Students hit the high notes in Mr. Faires' band class

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Faires guides a student through some difficult notes and finger positions. ?Some students come with experience, while others are starting from scratch,? said Faires.

DRAPER — According to a 2006 Gallup Poll, 82 percent of Americans wish they had learned to play a musical instrument, and 67 percent expressed an interest in learning to play. Fortunately, students at Saint John the Baptist Catholic School will not have this longing: Every sixth grader of the Draper school is required to take band class.

"Music has always had an important role in the school," said music teacher David Faires. "Students should be exposed to it because national studies tell us music helps them develop social, communication, and intelligence skills that will improve all aspects of their lives," he explained.

Faires, a professional trumpet player and music teacher for four years, has always been surrounded by music since his mother was a piano teacher. And by the time he was in college, he noticed he enjoyed teaching music more than performing it.

However, Faires had a yearning to play in front of thousands that started when he was in high school in the San Francisco Bay Area. "My music teacher would show us pictures of him performing at the (1984) Los Angeles Olympics," he said. "So, when the Olympics came to Utah, it was a dream come true," he shared with excitement.

Faires was the first of 30 trumpeters to play at the opening and closing Olympic ceremonies. He also recorded about fifty national anthems to be played at the awarding of the medals.

Although Faires is aware not all students share his passion for music, he would like them to have options. "I want the sixth graders to get the experience, so they have the ability to choose whether they want music in their future or not," he said.

Faires uses several innovative and fun methods to instigate the interest in music to those students who might not enjoy the discipline and the amount of practice it requires. He says the students really enjoy Apple’s GarageBand, a computer program that allows them to create their own music with the instruments of their choice. The students also watch videos of groups performing, and play well-known melodies, such as the theme of the"Jaws" movies.

"I also try to model for them since some learn from reading, but others learn better from seeing," said Faires.

His prowess with the trumpet is in itself a motivation for some students. "He is a really good trumpet player and I look up to that," said Natalie Buelte, 12, who learned how to play the trumpet in the class. Buelte says she picked this instrument because she thought "it would be easy because it only has three buttons." Her experience in class ended up being challenging but fun. "One of my friends didn’t want to take band, and then she loved it," she said.

This is the first year band class is required at Saint John the Baptist, the beginning of greater plans. "I would like to see improvement in the discipline and organization of the students, and see the number of bands, orchestras, and choirs increase. I also want the number of teachers to rise, along with the number of students applying for music scholarships and taking the Advanced Placement music test," Faires said.