If you need inspiration today, this just might be it. On Wednesday, April 11, the Verona High School concert band performed at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
The concert was part of the cathedral’s professional concert series, “Wednesdays at Noon”. The Verona concert band was the first non-professional group to be invited to play in the series’ history. Concert organizers approached Erik Lynch, VHS’s band director, after learning of the band’s award-winning achievements. The band has been featured in the New Jersey State Gala Concert and was selected for the Mid-Atlantic Band Festival at Rutgers University in 2009, 2010 and 2012. It has received numerous gold ratings and first place awards in band competitions.
The video below is the band’s performance of David R. Gillingham’s “Council Oak”, one of three pieces that the band performed in Newark. Many of these student musicians will be on stage in Verona next week in a completely different guise: The annual free concert of Verona Jazz & Beyond is Wednesday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m.
They were amazing yesterday! And truly deserve all the accolades…1st public school band ever invited to the Basilica’s Wednesdays at noon. We are all so proud of our children and our revered Mr. Lynch!
I am going to miss this next year…my son’s last year…so bittersweet!
Wow! The students played magnificently. The conductors’ enthusiasm, energy and passion and how the children performed was a
pleasure to see and hear. It brought a contagious smile on our faces. Our daughter said it makes you want to learn an insturment … God Bless!
Virginia we just started reading your website. All I can say is you write beautifully. Your positive reinforcemnt about our community is a pleasure to read. Thank you for accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative … just like the song.