Three sections of the music department from Kennedy High School in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District will perform at Carnegie Hall on April 18 after being invited to participate in the Best Bands & Choirs International.
The concert will include performances by Kennedy’s wind ensemble, concert choir, and strings players, under the direction of Walter Avellaneda, Rachel Shapiro and Emily Kenyon, respectively.
The 85-piece musical ensemble has been rehearsing since mid-January.
"It has been a whirlwind of preparation over the last three months,” explained Avellaneda. “The program really showcases a wide range of our students’ abilities as a full ensemble or playing in a subdued and interweaving way with our choir. Our goal is to leave the audience talking about this group of musicians from Kennedy as a whole, rather than the three components of band, choir, and orchestra."
The wind symphony and concert choir will conclude the concert rendering music by John Williams, Stephen Melillo, Eric Whitacre and Jake Runstead. A stirring finale, "As All the Heavens Were a Bell," by Jay Bocook, honors the lives of those lost and living during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
“It is an emotional and powerful end to what is going to be an incredible night of music,” added Avellaneda.
Musical groups from the Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District, New Jersey and Five Towns College will also be featured in the concert.
Cheryl Fontana, the district’s director of fine & performing arts expressed how proud the CHSD is of “our Kennedy musicians.”
“It is their hard work and commitment to music over the years that has allowed them to take part in this performance” Fontana said. “But none of it would be possible without the dedication of our JFK music teachers, Mr. Avellaneda, Ms. Kenyon and Ms. Shapiro. On behalf of the district, we are truly grateful to them for providing our students with this once in a lifetime opportunity."
Kenyon echoed that “this is an event that students will never forget.”
“We hope one day they will come across the playbill and remember the incredible atmosphere that only Carnegie Hall can create and also remember the journey it took to get us there that evening,” added Shapiro.
For more information and/or tickets visit the box office at Carnegie Hall or online at https://www.carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2024/04/18/An-Evening-of-Music-0700PM.
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Date Added: 4/12/2024