Local News - April 2003

ELHS ensemble to perform canceled Carnegie Hall concert

Published April 09, 2003

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

It might not be Carnegie Hall, but East Lincoln High School band director Neil Underwood is excited about his students’ next concert.

East’s wind ensemble will perform Monday at 7 p.m. in the Lincolnton Citizens Center. Admission for the event is free.

Monday’s concert was originally supposed to be a preview of the music the 78-member ensemble was to play during an April 18 concert in New York’s famed Carnegie Hall. The East band boosters canceled the trip in late February, however, due to financial and safety concerns related to the then-looming war with Iraq.

“Nothing can replace that Carnegie Hall performance, but what we would like to do is get as many people from our local area as possible,” Underwood said.

Underwood wants to fill as much of the Citizens Center’s auditorium as possible. Invitations for the event are being sent to school board members, county commissioners and other community leaders.

The performance will be one of the last for East’s band in its current makeup. Underwood and several rising sophomores and juniors are moving on to the new North Lincoln High School, which will open in August.

The East band program has a long list of accomplishments under Underwood’s direction. Most recently, the symphonic band and the wind ensemble received superior ratings at the North Carolina State Concert Band Festival.

“These kids represent what’s the best in young people today … ,” Underwood said. “It’s something that I think everybody should see, especially with everything that’s going on with us, with the school getting ready to split.”

Those who attend Monday’s concert will hear a piece of music never before performed anywhere outside the walls of East’s band room.

“Scherzo for Tuba and Band,” written by Kenneth Norbury, will make its world premiere at Monday’s concert. The work will be published internationally following the performance.

Norbury composed the piece specifically with East tuba player Joshua Cutchin in mind as a soloist, Underwood said. Cutchin is one of the nation’s top high school tuba players and performed two weeks ago in the first-chair spot in the Honor Band of America.

As a substitute for the Carnegie Hall performance, the ensemble will play May 10 at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.

Underwood said museum officials heard about East’s canceled New York trip and agreed to waive any charges for the use of their facilities.

An invitation to the concert has been sent to Gov. Mike Easley, and Underwood is hopeful he will accept.

—————

Staff Writer Jeremy Ashton can be reached at 704-735-3031 or jashton@ltnews.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

Terms and Conditions