Saluting heroes through music

The second we went on stage, it felt immediately special.”

Alexandra Levitt, Senior, Kennedy Wind Ensemble

The John F. Kennedy High School Wind Ensemble headed south to perform at a tribute concert on April 20 for active military members and veterans at the U.S. Navy’s Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach. Kennedy was one of just two high schools in the country asked to perform.

The ensemble was joined at the base’s Gator Theater by the Clarence High School Wind Ensemble and Chorale, from Clarence, New York, in performing “Beyond Courage: That We Might Live, A Documentary in Music,” a musical depiction of World War II in the Pacific, focusing on the American and Filipino prisoners of war who survived, and perished, in the Bataan Death March in 1942.

“The second we went on stage, it felt immediately special,” said Alexandra Levitt, 18, a senior at Kennedy, from Bellmore, who is a second-year member of the ensemble and plays the alto saxophone. “It was impossible to rehearse without thinking about the history of that theater and where we are. The atmosphere felt special up there. To see the hard work of hundreds of people coming to fruition in one final performance is a feeling I won’t soon forget.

“The moment it really hit me was the end of the concert,” Levitt added. “A veteran in the front row, who had sat the whole time due to his age, stood up and saluted the flag as we played the national anthem. The sheer value of this performance, hours of practice, and hard work all made sense to me. I am honored to have played even a small role in making this happen.”

“Beyond Courage” was created in 2003 by the award-winning composer Stephen Melillo, who also led last week’s performance.

“There’s so many layers to it,” Melillo said of the piece. “It’s very deep and spiritual because it’s operating on so many levels. It’s inspired by those men who I knew for 20 years and literally took to the end of their lives, and has to do with this very close understanding of what they went through.”

Walter Avelaneda, Kennedy’s director of bands and a close friend of Melillo’s, was given the opportunity to perform at the base by Admiral Erik Ross, a former commander of the USS Bataan, which has been berthed there.

“He was able to get us to play at the base,” Avelaneda said of Ross. “The letters of invitation came out formally at the end of September, and then we really kicked it into high gear. I think I gave (the ensemble) one day off from the December concert, and since then we haven’t stopped playing.”

Avelaneda revealed the surprise to the ensemble by creating a movie trailer for the student musicians.

“After weeks of guessing, the reveal did not let us down,” Levitt said. “Immediately I was excited to get started planning and preparing. From the get-go, we felt very honored to get to share our love of music in such an impactful way.”

Officers of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars from Bellmore and Merrick came to one of the ensemble’s rehearsals to thank the students, and presented a donation that helped defray the cost of the trip, an eight-hour bus ride to Virginia.

Johnny Casazza, 18, a senior at JFK from Bellmore who is a third-year trumpet player in the ensemble, said, “We practiced every day in and out of school to perfect this event, and when we finally got to work with the other school it came together fantastically.

“It was great working with Mr. Melillo as our conductor,” Casazza added. “His energy rubbed off on the band so well.”

The performance itself moved the participants and the attendees alike to tears. “I was on stage playing the synthesizer part for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ and I just looked over to the audience and saw people standing, crying,” Avelaneda said. “It was really a moving event.”

“As we’re playing, I’m looking at my sons and many of the kids, and I see tears in their eyes,” Melillo said. “And I looked at Wally (Avelaneda), and if I had looked at him for another two seconds, we would have both been crying.”

Levitt will attend Binghamton University in the fall, where she plans to major in political science and hopes to join an on-campus extracurricular band.

“While I don’t anticipate working in a music-based career, I know this isn’t it for my time with the alto sax, so I may continue performing, doing what I love,” she said. “I know that wherever I go with my life, music will be involved. The passion and joy Mr. Avelaneda has instilled in me (and all of his students) will not diminish.”