With the end of trick or treating and costume parties, many minds naturally turn to honoring our local and national veterans. Young musicians at American Heritage Academy, however, have been planning for Veterans Day for several months, and will be honoring veterans on Saturday evening as they present "The Price of Freedom" by composer Rob Gardner.

"If you were 18 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, you'd be 85 today," said Kayson Brown, conductor of the American Heritage Philharmonic. "The fact that there are fewer and fewer veterans for us to honor makes it more important to do today."

"The Price of Freedom" is a musical theater type of production, but there are no costumes, set or stage, Brown said. Performers sing about the people they're representing and the orchestra accompanies them, and on the side there is archive footage playing.

Brown and his Philharmonic Orchestra have been working on this musical tribute for about three months, with regular mentoring from members of the Utah Symphony, so that they can present a professional performance.

"The professional actors and actresses are flying out to do our show, and the composer will be coming in from California for it," Brown said. "Due to their work and the quality of vocalists they will be accompanying, this performance promises to be a moving experience.

"What we're trying to convey is that this is a professional performance with a first-class orchestra. It's not what a normal high school does when they have a concert. We're trying to help people understand that this is an event they'll enjoy, even if they don't have a student performing."

The rehearsal process has been a moving experience for the musicians and their conductor.

"By doing this with young people, this has made World War II real to them," said Brown. "No one has been affected more by this piece than the students who have spent the last three months with it."

"My grandpa was a World War II veteran, so it's helped me appreciate him a little more," said senior Rachel Bigelow, a cellist. "It has opened my eyes a little more, and its helped me appreciate a little more. When I'm playing, I think of all their sacrifices and I think they're so amazing. I wonder how they could do all that."

Brown said he was moved by the sacrifices that veterans have made for our country, but could not adequately impress that upon his students.

"I think this is the best way for them to understand that," Brown said. He also had veterans come speak to the musicians at their Wednesday rehearsal so they could gain further appreciation of sacrifices our local veterans have made.

"I definitely have a stronger feeling for their sacrifices when I play the music," said sophomore violist Steven Duncan. "You can kind of feel a little bit what they had to go through, just in the strength of the music; it's really emotional and brings out the spirit of the American sacrifice."

Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. They may be purchased online at www.american-heritage.org or by calling the school at (801) 642-0055.

Students hope that those who attend the concert will feel a deeper sense of gratitude for veterans, as well as personal responsibility for serving in our nation.

"I hope they will have more appreciation and respect, and hopefully they want to contribute in some way to the nation," Bigelow said. "Maybe the people who watch the concert will stand up and want to do more, just do like the World War II veterans have done."

However, the performers seek to honor the sacrifices of all veterans, not just those of the Second World War.

"The sacrifice of a soldier is universal, no matter what war they're fighting," Duncan said. "They're still fighting for our country and still face challenges, regardless of the time period."