Excellence in Education, presented in the Isaac Stern Auditorium of Carnegie Hall, was arranged in order of least “educated” ensemble to the most. It was clear that most of the audience members were parents or friends of the performers, but considering that, the auditorium was surprisingly full. After each successive act, the concert hall cleared out somewhat, since parents were not interested in performances other than that of their children.

It began with the North Brunswick Township High School Orchestra, directed by Jeffrey Bradbury. It was not an orchestra, but a strings ensemble, which means that their pieces are arranged for strings, and most pieces arranged for strings are unsuccessful and uninteresting to play. To criticize their technique too sharply seems unfair, as they are high school students, but there are many musicians of high school age who have far better technique. In this case, even if many members of the Township High School Orchestra were playing perfectly in tune, those who were not eclipsed the entire ensemble. A girl near the back of the second violins practically had her own very very sharp solo. It was really uncanny that she could be heard over the entire orchestra, especially considering that the back of the second violins in an ensemble is not generally known for its tremendously powerful sound. However, despite a few atrocities in intonation and bowing, the North Brunswick Township High School Orchestra behaved themselves very well, with a great deal of gravity (as some high school musicians do not), and their conductor Jeffrey Bradbury had much enthusiasm (more than his students).

The wind ensemble from the University of California at Santa Cruz (which included brass instruments) was a great technical improvement from the high school strings ensemble. Although many of the musicians had the same dour mien as those in the high school ensemble, a few players made up for it with their truly exceptional verve. These included an nerdy and flirtatious saxophonist, a cheerful first trombone, and most of all, the sole bassist, who was dancing and grinning as he played. Unfortunately, these three shall remain nameless, as no musicians in Excellence in Education except for soloists were named in the playbill.

The last performers were the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band. They were technically and musically very adept, and certainly had verve that the other two ensembles lacked. Of course they were all adults, not students. The only thing distinctively “gay” or “lesbian” were the rainbow sashes the men wore. The women were far more monochromatic. The pieces they played were very cute, beginning with Leonard Bernstein’s “Overture to Candide”, which they played much too slow, because of the conductor’s sluggish beat. The overly slow rendition detracted somewhat from the madcap cuteness which is indigenous in the piece. The whole performance was very cheerful, an attitude epitomized by Leroy Anderson’s “The typewriter”, where a typewriter was exuberantly used as a percussion instrument, and preceded by an adorable dialogue.

Perhaps as a performance, Excellence in Education had some musical faults, but it did really embody its title, showing that education could lead children to great places and that music could take them far. For instance, they could attain the status of those of the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band, as long as they eventually played more in tune than the girl in the back of the second violins.