Texas Tech orchestra honors 9/11 with concert on anniversary - KCBD

Sarah McKoin, director of bands at the Texas Tech School of Music, said the timing carried weight she couldn't ignore. She remembered how television coverage of 9/11 leaned on music during breaks because words didn't fit the moment. That memory shaped how she approached this year's first performance.

McKoin said the goal wasn't just a scheduled concert. She wanted the show to honor victims and survivors, and to make sure people don't forget what happened that day. Music, she said, holds onto emotions that speech can't always reach.

For Tech students and anyone in the audience, the performance turned a routine season opener into something heavier. Bands schedule concerts around the academic calendar all the time. Landing on September 11 gave this one a different feel for the musicians on stage and the people listening from the seats.

Twenty-four years later, a university wind ensemble still reached for the same instinct McKoin remembered from television screens after the attacks.