Mariachi has been a part of El Dorado since before I started directing. However, I was fortunate to be invited into the El Dorado Aztec community at a very crucial point when the outlook was to have the mariachi program expand into the middle schools.
I started the program at Jane A. Hambric MS in 2008 and the next year expanded yet onto another campus, Hernando III MS, the following year. As the whole El Dorado student body grew, so did the mariachi program. This year it has 3 campuses including the 9th Grade Academy where many of the students that started in middle school have now been able to be involved in. The whole Mariachi program has now grown to about 130 students since my arrival in 2008! It has been incredible to see the number of young people beginning to appreciate this timeless music!
We are looking to keep on growing and evolving with music as a means of learning and expression. Mariachi music is somthing to be cherished and yet it is misunderstood by many professional musicians. I am proud to be a classically trained musician experienced in mariachi music and all of its character, specialties and performance standards. I love teaching this same pride to my students, helping them to grasp on to their musicality with classical techniques but through the music of the roots of many of their families.
The Mariachi Azteca program is involved in many projects and performances. We are looking forward to pleasing any audience that stands (or sits) before us!!! Be sure to check out our CALENDAR and BLOG pages on this site to see what we are up to!
