For the 14th time in 20 years, North High School musicians have been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall. The Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra will perform on Sunday, Feb. 28, as part of the WorldStrides Onstage performance programs.
North students were chosen for the Carnegie event after a selective audition process, followed by an arduous schedule of rehearsals at the school. Students also had to demonstrate their commitment to North’s music program by a history of excellent attendance (including after-school rehearsals), punctuality and performance, combined with a positive attitude and behavior in class.
Three pieces will be performed at Carnegie Hall: Georg Frideric Handel’s “Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6, No. 1,” with student soloists Katie Tsai and Matthew Weinstein, violin; Ellen Xu, cello; Eddie Syn, bass; and Kejia (Madeline) Wang, keyboard; “Die Fledermaus Overture, Op. 367” (1874) by Johann Strauss, Jr.; and the final movement of Dimitri Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47.” North Middle School Music Chair Matthew Trinkwald will conduct the piece by Handel. Joseph Rutkowski, North High instrumental director, will conduct the pieces by Strauss and Shostakovich. Teachers Alan Schorn and Jeffrey Gilden, respectively, will give the audience some background information on the works by Strauss and Shostakovich and the times in which they lived.
Teacher chaperones for the event will be Joanna Asvestas, Takoa Lawson and Alison Silk. Karen Lee, chair of Music Parent Boosters, has been invaluable in organizing parent assistants.
Concert tickets are available through Carnegie Charge at 212-247-7800 or at www.carnegiehall.org. Tickets range in price from $40 to $85. For additional information, contact Rutkowski at 917-846-7376.
—Submitted by the Great Neck Public Schools
