Educators, students and communities from across the country promote the benefits of high quality music education programs in schools during Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) every March. The Canutillo ISD School of Music joins the 36th annual celebration by the The National Associations of Music Education (NAfME).
According to MIOSM, the impact of music education on the lives of students during this particular school year, unlike any other, is evident in how the social-emotional benefits have carried them through the pandemic and brought joy to their communities. Music educators have given students the wonderful opportunity to show their growth and learning in the classroom – and for educators to share the incredible work they are doing in their music programs.
The CISD School of Music has been busy making waves as always this spring.
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| Alani Silvas |
Matthew Medina |
In March, Canutillo Middle School had two eighth-grade students, Alani Silvas and Matthew Medina, audition for this year's Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-Region Middle School Band. Silva earned second place out of twenty-eight students in trumpet. Medina got seventh place out of eighteen students in alto saxophone.
At Canutillo High School, eight students competed in the Region 22 UIL Solo and Ensemble events in band, choir and orchestra in February. The students are now certified to compete in May and June 2021 at the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition and earned a first division rating. The following students competed in voice; Amanda Mata, Kelly Gutierrez, Abner Astudillo, Lily Garcia, Estevan Aguilera, and Nain Juarez. Arissa Love competed in marimba and Timmathey Noha competed in snare drum.
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Amanda Mata
Voice |
Kelly Gutierrez
Voice |
Abner Astudillo
Voice |
Lily Garcia
Voice |
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Estevan Aguilera
Voice |
Nain Juarez
Voice |
Timmathey Noha
Snare Drum |
Arissa Love
Marimba |
CISD School of Music Director Regino Ramos said that due to the pandemic, this year's competition was very different from those of the past. The student's had to submit a video recording, a certified PDF of the music, and have a teacher certify that the performance video was done in only one recording attempt.
“While UIL always gets the students' nerves up, having to do it in this format was even more nerve-racking,” Ramos said. “On top of that, our faculty could only work with the students via Zoom videos or online recordings.”
Ramos said that they set up a mini-recording studio in the band room, set up time slots for each student to record, and sanitized the recording area for the next student.
“The great news is that our students rose above the difficulties and once again showed that hard work and great instruction pays off,” Ramos added. “I would like to thank Mr. Willie Adame for all his hard work in preparing the students, assisting in the recording, registration, uploading videos, etc. and Ms. Clapsaddle for all her help and support.”
This June, the CISD School of Music was invited to have a musical group showcase their talent and entertain at The Institute for Learning (IFL) National Conference. IFL is an outreach of the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center.