It’s been more than 10 years that the sound of music was silenced at Kermit McKenzie Junior High School, but this year that changed.
Righetti High School Music Director Nick Burdick has been teaching the basics of beginning band in the morning at the Guadalupe school before he heads back to Orcutt to finish out his day with the Warrior band at Righetti.
McKenzie Junior High School students have been learning the basics on a chalkboard about woodwinds, brass, and percussion before joining together for band instruction. They will have a concert in December and plan to add marching next semester.
The students, who have named their band the “Green Machine” after the school’s color, are focused, excited, and intent on not missing a class.
McKenzie School Bobcat Isaiah Noriz, who plays the saxophone, and clarinetist David Barba have high hopes of going on to make the Righetti marching band when they graduate eighth grade.
“It’s fun, and I like the soothingness of music,’’ Noriz said.
The junior high is known as a feeder school for Righetti, making this outreach an important part of sustaining the music program.
“The Righetti band has suffered the last few years because we just haven’t had many students coming in,’’ Burdick said. “This gives the junior high students a connection to high school and gives them something exciting to look forward to, so school isn’t just a chore.’’
Burdick believes music is an invaluable part of any school experience.
“It’s so important that kids get music,’’ Burdick added. “It’s like a hardware upgrade for the whole brain. If we only teach them about math and reading and never teach them about beauty, we’ve created an incomplete person, and we can’t expect them to care about their education.’’
This article appears in Sep 17-24, 2015.
