Music is an art form that allows people to create symphonies using their voices and instruments. At MACES, students mostly use instruments such as tubas, trumpets, drums, and many more. Some students dream of being more than a part of a band or orchestra.

        Students at MACES can choose from a wide variety of instrument categories. “I’m really passionate about playing trumpet, and I really wanna get better at piano, so I can play those really hard pieces in the future,” Dorian Abad, a seventh grader, said. Motivation is a big part of a musician’s journey. Abad’s motivation is his parents, Dr. Macaluso, the former music teacher at MACES, Ms. Rincon, the music teacher, and his bandmates.

        Goals Abad has for this year is having a 4.0 GPA and improving on his trumpet skills to be ready for marching band. “I started playing music at a really young age because my dad’s dad had him play at a really young age, so the cycle continues,” Abad said.

        A growth mindset is also key to being successful in the music industry. Abad tends to have a mindset where he needs to be perfect. “If I mess up once, I have to start the song all over and try again, and it gets really frustrating,” Abad said.

        When he was younger, he participated in recitals to show off the song he learned throughout the year in the fall. He also played the keyboard for some of the bands in Dr. Macaluso’s class, such as NASU. “How I feel when I’m performing depends on where I’m performing. Like, if I’m playing on a stage that has been building up to it, then I’d be confident, but if it’s something unexpected with an instrument I’m unfamiliar with, then I can get pretty scared,” Abad said. His skills with instruments have greatly improved, starting off with simple do re mi to learning a lot of music theory. “I plan on producing,” he said. He enjoys playing with others, knowing he would be backed up by his bandmates if he ever makes a mistake. He’s really proud of having his hands articulated so he can play the piano better.

        “I’m currently on percussion, but it’s undecided; for the concert, I play the xylophone,” Brian Tepetzi, a seventh grader, said. Motivation is a big issue when it comes to performing music. Tepetzi’s motivation is his older sister and Ms. Rincon, the music instructor. “My sister played music, so I was interested and started playing,” Tepetzi said. 

        Goals that Tepetzi hopes to achieve are getting into marching band and doing good in high school. Problems that Tepetzi faced were his mindset; whenever a mistake was made, he often thought he couldn’t do it but never gave up and kept trying. Tepetzi performed in the bleachers during football games and at halftime and really enjoyed it alongside some friends. Tepetzi improved his skills in music by “knowing a lot about different things but also improving greatly on basic stuff,” he said. He enjoys playing in a group because of the fun they have and “listening to the music we play together as a group,” he said. Tepetzi has learned a lot of music theory but hopes to improve on basic stuff and learn from his mistakes.

        “I’m a part of most of the music programs at MACES, like orchestra, marching band, adv orchestra,” Ulises Pardo, a junior, said. With many years of experience in music, Pardo plays the sousaphone for marching band and the viola for orchestra and chamber. Ms. Rincon and the peers Pardo met in the past truly inspired him to be where he is today and describe the music community as friendly.

        A goal Pardo is trying to achieve is to sound louder, more melodic, and have better tune to be at the same level as his bandmates or better. “I am considered the foundation of the band, so I take that very seriously and practice every day so I can be at the same level as everyone or higher,” Pardo said. Some challenges Pardo faced were air control; to fix that, “I started to do yoga and breathing exercises, which helped me a lot with the amount of air I was able to hold in,” Pardo said. 

        Another problem he had was socializing. “Back then, I wasn’t very social. I would hide and practice by myself,” Pardo said. He started playing music in elementary when placed in a class and started with a trumpet. After four years playing the trumpet, Pardo started playing the sousaphone because it’s “more built for me,” he said. Pardo chose music as a career because it’s something he truly enjoys and wants to continue embracing after school and to his family. “I chose it because I don’t think I’d have a lot of luck with college compared to everyone else,” he said.

        His skills have evolved throughout his years because of the people he met in District Honor [All-City] Band, who taught him how to be a better tuba player, along with some other people outside of the district. The people who inspire him to keep improving are Emmanuel Solis, who wants him to continue his studies for music; Joselyn Martinez, his section leader who wants him to practice more; Luis Mojica, a friend he met that does every activity with Pardo; and other people who were in band who have already graduated. “What I enjoy about playing with others is the overall vibe everyone has and the fact everyone is there to have fun,” he said. He mastered air containment to control how he sounded and how loud he was with the instrument. That was a “problem that I had to fix,” Pardo said.