How Does The Band From Renaissance High Get To Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice And A Bus

DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - A Detroit high school band will follow in the foot steps of the greats like -- Yo-Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti and Wynton Marsalis.

Renaissance High School Director of Bands Ronald Malabed will be taking the Symphonic Band to Carnegie Hall this weekend -- not to see a concert but to be the concert.

"What happened is Carnegie Hall invites about 12 bands every year to perform at their National Orchestra and Band festival -- so I sent an application, and with that application you have to send recordings of your groups and there are dozens of groups that audition but only 12 are invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, "Malabed told WWJ's Stephanie Davis. "So we were really happy to be chosen."

Malabed said the students were ecstatic when they heard the news they had been chosen.

"They were excited thinking about performing at Carnegie Hall -- what an honor it is -- only the finest and best musicians perform at Carnegie Hall," he said.

Fifty students and staff will make the trip to New York City.

Malabed says they'll perform three pieces; John Phillip Susa, Ralph Von Williams and -- he says they've been preparing for this since November and they are ready to go!

The bus leaves Detroit Thursday morning and upon their return the band members can add playing at Carnegie Hall to their resume.

The band will take the stage 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Carnegie Hall.