had to wait months to find out if she had been picked. When she got word in late August she was thrilled to learn she had made it.

“I’ve wanted to do All-State since elementary school, but I never thought I’d actually get in,” Isabel says. ”I think it’s really going to push me to get out of my comfort zone because now I’ve really got to up my level and sound.”

Isabel has been playing the oboe since fourth grade, when she joined the Catskill Elementary School Band and chose this outlier of the woodwinds as an opportunity to play something few others do.

“It takes a while to get used to it because it’s such a difficult instrument to make sound good, but when you do it sounds really good,“ Isabel explains.

Since that time, she has become a fixture at school concerts, and annual All-County and Area All-State festivals. She also plays trombone in her school’s jazz band, is captain of the varsity volleyball team, participates in the school musical each year, works at the local health food store, and, oh yeah, is a high honor roll student.

“Isabel is definitely dedicated, hard working, and is really passionate about what she is doing,” says Catskill band teacher Seth Dowling. “Not only can I count on her to know her parts but also to set a good example for her peers. She shows it is possible that if you care about something you can do it, and that you can be both an athlete and a musician.”

Her participation in All-State culminates with a public concert at the esteemed Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on Sunday, December 7. Please join us in congratulating Isabel on her accomplishment!