Madison Junior High Orchestra performs nationally at Carnegie Hall

The Madison Junior High School Orchestra, which consists of 140 students, had the opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall while visiting New York City the weekend of April 12-16.

“This trip has been a year in the making,” said Ariel Loveland, the MJHS Orchestra director.

Nearly a year ago, Loveland applied to have her students make the trip to New York and perform at the famous Carnegie Hall. To her and her students’ surprise, their application was accepted and they were invited to perform nationally.

The orchestra student body, consisting of both seventh- and eighth-graders in addition to 110 chaperones, made the trip this month.

“They did a beautiful job and had a fun itinerary,” Loveland said.

In conjunction with performing, the students also went to Broadway, the Museum of Natural History, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and more.

“I think the highlight for all of us was performing at Carnegie Hall and learning from Dr. Kevin Noe,” Loveland said.

Noe is a professional from the Manhattan School of Music and spent time listening and providing feedback on their pieces.

“He was very complementary of them and they learned a lot, and so did I,” Loveland said.

The group performed four pieces including Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 by Bach, Jupiter from The Planets by Holst, Legends of Glory by Griesinger, and Sinfonia in D by Del Borgo.

There were five other high school groups invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.

“We were the final group, the youngest and largest!” Loveland said.

Since returning to Rexburg, Loveland feels a definite change of heart in her students.

“What’s been really special is since we’ve been back I’ve seen a renewed determination in them,” Loveland said. “It was really inspiring for them and for me.”

Loveland commented on how she is proud of how their love for music has been uplifted since their experience, despite it being the end of the school year.

“To the community of Rexburg, I would love to say thank you,” Loveland said. “It was worth every effort and I’m so grateful that they’ve invested in our young students.”

Loveland went on to say that the experience would not have been possible without the school board, administration and the Rexburg community.