Finding an accompanist

NYSSMA is direct about the requirement:

Accompanists are not required except for All-State.

For flute that means a pianist — nearly all standard flute audition repertoire is written with piano. The professional term you will see is collaborative pianist, which is the same job.

So: required for the audition that matters most, and no official page tells you where to find one. We looked.

What we could not find

NYSSMA does not appear to publish an accompanist directory. We searched their site and did not find one. That is a statement about our search, not a guarantee that none exists anywhere — but if it is there, a student would not stumble across it.

This is a clean example of the gap this site exists for. The rule is documented. The way to satisfy the rule is not.

The two directories that exist, and their real limits

SAPA — the Student Association of Piano Accompanists (pianoaccompanists.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free piano accompaniment to students from elementary school through high school, staffed by volunteer classically-trained musicians. You request an accompanist through a form on their site.

Two things on the same page are worth knowing before you count on it. They are currently recruiting volunteers, and they state that organizational resources are increasingly devoted to their drum circle programs. They also do not state a service region. So we cannot tell you whether a student in New York or Texas will be matched. It costs nothing to ask, and you should ask early rather than late.

PianoAccompanists.com (pianoaccompanists.com) is a searchable international directory with US and UK sections. Be aware of what it actually is: a paid membership platform for accompanists, who list themselves. The site does not clearly state terms for students seeking one, and we could not verify how many active listings exist in any given area. It may turn up someone near you. It may turn up nobody.

We are describing both plainly rather than recommending either, because if you rely on our recommendation and get no reply, that is our failure, not just theirs.

Where people actually find one

The following is not from an official source. It is the ordinary practice a teacher would describe, and we are labeling it as guidance rather than fact.

Start with your school music teacher or director. They have watched students solve this problem every year, and they often know who accompanies in your area and who is reliable. This is also the person who has to file your All-State application, so the conversation is one you need to have regardless.

Ask about the music department at any nearby college or university. Piano students frequently accompany, and collaborative piano is a degree program at larger schools. A student pianist is typically less expensive than a full-time professional and is often actively looking for the experience.

Ask your private teacher, if you have one. If you do, this is exactly the kind of thing that channel is for.

Local flute or music teacher associations sometimes maintain informal lists.

The questions to ask before you book anyone

You are hiring for a performance, not just a person. Settle these early:

• How many rehearsals, and when? An accompanist who sight-reads your piece on audition day is not the same as one who has rehearsed it with you.
• What does it cost, and what is included? Ask whether rehearsals and the audition itself are priced separately.
• Do they know this repertoire, and this audition? Someone who has played NYSSMA solos before will know the room and the pacing.
• Are they available on your date? Audition dates cluster. The good accompanists in an area get booked for the same weekends.

Start this months before the audition, not weeks. That timing is the single most common piece of advice from teachers, and it is the part students most often skip.

One thing we deliberately have not answered

NYSSMA’s page also says this:

Recorded and electronic accompaniments are permitted, but students must supply the equipment.

Whether a recording satisfies the All-State requirement is not stated anywhere we could find. The two sentences sit on the same page and their relationship is never explained. The difference matters — a pianist plus rehearsals versus a speaker is a large difference in cost and effort.

We are not guessing at this one. Ask your director, and if you get a definitive answer from NYSSMA, we would like to know so we can publish it with the source.