NEW YORK (WSVN) — A group of student musicians from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are in New York to perform at Carnegie Hall, just weeks after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at their school.
Despite the tragedy, the young musicians are working to heal their heartache through music.
“It takes your mind away from everything that’s happening because when you’re playing music, it’s really just, it’s like jumping in the pool when you’re underwater — nothing up top really matters,” said bassoon player Daniel Journey.
The school’s wind symphony, which is made up of about 60 students, was rehearsing when the first shots rang out at the school. Many of the lives lost were friends of the musicians.
“This was the group that was with me when this tragedy took place,” said band director Alex Kaminsky. “We were all in the band room, and I saw the effect it had on them. I knew that we needed to move forward.”
For flute player Sydney Shteif, playing in New York will help in the healing process.
“The healing process with music is just so awesome,” she said. “Coming here, I knew it would be good, and I knew coming back would be a lot easier too because we’re coming back from something amazing, just being in good moods.”
The group auditioned to become one of six high school bands across the country to perform at Carnegie Hall.
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