Wind ensemble rocks Carnegie Hall

The Community Wind Ensemble rocked the Big Apple with a concert at Carnegie Hall as part of the 2009 New York Band and Orchestra Festival.

The 50-member ensemble was invited to the March 28 - April 2 festival by Larry Sutherland, artistic director for hosting organization World Projects and faculty emeritus at California State University, Fresno.

The concert was in the Isaac Stern Auditorium/Ronald O. Perelman Stage. "We all felt like stars," said Patricia DeBenedetto, music faculty and ensemble conductor. "After we played our final note, the audience rose to their feet in a spontaneous standing ovation."

"In that hall everything sounds fuller, warmer and more sonorous," said percussionist Sarah Carter (BA '08). Matthew Michal, a sophomore who plays bassoon, agreed. "Being in that kind of hall just forces the entire group to play at their utmost."

Among the selections was the New York premiere of "From Alpha to Omega: Prelude and Fugue X" by Walter Saul, music professor. Saul's arrangement, expressly for the wind ensemble, was from his From Alpha to Omega.

Other highlights included giving a pops concert in Central Park that drew a standing room only crowd.

This article was originally published in Pacific, July 2009.