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');}//--> The Horseheads High School wind ensemble has received the kind of invitation that its director, music teacher Art Carichner, said a school could only hope for once every 50 years.
The 51-student ensemble has been invited to perform at the New York State Band Directors annual conference this March in Syracuse. Each year, only one performing group from all of the state's high schools is selected to perform at the conference. It is the first time any ensemble from Horseheads has received the honor, Carichner said.
It's an honor that recognizes the skills not just of the current members but of their predecessors, he said. Carichner said the group earned the invitation through its growing reputation as one of the state's best ensembles. Part of that reputation is based on the group's performances at the New York School Student Music Association competitions, where it has earned gold medal with distinction honors.
"They've worked very hard for it," he said. "This is the culmination of a long career, not just for these students but for the ones who came before them." "If we were the football team, this would be on the front page," said Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, the well-known saxophonist and a Horseheads junior.
The program the ensemble is preparing for the concert includes "Sanctuary" by Fank Ticheli and "Beltway Jam" by Jack Stamp. I had the pleasure of watching Ticheli rehearse one of his compositions with the ensemble last year. Stamp has also worked with Horseheads students as visiting composer.
They are also planning to perform Eric Whitacre's "Noisy Wheels of Joy," and perhaps also his "Lux Aurumque." Whitacre is one of the most popular composers of student music these days, Carichner said. Junior Ryan Finefrock, who plays the bassoon with the ensemble, said the prospect of performing before the state's band directors is exciting.
They'll be performing before an audience of band directors, folks who know exactly what a good woodwind ensemble should sound like. The solution for intimidation is preparation, and Carichner said the group is working hard and will be ready for the concert. Lefkowitz-Brown said the ensemble is grateful for the hard work Carichner has put into the group.
They have some other big performances lined up in the coming months. On Feb. 13, they'll perform a concert with the Ithaca College Wind Ensemble, which Carichner said is one of the most widely respected college wind ensembles in the country.
The Horseheads ensemble will present a night of music by Italian composers on March 23, and all the student music groups in the Horseheads district will perform at a massive concert on March 29. It is an event staged every four years, Carichner said, and it involves hundreds of students. The ensemble gives its annual spring concert on May 15.
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