World Projects International Music Productions organized The First Annual New York Wind Band Festival at Carnegie Hall, April 2-6, 2003, featuring four university and five high school musical ensembles. The evening concert on April 3, a tribute to the fallen heroes and survivors of 9/11, featured

• The UTK Wind Ensemble of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, conducted by Gary Sousa, and
• The Cal Poly Wind Orchestra of the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, conducted by William Johnson.

    The program included “A Hymn for the Lost and the Living” by Eric Ewazen of The Juilliard School, Symphonic Dance Music from “West Side Story” by Leonard Bernstein, and “Lincoln Portrait” by Aaron Copland. The Copland piece combines music with the words of Abraham Lincoln, with the narration done by Firefighter Kevin Shea of Ladder 35, who was injured at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

    The afternoon concert featured five high school bands, chosen by audition from around the United States, as well as university wind ensembles from Tokyo and Puerto Rico:

• The Belleville High School Symphony Band from Belleville, Michigan, directed by Michael Van Tassel
• The Leigh High School Wind Ensemble from San Jose, California, directed by Richard J. Alipaz
• The San Marcos High School Band from Santa Barbara, California, directed by Dan Garske
• The Concord High School Band from Concord, California, directed by Shawn Usedom
• The North Kitsap High School Symphonic Band from Poulsbo, Washington, directed by Sara Weyrick
• The Symphonic Band of the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, directed by Rafael Irizarry
• The Tokoha University Wind Sounds Ensemble of Tokoha Music College, Japan, directed by Mitsuhiko Kusuyama

    For the high school ensembles, the festival provided an opportunity to perform in an exceptional venue, plus the educational experiences of professional adjudication of their performances and of whole-ensemble clinics with outstanding university wind band directors.

    We are proud to have been invited to participate in this inaugural year for the NYWBF. Our young musicians enjoyed not only the festival performances, but also two Broadway shows and a concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, they visited the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and made a less enjoyable but moving pilgrimage to Ground Zero. It was truly a memorable trip, and all involved thank the community for the support that made it financially possible. Ask any Symphony Band member how you get to Carnegie Hall, and he or she can now tell you: practice, practice, practice!