Wheaton North Wind Ensemble to perform at Carnegie Hall

Members of Wheaton North High School's Wind Ensemble are tuning up for a big time concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

The group will take the stage of Carnegie's main auditorium Wednesday, April 1, as part of the New York Band and Orchestra Festival. Only five other groups from across the nation were chosen to perform during the festival.

"There's very little that can apex this," Wheaton North Director of Bands Jon Noworyta said. "As a musician myself, this is an incredible feat - to be able to stand on the podium of Carnegie Hall and lead kids that are still in high school. That's amazing to me. As a teacher, I couldn't be prouder of my kids."

The Carnegie Hall appearance will be one of three concerts the 45-member ensemble will perform during a five-day trip to New York. On Monday, March 30, the group will perform in the band shell at Central Park. Before coming home, the group will stop in the Niagara Falls area to play at Noworyta's high school.

Still, the Carnegie Hall performance is what several ensemble members say they have been most focused on.

"Everyone is really excited about it," said senior Neil Berent, who plays the tenor saxophone. "We're all trying to practice as much as we can every day. It just feels like an honor to play at Carnegie Hall, where all of these great musicians have played."

While the ensemble has performed numerous times, senior Jen Johnson said nothing that she has experienced in her three years with the group could compare to Carnegie Hall.

"I never would have imagined doing something like this," said Johnson, who plays the trumpet. "It just didn't seem possible."

When Noworyta received the invitation to have the ensemble audition, he thought it was mass e-mail. So he deleted it.

It wasn't until Noworyta got a follow-up e-mail a month later that he realized the offer was legitimate.

So in March 2008, he sent recordings of several concerts that the ensemble performed. Within days, the group was officially invited to participate in the music festival.

"Something of this caliber only happens when strong music education is supported by a school district," Noworyta said. "The kids worked hard. They have met the challenge of our program, and now they are being recognized for it."

During the Carnegie appearance, the ensemble will perform about 20 minutes worth of music, including "Shortcut Home" by Dana Wilson, "Testament: Music for a Time of Trial" by David Maslanka, and "March from Symphonic Metamorphosis" by German composer Paul Hindemith.

The ensemble hasn't played any of the songs publicly before. That will happen Wednesday night during a free send-off concert at Wheaton North.

Of course, the trip won't just be about performing. Noworyta said he plans to take his students sightseeing in New York City and take them to a Broadway show.

"This is also their spring break," he said. "So we have other things that they may not get to do in Wheaton, or even Chicago. It's an educational experience as well as a performing experience."

<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p> <p class="News"><b>What:</b> Wheaton North Wind Ensemble's send-off concert</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 25</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Wheaton North High School auditorium, 701 W. Thomas St., Wheaton</p> <p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> Free</p>