DALLAS — Featuring pizza, soda and music, the Lake-Lehman Elementary School Band Christmas holiday party held Dec. 19 had all the components the Trans-Siberian Orchestra required.
Yes, the national orchestra, known for its high-energy rock performances, funded a pizza party for nearly 128 Lake-Lehman School District elementary school children, said Patrick Stanley, director of the elementary school band.
The story behind the party and funding all started when 11-year-old Allyson Moyer and her 10-year-old sister, Erica, were surprised by their aunt and uncle with tickets to see TSO perform on Nov. 25 at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township.
The two girls, who are members of the Lake-Lehman Elementary School Band, bumped into TSO’s founding member Paul O’Neill near the food concession area in the arena.
“He was out, talking with kids,” Allyson said. “We saw him give a little boy money and told him to give it to people in need.”
O’Neill called over to the girls.
The conversation that followed revealed the sisters were band members with the Lake-Lehman Elementary School Band, which includes Ross, Lehman-Jackson and Lake-Noxen schools.
Allyson plays the baritone and Erica plays the flute.
O’Neill handed the sisters two concert programs autographed by every TSO member, two t-shirts and something special — an envelope containing $500 cash.
O’Neill wrote a message in the program that read, “Junk food is very important to the creative process so please use the $500 enclosed to buy the kids pizza! 100 % serious!”
“It was so random, so unexpected,” Allyson said.
“He told us to spend it on pizza, not instruments,” Erica said.
Eric Stein, the TSO spokesman, said the girls’ story coincides with the band’s history of charitable giving.
“In every tour city, TSO donates $1 to $2 for each show ticket to local charities,” Stein said. “Over the years, TSO has distributed $13-plus million to worthy charities across North America, helping to fight homelessness, hunger, illness and more, plus to educational and arts programs for adults and children alike.”
TSO is still touring the East Coast, rendering O’Neill unavailable for a comment.
The day after the concert, the sisters’ mother contacted Stanley, retold the girls’ experience and gave him the cash and a concert program.
“It was an envelope containing five $100 bills,” Stanley said. “It was incredible.”
In Stanley’s copy of the concert program, O’Neill wrote the following message: “To Mister Stanley, An artist can create a thousand works of art, but a teacher can create a thousand artists!!”
“That means a lot to me,” Stanley said.
Stanley followed TSO’s directions and organized a holiday pizza and bowling party at Back Mountain Bowl in Dallas for the 128-member band Dec. 19.
“We had a pizza bowling party at the end of last year,” Stanley said, but noted only 85 of the elementary school band members attended and they had to pay for themselves. “This year it is completely free.”
News of the holiday pizza party was released to all the band parents, Stanley said.
Lehman-Jackson Elementary School parent Linda Galasso said at last week’s school band concert, Stanley announced the pizza party again and TSO’s involvement.
“I thought he was going to cry when he made the announcement,” Galasso said.
Almost every member of the 128-member elementary school band converged on Back Mountain Bowl.
Parents had to sign in their children; then, the students signed their names to a “Thank You” card that Stanley will mail to TSO.
Vivienne Aloi, 11, and Mackenzie Dwyer, 12, of Lehman-Jackson Elementary School were laughing and bowling with friends.
The girls wanted to give a big “thank you” to TSO for making the event possible.
Kristy Ann Newhart watched her son, Colin Mikolaichik, a fifth-grader at Lake-Noxen Elementary School, bowl a few frames with a group of friends.
“This is awesome for the kids,” Newhart said. “It was great for TSO to reward the children for all their hard work.”
Allyson and Erica, who wore their TSO t-shirts Monday, said watching their bandmates have fun because they happened to be in the right place at the right time felt “awesome.”
