Santa Cruz high school band students prepare to perform at the world famous Carnegie Hall
Santa Cruz High School, band students are preparing to perform at the world famous Carnegie Hall in New York City later this month.
“What I keep hearing is that Carnegie is super prestigious,” said Zena Reyes, who plays tenor saxophone for the Cardinal Regiment.
“I am really excited,” said another student, Jonah Polissar who plays the French horn. “It's going to be a lot of fun. A lot of people have not flown an airplane or been out of the state, so that'll definitely be exciting.”
“When I first found out, I was super excited, but also a little bit terrified going into this band and realizing just how good it was,” said Maya Weinberg, who plays clarinet.
Band director Christina Latham says the trip is an opportunity for students to showcase their talents on a global stage.
“It's a huge honor,” said Latham. “All the greatest musicians in the world and classical and jazz and even pop have performed there.”
The band will be performing at the same venue as musicians like Judy Garland and The Beatles.
“Music is an experiential art,” said Latham. “It's not something like when you paint a painting and that painting is there forever. You have to be there to experience the music. So I kind of think of it like the walls are alive with the music of the people who played there before.”
The school says the band is one of the only six high schools nationwide to be selected after a rigorous application process. The band will perform a number of tunes including one celebrating the life of Latham’s dear friend who died early in the pandemic from a heart attack.
“It's a joyful piece thinking about, you know, being in the afterlife and having fun with it, too. She loved her family. She had a huge family. She was Filipina. And I told the kids to think of her as their favorite auntie,” said Latham.
The band is fundraising. The goal is to raise enough money to make sure all 85 students can attend. The band will be heading out to New York later this month. The music festival is on March 26 at Carnegie Hall. If you’d like to see them before they head out. They are holding a Carnegie sendoff performance on March 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Cabrillo College. It is free but donations are gladly accepted.
Students say they know the trip will prepare them to take on their dreams.
“I think this opportunity of going to Carnegie is going to inspire me more to continue my pathway into music,” said Reyes.