Friday, May 2nd 2014, 9:45 am
Almost 200 students traveled from Broken Arrow to the Big Apple to perform at Carnegie Hall. But there were some major hurdles the students had to overcome to get there.
These images and sounds from Carnegie Hall will be treasured forever by the 172 young musicians who had the honor of playing on the world's most famous stage.
But the trip may be remembered for other reasons for the folks who were organizing it.
5/1/2014 Related Story: BA Band Plays Concert Of A Lifetime At Carnegie Hall
"It's not all been perfect, but that's okay," said Mark Frie, the director of the Broken Arrow Fine Arts program.
The students helped load up a truck carrying their instruments to New York four days before the concert.
Two days later, they got word that truck hit an unmarked overpass and was stuck just outside Newark, New Jersey.
All six cellos and one baritone saxophone were destroyed.
At rehearsal the night before the concert, some of the replacement instruments were still coming in, while others hadn't arrived at all.
When show time arrived on Easter, Frie took the stage, giving thanks.
"Art still has the power to bring us together in a unique way," he said.
It took a trucking company in New Jersey, a high school in Florida, a musician in Queens and a New York music company willing to open its doors on Easter morning, but the show went on.
As for the kids, perhaps the added drama was a little distraction from the magnitude of what they were about to do.
Kristin Chenoweth even made a surprise appearance to conduct the last song.
But when you listen to their music, remember seven kids were playing on instruments they'd never even touched before. And still, it was grand.
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