Upstart Fallbrook student band now in full voice

By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer | Saturday, June 2, 2007 11:04 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK ---- Since the very first home football game at Warriors stadium last fall, the Fallbrook High School student band has been taking people by surprise.
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The program started with a small number of students last summer, causing some to wonder if the band would even be loud enough to rouse a home crowd.

But then opening night came, and in the words of interim band instructor Phil Leonelli, they "rocked the stands" and never looked back.

Now, the Warriors band program is opening a new chapter in a tumultuous but inspiring year, band leaders said, as the school prepares for a new, full-time teacher and Leonelli, who helped revive the struggling program, prepares to step down.

"I'm very excited about what is happening with this band," Leonelli said after the band performed at Disneyland on Wednesday. "We had about 72 performers plus the color guard ---- we're talking about 82 students strong. Last year at this time, there 30 were students and a part-time position being offered."

That position was not filled by the time band camp came along in August, when the core group of students talked Leonelli into taking over until help arrived.

The new teacher, 24-year-old Amy Kaw of Temecula, said this week that she is excited to be taking over for Leonelli at Fallbrook High, where the students in the band program have had to work harder than most just to keep the program afloat.

"It's going to be a huge benefit to the program that all of the kids want to be there," Kaw said. "The ones who are returning will have taken a lot of responsibility for the success of the program, for it to even exist. They know exactly the type of work it takes, and they're excited to do it."

To have a full-time teacher will be a big step forward for the program, Leonelli said.

"When there are only 30 students in the program, it's hard to justify hiring a full-time teacher," he said. "But with 70 or 80 students in the program, it's more than enough for a full-time teacher."

There are 2,900 students at Fallbrook High School, and the small number of musicians signed up for band last summer was due to lack of an instructor, not lack of interest, Leonelli pointed out.

The situation was difficult, with too few students to justify hiring a full-time teacher and no teacher to recruit students.

Then Leonelli volunteered to lead the band in the absence of a teacher, and in October the high school district made a deal with the Fallbrook elementary school district, where Leonelli works, to hire him as a part-time band instructor.

Once Leonelli took over, dozens more students filled the ranks.

Jim DeBoer, a member of the band's booster club whose 16-year-old son, Julian, plays trumpet in the band, said that he has enjoyed watching the program develop over the last year.

"I think the year was just one of the greatest years, to watch it go from almost no band to a huge group of kids who have so much pride," he said. "It just seems like we have so much momentum going now."

DeBoer said the booster club received an unprecedented amount of support from organizations and residents of the greater Fallbrook area after news of the program's hardship and revival spread.

"The community stepped up more than it ever has before. We got help from the rotary clubs in Fallbrook and Bonsall, and a lot of private donations," he said. "Everywhere we went, we seemed to get support."

The band will wrap up its year at graduation on June 14, and will host a concert and awards ceremony Tuesday night at the Bob Burton Center for the Performing Arts.

Leonelli said Kaw has been working alongside him in the classroom to acclimate her to the program and introduce her to the students. Her first day will be Aug. 6, two weeks before school starts.

"When she walks in on Aug. 6, she's going to know at least three-quarters of the kids she's working with. This transitional period is very important to us," Leonelli said. "We interviewed five or six candidates, and she really stood out."

Kaw graduated from Azusa Pacific University in 2005, and has been working with various high school band programs since then, most notably as marching instructor at Temecula Valley High School for the last two years.

On Wednesday, she said that from the time she has spent with the students so far, she has been impressed.

"I've already seen good leadership, a good work ethic and a lot of excitement and dedication," she said. "I think it's just going to grow in this next season."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 731-5799 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.

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