Amador Valley musicians hit high note at Carnegie Hall

Sophomore Joseph Nazareno recalled performing on his tuba recently with Amador Valley High School’s Wind Ensemble.

“So many emotions were running through my head,” he said.

It was a moving experience for all — the special performance took place at Carnegie Hall.

Nazareno, who is also drum major for the marching band, is one of 95 members of the Wind Ensemble, which was invited to play at the famous venue on April 8.

“It was incredible,” said band director Jonathan Grantham, who led the trip to New York along with assistant director Patrick Dandrea. “It was pretty inspiring to play in that space. The acoustics were incredible.”

Grantham said he received the invitation to perform from the Carnegie Hall production company about 16 months ago.

“They had scouted a video of the Wind Ensemble online and reached out to me if we would be interested in applying for a spot to perform in one of their programs,” he remembered.

They played five pieces of music, sharing a concert with the Rancho Bernardo High School Band and the University of Mississippi Concert Singers.

“They don’t tend to do a lot of programs with school groups,” Grantham said. “It was quite an honor to be selected.”

The group arrived in New York on April 4, and they took in a Broadway show and went to the Museum of Modern Art. They also visited the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which tied in with their performance of David Maslanka’s “Testament,” written in response to the events of 9/11.

Grantham also scheduled a daylong clinic with the conductor of the Columbia University bands program.

“I wanted to make sure we were well-prepared for our performance,” Grantham said. “You don’t want to go to Carnegie Hall and not be at your best.”

Columbia conductor Jason Noble gave glowing feedback.

“When I close my eyes, I hear mature sounds that far exceed the chronological years of the musicians in the chairs,” Noble raved. “I am in awe. It’s exceedingly rare that I say, ‘Wow! That was just about perfect.’ I said that twice in David Maslanka’s ‘Testament.'”

“We had a nice audience,” Grantham said. “So many Amador families were there and also supporters of the other two schools. And just New York residents who came for the concert.”

The entire trip was exciting, everyone agreed, but the performance stands out most of all.

As Joseph Nazareno said, “The highlight of the trip was sitting at the edge of the stage and looking out into the audience.”

Fundraiser for music programs

What: Band Cake Breakfast — fun family event includes not only food but performances by Amador bands and a special “challenge the band directors to sing a song”

Who: Hosted by Amador Friends of Music

Where: Amador Valley High School quad

When: 8-11 a.m., Saturday, May 12

Tickets: $10 per person at the door or at amadormusic.org

Other: Online auction open now for items including Disneyland, shows, games, a prime parking spot at the school and tickets for eight to AVHS graduation.