Orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall

The Beatles have played there. Tchaikovsky has played there, and now the SHS Symphonic Wind Ensemble and String Orchestra will have the honor to perform at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 8.

The orchestra was invited to be a feature evening performance of a festival from World Project, a domestic and international touring company that has been in contact with SHS before because they have taken the orchestra on the Europe Tour in 2009 and also the Austrailia Tour in 2003. The company was aware of the SHS orchestra’s stellar reputation.

Even so, music director Michael Boitz called the invitation an “unexpected honor,” adding, “I couldn’t pass this opportunity up because I don’t know when we’d ever get another chance like this. It’s an exceptional chance to perform.”

On the night of Sept. 9, the music department held a well-recieved kick-off meeting regarding the trip.

“Normally the music department takes two to three years to plan a big trip, but for this one, the invitation came in at the end of June,” said Boitz. “It was tough to decide if we were going to send it forth with such short notice, but everyone is very enthusiastic about it, so we are going to try.”

The orchestra is still deciding on what to perform by reading and working on possible pieces.

The students were ecstatic at the prospect of performing at the famous venue and staying in New York for four days.

“I’m really excited because I’ve never been to Carnegie Hall before, let alone perform there,” said sophomore violinist Chris Lee. “Also, I think it would be very fun to go on to New York in the spring with my classmates because we’re all very close and this will only bring us closer.”

Aside from performing at Carnegie Hall and Central Park, the group will be touring famous locations such as New York Times Square and having dinner on a cruise. In addition, there will be a workshop with one of the festival’s faculty members.

“I’m looking forward to having another opportunity to go through whatever the trip brings me with all my friends around me,” said senior bassist Eric Chuang. “This will be one of my last memories of high school, and I wouldn’t want to end it any other way than this.”

Other than classical musicians like Tchaikovsky, many legendary jazz and music performers have performed at Carngie Hall, such as Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, Benny Goodman, and Judy Garland.

“It’s almost unbelievable how we were invited to perform where so many famous people have,” said junior Carolynn Choi. “It definitely shows the capability and level we worked up to.”