The story of the Hewlett band program is not simply a list of events. It is a record of continuity — of educators who built something, then passed it forward with care.
From the district's founding in the 1890s through today's honors-level ensembles — every milestone grounded in the public record.
The program's strength has never depended on one person alone. It has depended on a chain of educators who built, expanded, and passed the work forward.
Travel, recognition, performance — the outward-facing life of an ambitious program.
Hewlett students perform alongside Wantagh musicians as the Hewlett-Wantagh Festival Winds, presenting repertoire including Dakota Fanfare and Canticle at one of the world's most prestigious concert halls.
The Hewlett marching band wins first place at the New York City Columbus Day Parade, one of the city's most visible and competitive marching events.
Hewlett sends a marching band, choral group, and orchestral ensemble to Walt Disney World as part of a quadrennial tradition — requiring months of preparation and community-wide support.
The Wind Ensemble and Concert Band have earned Gold and Gold with Distinction ratings at Levels 5 and 6 at NYSSMA Majors — the highest marks available at New York State's most rigorous adjudication festivals.
The GWH Jazz Orchestra and director James Dragovich are selected to perform at the NYSSMA All-State Winter Conference — recognized by the district's Board of Education.
Public records document Hewlett bands performing in Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, Boston, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and at Citi Field — a travel footprint that reflects decades of ambition and community investment.
Douglas Yeo — a Hewlett alum who credits director Stephen B. Work — became one of the world's foremost trombonists and a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 27 years. He is one of many Hewlett alumni who carried their music forward into distinguished careers.
The Hewlett-Woodmere Music Department has been recognized as a GRAMMY Signature School Semifinalist and a NAMM Best 100 Communities for Music Education honoree — district-wide distinctions reflecting the sustained excellence that makes a strong band program possible.
Director Anthony Santanastaso arranges a visit from Frank Tracz, one of the most respected band educators in the country — a signal that Hewlett's reputation continues to attract national-level artistic engagement.
The depth of the high school program does not appear by accident. It is the result of a deliberately sequenced band culture that begins in 4th grade and builds continuously toward George W. Hewlett High School.
All 4th graders may choose an instrument in band or orchestra. 5th graders continue through lessons and participation in the elementary school band — their first experience of large-ensemble performance.
Each grade level has its own band. Students audition for select ensembles including jazz ensemble — already preparing for competitive performance and adjudication before high school.
Concert Band and Wind Ensemble (Honors), Marching Band, Jazz Ensembles, and Pit Orchestra. Students arrive with years of large-ensemble experience — ready for the program's most ambitious repertoire.
The result of the pipeline: Approximately 1 in 3 Hewlett-Woodmere students participates in the performing music program district-wide. The middle school program has earned First Place Superior awards at Music in the Parks (2023, 2025), sending students upward into the high school ensembles already accustomed to public performance, adjudication, and competitive recognition.
The modern era is better documented than any before it. These public recordings let you hear and see the program as it actually sounds — across time.
The official district streaming archive — including HHS Winter Concert I & II (2025) and the All-District Jazz Night (2026).
One of two public videos from the historic 2013 Carnegie Hall collaboration between Hewlett and Wantagh students.
The second public video from the Carnegie Hall event — capturing the program's college-level repertoire in one of the world's great concert halls.
A named public Wind Ensemble performance from George W. Hewlett High School — part of the growing digital archive of the current era.
A virtual HHS Wind Ensemble performance shared through Director Anthony Santanastaso's channel during the pandemic era.
Visual evidence of the Disney travel tradition — the marching band performing at Walt Disney World as part of the quadrennial Magic Music Days participation.
The band in its community-facing role — performing at the Hewlett Woodmere Homecoming Parade, one of the ritual moments that connect the program to the broader school community.
A Woodmere Middle School band performance capturing the feeder program in action — with Jonathan Holford directing 7th, 8th, and Jazz Band.
"Hewlett did not build a good band program overnight. It built one across generations — and the tradition remains as active, ambitious, and community-facing today as at any point in its documented history."
— From the Hewlett Band Program Commemorative History, April 2026