The Elon Wind Ensemble gave community members a preview of its upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall during a concert on campus March 4, offering audiences a first look at the music the group will perform in New York.
The Wind Ensemble is a contemporary group focused on performing at the highest level possible. The concert consisted of 5 songs, just over 50 students and over 15 instruments. The show was about an hour long.
Jonathan Poquette, director of bands, said the concert is a way to give back to the community.
“Having community members both on and off campus just coming to our concerts and giving us love as we were growing has meant a tremendous amount to both me and the students,” Poquette said.
Poquette himself once performed at the historic venue as a college student through an organization called World Projects, where applicants submitted audition recordings that demonstrated their abilities before being selected.
The ensemble was invited to one of two showcase ensembles for the 24th Annual New York Wind Band Festival. He found out in June 2024 that the ensemble had been chosen, but it wasn’t until the end of the year that it was confirmed they’d go.
Chloe Hyatt is a junior and clarinet player in the ensemble.
Hyatt said nobody knew Poquette had submitted the ensemble to perform and everyone thought it was an insane opportunity when they were told.
Hyatt said she thinks that when she steps onto the stage at Carnegie Hall, she’ll feel the nerves, however eventually it will feel like any other performance
“It feels the same as any concert where you'd like, you step on stage, you feel a little nervous, and then you're like, you sit down and it feels so familiar because like, we practiced it so much,” Hyatt said.
Ian Wong is a freshman who plays the flute in the ensemble. He said he is shocked yet thrilled to get the opportunity.
“I didn't expect to perform on stage like this or go places like this as an organization,” Wong said.
The band will make a stop at a high school in Delaware on its way to New York. When the ensemble gets there, it will also perform at a high school in Staten Island.
Poquette says the opportunity to perform the music more than once is reassuring because the students can get comfortable in different venues, as most of them have never played outside of Elon venues or their high schools.
“We can hear and see how we're going to kind of navigate some of these waters, even if the space is different,” Poquette said.
Wong said their last concert was in December, so the preview concert and the stops on the way to New York are a good warmup for Carnegie Hall.
“Being able to have multiple attempts to check things like sound, balance, tuning, just little things like that, every single run that you get really helps you refine and make a better product,” Wong said.
Poquette said to prepare for the trip, the ensemble has been polishing the music rather than learning new pieces. He emphasized that the students are the ones doing the work.
“I'm trying to put as much ownership on the students and give them the space to hold each other a little more accountable than just coming from me,” Poquette said.
Todd Coleman, associate professor of music, composed one of the songs that his students will play in New York. He has had major performances of his work, including with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; however, never in Carnegie Hall.
Colemand said the first time he composed music was when he was 16, and it was played by his high school orchestra, which inspired him to be a composer.
“This trip and hearing it played in that venue is, to me, it's like another version of that experience,” Coleman said.
Coleman explained the experience as the birth of something new, and doing it with his students and colleagues is even more wonderful.
Cathy Seagroves attended the preview performance and said it was her first time witnessing the Elon Wind Ensemble.
Seagroves said the group was extremely talented.
“It's such unusual music that it just showcased each and every performer, each and every instrument,” Seagroves said.
Seagroves attends the program Life at Elon which provides learning opportunities for people over the age of 50. She decided to attend the preview concert after learning about it through the program.
“Our leader of that program is always, you know, pushing the events here in Elon. And so that was one of the things she had in her email,” Seagroves said.
Ashley Morales, a senior tuba player in the ensemble, said she hopes people understand the band has worked hard to get to this moment
“I hope that they come tonight and are like this is a band worthy of playing on stage,” Morales said. “And that all our hard work is recognized and we have worked really hard for this opportunity.”