The district congratulates the Mineola High School Wind Ensemble on being selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of the John Philip Sousa Band Festival. The group was one of four ensembles from across the country selected for the festival, which ran from March 7-9.

The audition process for this exclusive festival began last year and included submitting multiple video recordings of the group performing John Philip Sousa compositions. The Mineola ensemble was joined at the festival by groups from Santa Cruz High School in California, Indiana’s Perdue University and Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota.

Forty-nine student musicians traveled from Mineola to the Capitol for the performance, which featured four songs, including two John Philip Sousa classics, “The Last Days of Pompeii” and “The Thunderer.”

In addition to rehearsing with renowned artist, conductor and music educator Dr. T. André Feagin and performing on the famed Kennedy Center stage, the learners were also treated to a tour of the White House, the US Capitol and FBI Headquarters.

Mineola High School band director Christopher Toomey was thrilled to conduct his students on the world famous stage and shared his excitement about the opportunity. “Whether it's sports, robotics, art, music or academics - I believe the true takeaway from this outstanding experience for our learners is this: if you put in the hard work and dedication, although it might not be easy in the moment, the results will surpass even your highest expectations.”

The Mineola High School Wind Ensemble is an audition based group, open to all high school students regardless of grade. This group was created to allow the advanced musicians to come together and perform at the highest level possible.