MILL CREEK – When band director Lesley Moffat watched the freshmen joining the wind ensemble three years ago, she knew she had a special group on her hands.
“The talent is so rich,” she said.
So the teacher told the teens that they were the ones.
If the school ever was going to send an entire ensemble to prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City, they would be the ensemble.
All it would take was some hard work.
And in Moffat’s classes, students say, nothing less is ever expected.
The Henry M. Jackson High School wind ensemble was one of three groups picked to perform in May 2008 at Carnegie Hall.
This marks the first time an entire ensemble from the school has been selected.
About a dozen Jackson students from Moffat’s music classes have been selected to perform in the famed 114-year-old concert hall over the past five years.
Next year’s appearance also is the first time that their teacher will be joining them on stage as their director.
That means a lot to students, said Evan Duvall, 17, a junior who plays alto saxophone.
“Everyone looks up to her,” he said. “She’s the one who got us there, so it’s a big deal.”
As many as 60 people will make the trip.
The performance is more than a year off, but with the costs of travel and lodging ringing in at $2,100 per person – or $126,000 for the whole group – fundraising is starting now.
A benefit golf tournament is set for May 14 at the Mill Creek Golf and Country Club.
Students performed Tchaikovsky’s “Finale” to Symphony No. 4 at a number of events this school year, including with the Everett Symphony in March.
Moffat submitted one of the recordings of that piece as well as Rossini’s “Italian Girl in Algiers” to MidAmerica Productions for consideration.
She learned just before spring break in early April that they had been selected. She surprised students with the news when they returned from vacation.
The group is to perform May 25, 2008, as part of the Carnegie Hall guest concert series.
Students say they are excited about the trip.
“It’s always a musician’s dream to play at Carnegie Hall,” said Emily Endresen, 16, a junior who plays bassoon. “The fact that we get to all go and play is awesome.”
The wind ensemble has 53 students, including some seniors who will graduate and not make the trip.
The honors-level course requires students to pass an audition to get in.
Jeovany Huerta, 16, recalled being lured to audition as a freshman last year, when a senior band student said he’d get to go to Ireland. It turned out to be a ruse.
“Now we’re going to Carnegie Hall. And that’s much better,” said Huerta, a sophomore who plays alto saxophone. “A lot of famous people played there, like Elvis. He’s my hero – well, except for the whole drug thing.”
This will be the third trip for one member of the ensemble.
Flutist Anna Jung, 16, performed at Carnegie Hall twice last year with different groups.
“I think that at this point, because I’m not there, it feels like another trip. But with Carnegie Hall, you can never feel the same. You can never get tired of it,” said Jung, a junior.
“It’s just the history behind it and the prestige,” she said. “Just being able to play in it once is spectacular.”
The task for the musicians now will be to stay focused over the next year, said Moffat. “It seems like a long way off, but I know it’s going to come fast.”
Moffat has flown to New York to watch her students play at Carnegie Hall in past years. She’s also been there to hear her husband, George, play with the Everett Symphony.
The couple’s daughter, Kelly, plays French horn with the wind ensemble and will make the 2008 trip, when she’ll be a senior.
“That will be neat, to have the last big hurrah up there, sharing the stage with my daughter,” Moffat said.
She’s excited about the chance to stand on the stage herself, but thinks more about her students.
“Personally, I’m just really, really proud of what they’re doing,” she said.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
Fundraiser
What: The third annual Jacksaon High School Band Par-Tee Fore Band Golf Tournament
When: 10 a.m. May 14
Where: Mill Creek Golf and Country Club, 15500 Country Club Drive
Why: To help offset the costs of the wind ensemble’s trip to Carnegie Hall in 2008
Tickets: From $50 for the barbecue dinner only to $1,000 for a four-person package
More info: www.everett.k12.wa.us/jacksonhigh/band/ or 425-385-3838
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