Thursday, October 1, 2026
The sound of music carried an added sense of purpose through Hewlett High School earlier this month, as nationally known music educator Frank Tracz spent a day working with the school’s modern band, concert band and wind ensemble, delivering a message that extended far beyond notes and rhythms.
Tracz, the director of bands at Kansas State University for 33 years, met with students during rehearsals, offering guidance, encouragement and perspective on the role music can play in shaping character, discipline and community.
Hewlett High School’s director of bands, Anthony Santanastaso, arranged for Tracz’s visit on Jan. 14.
Santanastaso graduated from Hofstra University in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in music education, and has been at Hewlett for 18 years. “My role is to teach musical skill, but also to teach a significant amount of life lessons that can prepare them for anything they do in life,” he said of his young musicians. “These students leave the building better humans, capable of dealing with whatever life throws at them.”
In 2004, Santanastaso began training in his free time to be an air traffic controller, hoping to pursue his love of teaching and his passion for aviation at the same time. After completing his training at Vaughn College, in Queens, he was hired in 2013 by Pilot Edge, which trains pilots and provides professional air traffic control services from home via a special communication system for airlines and the military. Two years ago, he began teaching an Introduction to Air Traffic Control class online for the Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus.
“Once I became involved with K-State, I wanted to explore what else they had available,” Sanatanastaso said of the university, for which he still teaches the online course. “As we all know, they have a very great band program by what is a legendary institution in Kansas, led by Dr. Frank Tracz.”
Tracz and Santanastaso also have a mutual connection in Peter Boonshaft, a former music professor at Hofstra. Santanastaso studied under Boonshaft, and Tracz has known him for 30 years, as they worked together.
“That prompted me to send Dr. Tracz an email and say, ‘We have a mutual connection and I’m a band director in New York,’” Santanastaso said. “‘I really like what you’re doing, and would love to foster a relationship.’”
As it turned, Tracz was scheduled to be in the area this month serving as a guest conductor for the Division Five All County Band, and arranged to spend a day off with Hewlett students.
“I’ve done hundreds, if not thousands, of these clinics and visits,” he explained. “It’s fun to go to the high schools and work with the bands and see how they’re doing.”
Tracz’s career spans decades in music education, including leadership roles at the state and national levels and recognition for his advocacy of arts education. He is widely known for championing school music programs as vital to student development and academic success.
The student musicians at Hewlett, he said, were attentive and responsive, and have a lot of good things going on. “It’s really encouraging for the future of the music business,” he said.
Tracz listened to the three bands play, and offered feedback on the pieces and the performances. “You listen through your ears, listen outside, make some notes, address some things and they hear it a little bit clearer,” he said.
Throughout the day, he rotated between ensembles, and in his comments he reinforcing a common theme: that musicianship is built through persistence, respect for one another and a genuine love of the art.
He explored stylistic expression and collaboration with students in the modern band, and focused on balance, tone and musical storytelling with the concert band and wind ensemble.
“It’s just fun to be in front of them, talk to them, listen to them and make comments while watching them change and grow,” Tracz said. “It’s very fulfilling. It’s an honor to be invited, and it means that people respect you and that you know what you’re doing.”
“Music is the greatest thing you’re ever going to do,” he added. “What you learn in the band is different than any other class you’re going to take.”
Administrators praised Tracz’s visit as an example of the district’s commitment to arts education, noting that expert guests help familiarize students with professional standards while reinforcing confidence in their abilities. His visit, they said, was as much about inspiration as instruction.
“As he prepares to retire from K-State at the end of this school year,” the district wrote of Tracz in a statement, “we wish him all the best and thank him for his extraordinary contributions to music education.”
As the interactive rehearsals concluded, Tracz left students with a final message: Music has the power to inspire, unite and challenge them to be their best, long after the last note fades.
“You have to be self-reliant, self-organized and self-motivated,” he said. “That’s exactly what we need in this world right now — we need more band kids calling the shots.”
