Hersey bands, choir to perform at Carnegie Hall

Nearly 300 students in the John Hersey High School band, orchestra and choir programs will travel to New York City for an April 1 performance at Carnegie Hall.

The students are scheduled for a two-hour performance on Friday, April 1, before an audience that will include parents, alumni and guests.

The concert showcases the John Hersey Symphonic and Concert bands, Orchestra and Chorale ensembles, led by conductors and soloists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Selections will include works by Shostakovich, Ravel, Fillmore, Gershwin, Haydn, Bizet and Hanson.

The performers will be under the direction of Hersey conductors Scott Casagrande, Sara Michael, Joshua Stewart and Thomas Beckwith, and University of Illinois conductors Stephen Peterson, Donald Schleicher and Ollie Watts Davis. A special vocal performance will feature Davis.

"The students have been working extremely hard to prepare for our performance," said Sara Michael, Hersey Choral director. "We can't believe that we are getting this once in a lifetime opportunity. I feel so fortunate that the entire department is collaborating and experiencing this together. In thinking about the history of the building and the performance space, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to conduct these students on the Carnegie Stage."

The Carnegie trip was the result of collaboration and planning on the part of the Hersey band, orchestra and choir directors. Hersey's performance arts reputation also helped.

"We are excited to have a Friday night concert at Carnegie Hall with 1,300 seats already reserved," said Scott Casagrande, director of bands. "This is a prime-time spot for our ensembles and the reputation of our music programs at Hersey was the reason that we were able to secure such a coveted performance time. The students are stepping up to the challenge and we anticipate that the performance will be absolutely spectacular."

Hersey's Band, Orchestra and Choir ensembles have appeared in numerous national and international concert venues, including Orchestra Hall at the Chicago Symphony Center, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Chicago, French Riviera Reeds Festival, Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Illinois Music Education Conference and the Tournament of Roses Parade.

The Carnegie Hall performance will serve as a tune-up to Hersey's 16th annual Chicagoland Invitational Concert Band Festival, scheduled for Saturday, April 16, at John Hersey High School.

The festival, which will feature 45 student bands from across the Midwest, will showcase outstanding high school musicians in a noncompetitive environment. Performing bands receive feedback from renowned clinicians and judges, and exposure to universities, instrument companies, band camps, and others to assist them in making choices for their future in music and education.

The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at John Hersey High School, 1900 E. Thomas St., Arlington Heights. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, or a maximum of $25 per family (up to two adults and two or more children). Children younger than 5 are free.

For information on the Chicagoland Invitational Concert Band Festival, visit http://herseyband.com/Fest.