Carnegie Hall: that venerated New York landmark where every musician dreams of performing. More than 40 young Verde Valley and Flagstaff musicians under the direction of Kristina Beachell had the honor of being invited to perform at the New York Invitational Music Festival at Carnegie Hall, an adjudicated event, on March 16, 2020. This is an extremely rare honor for a youth orchestra in a small western town.

A year of hard work, practice, musical growth and fundraising prepared them to deliver a spellbinding performance at this event, but COVID struck and the concert was cancelled just before they were to depart for New York. We will always remember the lessons learned from this journey of perseverance, teamwork, and love of music!