Willows High School is known for great academic standards, but they’ve earned another claim to fame: The Honker Marching Band. The program started about 12 years ago under the leadership of Ellen Pastorino. More recently, after a long search for a new band leader, the program Roxanne Winslow was chosen to head the program. The Willows Honker marching band continues to thrive, and the band students have proven they can work together to solve problems and meet unique challenges.
Willow High School Honkers 2023 Marching Band
Excellence through exceptional leadership
“The district is so fortunate to have Roxanne now. She has so much to offer the students at Willows Unified School District,” says Ellen. Roxanne is originally from Chico. After furthering her career in the Bay Area, she came back to teach music at Butte College, eventually joining the Honker Band. “Ellen and I have been in touch since I was hired, and she has been a tremendous help and source of support”.
Community and school support make the difference
Before COVID, the Honker Band had about 120 members. “That’s nearly 20-25 percent of the entire high school!” Roxanne exclaimed. Since the pandemic, the band has dramatically shrunk to 23. “I often encourage the kids to remember how big the band used to be, and that we can get there again someday with their dedication,” she says, crediting their success to not only the performers but the support of the Music Boosters club, the teachers and principals of Willows High and Intermediate school and the Willows Unified School District Office.
“Less supportive communities and administrations may have seen the small numbers and difficulty in securing a band teacher as an opportunity to cut the class and simplify their budget. Instead, everyone fought for it – including the students – and that is why we are still able to have it today. We also have the community in Willows to thank, because it is community support and parental support that motivates school districts to build and protect strong music programs.”
Hard Work, Dedication and Initiative
A few weeks before school started last spring, the teens learned that it would be a few weeks until a new band director joined them. The undeterred Honker Band persisted and practiced a routine on their own, preparing to perform at an upcoming game. Jamie Hashman, a band mom for over nine years, helped in the clutch. “We have this rivalry with the Orland Trojans where the bands compete in the ‘Battle of the Mace’. The band was driven to master their field routine. Rebeca Chavez stepped up as drum major, really took the lead and got them ready!” Jamie beamed, adding, “Meeting after school on their own to master their routine, they absolutely rocked it! I was beyond proud of these kids!”
Rebeca Chavez says, “We decided to practice what we thought we needed to know on our own, in class and after school. [Former band member] Rebekkah Conklin also helped us a ton. She taught us things from the band that were forgotten and supervised some of our practices. I think because we all like playing our music, and all have a bond with it and each other, we wanted to get better as a band. There was also a lot of doubt that we could do anything without an adult telling us to do it, so we all tried to prove them wrong.”
Things seemed touch-and-go for the Honkers Band, but many hands make light work. Together, staff, students, parents and alumni kept things on track. Rebeca says, “Now that we do have a teacher that knows what she is doing, we are learning a lot and growing our musical talents. We are hoping the band gets larger as the years go by.”
The students and their community recognize the special thing they have. As Ellen says, “It takes years to build music skills and to build a program. That’s why it is so precious and important to keep it going.”
If you would like your child to experience the many benefits of participating in a marching band, there are marching band programs thriving all over the North State.
Shasta High School District
• Shasta High School
• Enterprise High School
• Foothill High School
Anderson AUHS
• Golden Pride Marching Band
Yreka High School
• Miner Band
Chico High School
• Chico High School Marching Band
Pleasant Valley High School
• Pleasant Valley High School Marching Band
Paradise High School
• Pride of Paradise Marching Band
Posted in: Art & Music
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