Music
The music program at Wilcox is an excellent grouping of well learned students from Freshmen to Seniors. The overall program oftens rivals Harker Academy in terms of quality and professional style. It has been directed by Rick South and Robert Nieves for over 9 years, giving students a handle on the very important art of Music and the fundamentals of musicianship. Programs such as Marching band, Jazz band, and Concert Band and Orchestra have been a great and rich part of academic and personal lives of the students. These groups of musicians share strong friendships and quick minds as a result of the teamwork and mental stimulation that playing an instrument offers.
In Summer and Fall, the Winterguard, Colorguard, and Marching bands (Directed by Robert Nieves) make their biggest performances, with the marching band often providing entertainment to accompany each and every one of the ever popular football games until the season ends.
Winter and Spring mark the beginning of the Concert musician season, where the Orchestra and Band (Directed by Rick South) give spectacular performances in the Mission City center for Performing Arts' theater. Admission to these concerts has always been free and open to the public.
To help fund and organize the music program, the Wilcox Instrumental Music Boosters (WIMB) was formed by parents and friends of the directors and the students. The service WIMB does for the musicians of Wilcox is a great one, and their cooperation is suberb thanks to the strong bonds and acquaintanceship that comes with being a part of Music. However, at the halwfay mark of the 2012-2013 achool year, after the passing of Prop. 30, the district slashed Nieves' pay in half, which in turn forced him to say goodbye to the students and reluctantly leave the Marching band, Winterguard and Colorguard without a director. The option of fundraising for his salary was stamped out of the question shortly afterward.
Read more about this topic: Adrian C. Wilcox High School
Famous quotes containing the word music:
“It is hard to describe the thrill of creative joy which the artist feels when the conviction seizes her that at last she has caught the very soul of the character she wishes to portray, in the music and action which reveal it.”
—Maria Jeritza (1887–1982)
“I used to be angry all the time and I’d sit there weaving my anger. Now I’m not angry. I sit there hearing the sounds outside, the sounds in the room, the sounds of the treadles and heddles—a music of my own making.”
—Bhakti Ziek (b. c. 1946)
“I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.... Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
—Harper Lee (b. 1926)