From the Marching Field to the Music Classroom: LBJ Seniors Find Their Calling Through Band

 

High school electives often do more than introduce students to new subjects. They can ignite passions, reveal hidden talents, and inspire young people to pursue careers they might never have considered.

 

For students involved in the performing arts, that passion often takes root long before high school.

 

As Lyndon B. Johnson High School's Mighty Wolf Band prepares to compete in the UIL Area G Marching Band Competition this Saturday, two seniors are looking beyond the competition field toward futures in music.

 

For bass clarinetist Mikel Salazar and percussionist Emma Buckley, Saturday's performance represents another milestone in musical journeys that began in sixth grade and have since shaped their ambitions for the future.

 

For Salazar, that journey began with a simple decision to follow his friends into band.

 

"My friends just told me that they were joining band, so I kind of just went along with it," Salazar recalled. "I really liked music, but at the time it wasn't really classical music or music in concert bands. It was just music in general that I would listen to on the radio."

 

What kept him involved was discovering his aptitude for the bass clarinet and the satisfaction of improving his abilities through practice and performance.

 

"I started really liking playing my instrument because I would get better at it every time I would practice," he said.

 

Salazar hopes to study music at Texas A&M - Kingsville, and become a professional orchestral musician, potentially performing with a major ensemble such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra or the Houston Symphony.

 

"I would love to be a performer because that's what I like doing. I like performing, I like playing pieces, and I just imagine bringing music together with other professional musicians at a higher level," he said.

 

He also hopes to share his musical knowledge with others, possibly as a university professor or high school band director, inspired by the influence his own teachers have had on his life.

 

"They've guided me to become not only a better musician, but a better person," Salazar said. "I would also want to be a role model like that and give guidance to others."

 

For Buckley, music was part of her upbringing, thanks to a family tradition established by her grandmother.

 

"My grandma actually had a rule that everyone had to know at least one instrument," Buckley said. "She believed that it helped you be more educated and helped you think about different things."

 

Buckley says music has also provided an important outlet for expressing emotions and navigating life's challenges.

 

"There's just a lot of things in life, and music's always there for you," she said. "It's always a way to let things out and let you feel what you're feeling properly."

 

Her love of percussion, with its wide variety of instruments, techniques, and musical styles, has inspired her to pursue a career teaching music at the university level. She has applied to several universities and envisions herself earning a doctoral degree in music.

 

"There's always something new to learn," Buckley said. "There's a lot of different instruments, a lot of different techniques, a lot of different styles. There's percussion around the world. There's so many different instruments, and I love learning about new things."

 

Like Salazar, Buckley credits her band directors with helping her develop as a musician and providing encouragement through difficult experiences, including disappointing auditions.

 

"You don't always get the results you want, but at the end of the day, music's there for you," she said. "I want to share that with other people. They don't always have family for them or friends, but they could have music, and that can help them get through a lot."

 

Beyond the music itself, Buckley says the friendships and relationships she has developed through band have been among the most meaningful parts of her experience.

 

"I think what's kept me here is the people, honestly," she said. "Along the way, I just made a lot of friends, I met the other directors. They're very friendly, very open, even directors from other high schools."

 

As the Mighty Wolf Band prepares for Saturday's competition, both seniors are eager to see the culmination of months of rehearsals and preparation.

 

"It's been all these months working towards just performing a six- or seven-minute show," Salazar said. "All that work is gonna be shown that day, everything that they've done, everything that they've poured into this."

 

For Buckley, the competition is also an opportunity to celebrate the shared effort and camaraderie that have defined the marching season.

 

"At the end of the day, it's just you tried your best and you see what happens," she said. "We're all happy with how we work, because we've had a great season together."

 

With their recent Division I - Superior rating at the annual UIL Region Marching Evaluation and all the other accolades they’ve earned through the years, the experiences these two seniors have gained through music will continue to influence their lives long after their final performance with the Mighty Wolf Band.

Emma Buckley playing the marimba.

Mikel Salazar practices a piece of music with his bass clarinet.

Emma Buckley (left) and Mikel Salazar (right) have studied music at UISD schools since they were in 6th grade.