By Julie BUTCHER

This year, the Crescenta Valley High School Falcons’ marching band had the best season in its 54-year history. The band scored its highest scores and achieved its highest placement in competition, reaching second place in the (5a) division and securing a spot in the sport’s finals. At the California State Band Championships’ (CSBC) Grand Championships, the CVHS marching band placed seventh among more than a hundred participating schools.

Credit for the program’s success, according to CVHS Instrumental Music Dept. director Mathew Schick, goes first to the members of the band and then to the enormous team standing behind them.

“There is no way we could do what we do here without the incredible support of an incredible community, from head chaperone Mary Seropian to Nina Ayyar who leads a team of parents who feed the band all season, to Ann Collard and Debbie Nelson, our band camp managers,” Schick said. He continued, “Julie Moore’s football snacks, volunteer coordinator and sign-up genius Holly Bullard; Sarah Hilburn and her entire crew keep us all in uniforms. Then there’s Kirstin Hofhine, transportation manager extraordinaire, and everyone who drove U-Haul trucks or pulled our trailer; and Leanne Levine, color guard ‘Mom,’ who does pretty much anything that needs to be done. We also have a strong group of empowered musicians who we encourage to help lead.”

The school’s music program is funded almost entirely by parents and community supporters.

“I’m paid for by the District, which is good,” Schick explained, “but that’s pretty much it. Everything else, including the instruments and all the band equipment, just about everything else, comes from donations, from our families, and from the CVIM (Crescenta Valley Instrumental Music Foundation). I feel guilty asking the students for money because I feel like I shouldn’t have to.”

Mathew Schick has led the music program at CVHS since 2000. He is a graduate of Glendale High School and his sons attend local public schools. He is proud of all of the school’s many musical programs, from its jazz program to the symphony. As for this year’s stellar marching band season, he detailed the reasons for success.

“We’ve really stepped up our musicality as well as our showmanship,” he said. “We have choreographers now. Our aim is to tell a story, a story that Grandma in the far back row will understand. This year we staged ‘Scheherazade’ by Rimsky-Korsakov. We are serious about what we’re doing.

“I’ve learned that one person can’t be an expert at everything, so I’ve brought in music coaches and other experts and it has helped. What’s been particularly effective is the assistance we’ve gotten from young people who have recent marching band experience themselves; the kids really respond to them and they’ve helped us step up and focus.”

Schick had nothing but praise for his student musicians.

“These kids work so hard, putting in extra hours early in the morning and into the evening,” he said. “No one really enjoys practicing but we tell them if we front load the work, when we get out there on the field, it becomes automatic, if we do the hard work up front.”

He detailed a complicated practice schedule that included negotiating with local club soccer head Reggie Rivas about time on the field.

“I feel bad; he’s a good guy and he’s doing good work with the kids in the community. It’s just that between the freshman football games and club soccer, all these demands pull on our incredibly limited resources.”

Marching band typically holds practice on Thursdays after school because the varsity football team typically takes off the day before games. Schick said there’s simply not enough time and space for all the school activities. He detailed the schedule for a “home” football game.

“For a game that starts at 7 p.m., the equipment crew needs to be here at the school at 4 p.m. We’ll pack up and leave for Glendale High School at 5 p.m. to set up and warm up. Games usually end at around 9 p.m. I don’t leave campus until the last parent picks up the last student so I’m often here until 11 p.m.”

He said that every morning there are more than 130 band members in the music room. The space is crowded with just the wind ensemble, a considerably smaller group. “We need more space,” he said.

Schick acknowledged the occasional complaint from the school’s neighbors regarding noise.

“I am so sorry about the noise,” Schick said. “We try really hard to face the freeway, to avoid facing the neighborhoods. But music education is so important. Besides learning to read, I don’t think there’s anything more critical to ensuring future success than learning music. I see just how much our students get out of this experience, and I know that they’ll remember these lessons for the rest of their lives. That’s why I work so hard to help them give them to them.”

Dr. Linda Gubler Junge, CVHS principal, acknowledged the thriving music program and Schick’s work.

“I could not be more proud of Mr. Schick and the CV Instrumental Music program. The experiences provided to students, and the level at which they regularly achieve are huge points of pride for CV year after year. The successes this year are reflective of the ongoing and consistent commitment to excellence, and are also a tribute to the strong community support that Mr. Schick elicits.”

The CVIM is a non-profit, charitable organization that provides direct financial and volunteer support to the Crescenta Valley High School Instrumental Music Dept. Find them online at www.falconmusic.org or by mail at P.O. Box 582, Verdugo City 91046.

  Julie BUTCHER