They're the music makers going to Carnegie Hall

Musical performers in the Hewlett Woodmere School District are proving the punch line of the age-old New York joke, but in a good way: They’re getting to Carnegie Hall by practicing.

Over the years, the district has expanded and improved its music program, and next April 9, those efforts will pay off. Every middle and high school student who is a member of a performing ensemble will have the opportunity to play at the historic concert hall.

That includes Woodmere Middle School’s sixth-grade chorus, the seventh- and eighth-grade orchestras, the eighth-grade band and Hewlett High School’s chorus, orchestra and band.

According to Walter Las-towski, the district’s director of art and music, Hewlett-Woodmere students have performed at Carnegie Hall a few times over the 22 years he has worked in the district. In those cases, however, the schools have sent only their most elite ensembles, and they have shared the venue with other districts.

“We wanted to do something where every kid could perform,” Lastowski said. “It’s important for students to have these sort of memories. It could be as simple as watching ‘Jeopardy,’ having Carnegie Hall be an answer and then thinking, ‘Wow I performed there.’”

“It sounds amazing, having the whole entire hall for one night,” said Nathaniel Reyes, a senior at Hewlett High and a member of the concert chorale, which will perform at Carnegie Hall with the chorus and the band. (He also plays David Shayne, a lead role, in the school’s fall production of “Bullets Over Broadway,” a musical based on the 1994 Woody Allen movie.) “It’s breathtaking,” Reyes said of performing at Carnegie Hall. “A lot of legends have been on that stage in the past.”

Harmeet Kaur, a tour coordinator at Four Winds Tours and Travel, which specializes in booking trips for school bands and orchestras, organized the event for the district. “One of the goals of the Hewlett-Woodmere Music Department is to instill in its students a lifelong love and appreciation of music,” said Kaur. “This very special event will certainly leave the student musicians, teachers and family members with memories that will last a lifetime.”

The Music Department looks to enrich students’ education with music starting as early as possible. Instrumental lessons can start once a student has the required dexterity; the Head Start program begins in third grade; and the full program and vocal groups begin in fourth grade.

Teachers at Hewlett-Woodmere’s Franklin Early Childhood center, which houses pre-K through first grade students, integrate rhythm and music into their lessons as early as possible, according to Lastowski. “Scientifically, it’s been proven that music makes the brain function more efficiently,” he said. “The earlier a child learns to play music, the better wired for all types of learning they become.”

Shierben Hamou, a senior at Hewlett High, who is playing Helen Sinclair, another principal role in “Bullets Over Broadway,” sings in the concert chorale. She has been involved in the district’s musical theater department since fourth grade, she said, and is thankful she had the option.

“I really, really enjoy what I do here,” she said. “I definitely wouldn’t have the passion for music that I do now if I wasn’t in these classes since elementary school.”
Lastowski said that Hewlett-Woodmere alumni regularly return to the school and sing the praises of their music teachers, thanking them for helping to prepare them for college and continuing to inspire students.

“We want to keep the arts alive and thriving,” he said. “. . . In this society, if something needs to be cut, it’s always the arts. Not here . . . The arts are important for everyone, but especially in young kids’ development.”

Nov. 16 is the deadline to reserve tickets for the performances at Carnegie Hall. Information is available on the district’s website, hwww.hewlett-woodmere.net/Page/1. Call the district music office, at (516) 792-4857, with any questions.