Our Reply - Presented By Marjory Stoneman Douglas Band and Guard

"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before." – Leonard Bernstein The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wind Symphony will be joined by prolific performers and conductors as well as additional guest student musicians from throughout South Florida. In addition, the performance will include a world premiere of a composition dedicated to the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Leonard Bernstein truly believed that music was one of the most effective means of creating understanding and peace in the world. By nurturing music and the arts, he said, we can actualize a world "in which the mind will have triumphed over violence." His words could not be more resonant today. The musicians of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Band Program have embodied Bernstein's immortal words, replying to violence by immediately continuing to make music, including the Wind Symphony’s historical and passionate performance at Carnegie Hall this past March. It is in this spirit that we ask you to join us on June 1, 2018 for “Our Reply” as the musicians of the MSD Wind Symphony and their special guests honor those members of the band and color guard who were taken from us too soon, and to continue to champion Bernstein’s profound message – “to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before." There is no better way to respond to the worst in humanity than by demonstrating the positive healing power that lies within the emotional expression of music. The profits from this concert will support the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Band, the Alex Schachter Scholarship Fund and the Gina Montalto Memorial Foundation. Special Guest Artists Joseph Alessi, Principal Trombone, New York Philharmonic Orchestra Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic Orchestra Gary Green, Director of Bands Emeritus, University of Miami Frank Ticheli, Composer/Conductor Johan de Meij, Composer/Conductor Andrew Boss, Composer