Bothell students Carnegie-bound

BOTHELL

Tonight's red-eye flight from Seattle to New York City will carry 52 nervous and excited Bothell High School students, their instrument cases and luggage stuffed with food, tuxedo shirts and camera gear.

On Sunday, the school's Symphonic Wind Ensemble will live every musician's dream: playing Carnegie Hall.

"When I think about all the artists that have been there before," said bass trombonist Steve Waters, his voice trailing like a held note.

"It's like, wow," finished flutist Sabrina Beyer. "Carnegie Hall is the greatest place to play."

"But it's kind of scary, and we're all a bit jittery," added Christina Strasser, a trombone player.

The three seniors and a dozen other students have been putting in overtime preparing for the once-in-a-lifetime trip. They've led sectional rehearsals, coached younger players and made phone calls to help music director Matt Hanson raise money and handle hundreds of details.

Bothell's Symphonic Wind Ensemble was invited to perform as part of Carnegie Hall's millennium concert series, which will feature professional musical groups, children's choirs and high-school bands from across the country.

The school's former music director, Judd Aetzel, secretly taped the ensemble before his retirement last year. He sent the tape and recommendation letters - written by university music directors who had heard the group play - to New York.

"He didn't tell us he was taping us and didn't say anything until after we got invited," said Strasser.

Aetzel was a loved and respected teacher with a reputation for extracting the best from his students, said Beyer.

"His biggest impact was he got us to motivate and lead ourselves. He was really good at making us into leaders."

Hanson hopes to continue Bothell High's 50-year tradition of musical excellence.

"The whole foundation of our music program is student leadership, and these kids have really taken the initiative in helping out."

"We're ready for Carnegie. Our student musicians work really hard, they know how to create good music, and they're very passionate about what they do."

The Bothell students are among an unprecedented number of Washington musicians participating in this year's Carnegie concert series, said Dale Susan Zeidman, a spokeswoman for New York-based MidAmerica Productions, which is organizing the series.

More than 200 singers from the University of Washington, Seattle's Chief Sealth High School, the Bellevue Chamber Chorus, Kentridge High School in Kent and Tacoma's Franklin-Pierce High School will perform with groups from Eastern Washington and Idaho in a joint concert May 14.

"We're looking for high-caliber and confident levels of musicianship," said Zeidman.

"Everyone likes to appear at Carnegie Hall because it's the greatest concert hall in the world and the most famous one," she said. "For anyone who is a musician or a singer, and whether they have professional aspirations or not, they are enriched by performing at such a prestigious place. I believe it really is a transforming experience for them."

Dale Fukura already knows how music has transformed her 18-year-old son, Jason. President of Music Boosters, Bothell High's parents group, Fukura says her son plays his alto sax eight to 14 hours a week.

Fukura and her husband, Glenn, along with a number of other parents, are paying their own way to New York so they can be in the audience Sunday afternoon.

"We're really proud of him, and for us, it's a chance to see him perform in some place so special" she said. "After all, how many musicians can say, `I played Carnegie Hall.' "

Sara Jean Green's phone message number is 206-515-5654. Her e-mail address is sgreen@seattletimes.com