San Antonio Symphony Creates New High School Residency Program

Beginning this fall, the San Antonio Symphony will partner with the orchestra program at John Marshall High School in Northside ISD and the band program at Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio ISD. This partnership comes through a pilot High School Residency Program, one of the Symphony's new education initiatives.

The High School Residency Program allows the San Antonio Symphony to partner with one or more select high school campuses by application, with a mission to enhance the learning of students involved in band, orchestra and mariachi programs. This is done by providing regular visits to the school by Symphony musicians to work with students in sectional, master class, coaching and/or group lesson settings. The program is tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of individual band, orchestra and/or mariachi programs at each partner campus.

The High School Residency Program was developed by the Symphony's Education Committee and officially begins this 2016?17 season. This education initiative has been realized through special funding from Bexar County and made available to area school districts and individual campuses through a simple application process. Applications for this season were reviewed by a subcommittee of the Symphony's Education Committee prior to the start of the 2016?17 Symphony season and academic year.

Through the process, public high school band, orchestra and mariachi directors submitted 32 applications for their programs at 23 campuses. The San Antonio Symphony Board Education Committee established criteria for the selection process, and a selection subcommittee identified four finalist campuses, from which two were chosen for the Residency Program next season:

John Marshall HS Orchestra - John Thornton, Director

Thomas Jefferson HS Band - Roger Duran, Director; Daniela Aguillon and Jonathan Mireles, Assistant Directors

"We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with the San Antonio Symphony. For these kids to see firsthand where their effort and hard work can get them... that means a lot." said John Thornton, John Marshall HS Orchestra Director.

"The opportunity to learn from the very finest musicians in San Antonio ... would be an education for both students and teachers alike, and it would show our students that where they come from will never be a hindrance to what they can achieve." said Roger Duran, Thomas Jefferson HS Band Director.

Through the High School Residency Program, over 300 students will have the opportunity to be directly involved with the San Antonio Symphony.

About the San Antonio Symphony

The San Antonio Symphony is a non-profit performing arts organization with the mission to inspire and enrich our community by vigorously influencing the artistic fabric of San Antonio through excellent symphonic performance, education and service. The San Antonio Symphony, with more than 70 professional musicians, serves over 130,000 people per year including 40,000 students. For more information about the Symphony visit www.sasymphony.org or connect with us on Facebook (San Antonio Symphony), Twitter (@Sasym), Instagram (@Sasymphony) or Snapchat (sasymph) . To purchase tickets, call the Tobin Center box office (210) 223-8624.