McAuliffe Middle School student musicians in Los Alamitos are preparing for their final concert of the 2012-13 school year to be held on Tuesday, May 14 at Seacoast Grace Church. The McAuliffe bands (beginning through advanced) and the award-winning jazz band will perform their final instrumental concert.
In the fall, McAuliffe kicked off their instrumental music season with their first concert at the Seacoast Grace Church. All groups (bands and orchestra) were represented with the number of students performing being well over 200. In an era where music programs in public schools are under increased funding and class constraints, it’s wonderful to see Los Alamitos Unified School District continue to strongly support school music programs at all levels. The benefits of a music education on developing academic excellence, is widely published. Programs offered through the LAUSD and The Youth Center Music Program help students realize these benefits.
Sisil continuously looks for opportunities for the instrumental music groups to perform outside of annual school concerts and his efforts on behalf of the students have provided some great ones. December 2012, performances by the advanced band, jazz band, and string orchestra at the California Adventure Theme Park marked a decade of McAuliffe participation in Disneyland’s Community Arts Showcase Program. At the string orchestra’s performance, a terrific 30-minute set that included both classical and popular music ended with the Disney classic, “Under the Sea.” Disney talent managers commented that “these kids are total professionals and Disneyland appreciates having them play for park guests each year.”
At a February 2013 concert at the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach, there was another special event that allowed the advanced band and orchestra to entertain visitors.
In March, the all-district string orchestra and all-district band concerts were held at the Los Alamitos High School gymnasium. These concerts featured performances by instrumental music groups throughout the district, which are organized according to grade level. Attendees had the chance to appreciate the accomplishments of the students and be inspired by those with more experience.
The McAuliffe String Orchestra opened the all-district string orchestra concert with a spirited performance of the “Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor”, featuring soloists Jeewon Kwak and Alexa Sturrock. The group showed their range when they followed with a current pop song, Carley Ray Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe”, which was arranged especially for them by John Glaudini, parent of McAuliffe student, Charile Glaudini.
Along with district support and volunteerism from parents like Glaudini and countless others, LAUSD music programs remain strong. Parent volunteerism begins at home when parents share their own appreciation of music, ensure that there is a quiet place, regular time to practice and provide private lessons. Music requires tremendous dedication from student performers and those who support them, but one of the easiest ways anyone can support students is to attend their concerts. Admission proceeds directly benefit school music programs by offsetting the cost of maintenance and procurement of school-owned instruments, purchase of sheet music, transportation fees to performance venues, performance venue fees, and many other needs.