NEW YORK, NY-  From Billie Holiday to the Beatles and now to North Penn High School’s own Miss Erica Milbourne, Jennie Ju, Suyog Padgaonkar, and Jodie Spross, Carnegie Hall has seen it all. On December  2, the quartet took to the Ronald O. Perelman Stage with the entire American Christmas Carol Honors Orchestra to perform in front of a full house of approximately 3,000 spectators.

Tim Janis, famed composer with over one million albums sold and a resume that includes the names of renowned musicians such as Ray Charles and Billy Joel as some of his co-workers, conducted the ensemble, and Kevin Cooper, orchestra director at Springfield High School for 22 years, acted as Director. The American Christmas Carol Honors Orchestra boasted some of District 12’s most talented student and adult musicians.

“I was invited to play as an alumni of Springfield High School, and, because of my involvement, I was permitted to invite a few of my North Penn students to participate as well, even though we are District 11,” said Milbourne, who played the violin in the ensemble.

Accompanied by recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love, John Lloyd Young from Jersey Boys, Steve van Zandt of Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band, and numerous other acclaimed musicians from places as far away as Japan, North Penn’s Jennie Ju, Suyog Padgaonkar, and Jodie Spross agreed upon the significance of the occasion.

 “It meant the world to me to have the opportunity to play with such accomplished musicians!” said Spross, string bassist in the ensemble and member of North Penn’s Jazz Band and Chamber Singers.

Proving the axiom that the best way to get to Carnegie Hall is to practice, the orchestra rehearsed since June and weekly during the month of November, leading to the standing ovation received at the end of December 2’s performance. Although this may have been violinist Jennie Ju’s first time playing in front of such a large crowd, the concert proved just as exhilarating for Erica Milbourne despite her previous experiences.

“It was a wonderful experience to perform on stage with my own students and several of my former teachers. To have several generations of musicians all performing on stage together in such a magnificent venue was an experience of a lifetime. So many great musicians have performed at Carnegie Hall over the years, and to walk onto that same stage and look out into the audience is amazing,” said Milbourne.

Serving as an experience from which to grow and learn, the opportunity presented the opportunity to both delight audiences and inspire the young musicians.

“Since we played Christmas music, which I’m not a big fan of, it opened my eyes to the joy that any type of music brings to everyone,” said violist Padgaonkar.

Music has been referred to as a means of connecting people to one another, and in the case of the American Christmas Carol Honors Orchestra, musicians of various backgrounds came together to put on a commendable show.

On December 6, several of the orchestra members appeared on QVC in promotion of Tim Janis’s music, and in the future, Miss. Milbourne hopes the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall will present itself again next year.