Newest Clovis band found its way quickly to the top

Nineteen musical pioneers walked into the band room at Clovis North High School in the fall of 2007 and started something good.

They were freshmen and the first members of the Broncos’ marching band when the school opened. At the beginning, their playing was less than wonderful, band director David Lesser tells students today.

But since then, the size and sound of the Clovis North band has changed dramatically for the better.

“To get to this point is way, way cool,” Lesser told students before school started.

This year, Clovis North will put 155 musicians and color guard members on the field — a number that boosts the band into a competition category with the state’s biggest bands.

“I can’t wait to see how we accept that challenge,” Lesser told band members.

In terms of musicianship, well, consider this fact: Clovis North has been invited to play in the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis in March 2016.

Only 16 other California schools have played at the prestigious festival, which draws groups from across the nation, Lesser said. Buchanan and Clovis West are two of the 16.

The invitation of Clovis North is “gigantic” and speaks to the quality of the musicianship at the school, Lesser said.

A wind ensemble — featuring woodwind, brass and percussion musicians — will represent Clovis North at the festival. Forty-five to 50 students from the band’s 130 members will make up the ensemble. They were chosen in auditions before the start of school.

“We’re here because of the original students,” Lesser told the 2015 band. “After eight years, we have a little bit of tradition, but a whole lot of work, sweat and preparation went into getting us here.”

Director

“Take care of each other.” — Lesser, in comments to band members at the start of school.

Lesser helped open Clovis North as a member of the original faculty, and he is the first — and so far, only — band director at the school. Before coming to Clovis North, he was the assistant band director for five years and head director for one year at Clovis West.

Lesser grew up in the Bay Area, where he started playing clarinet in fourth grade. He wanted to play the trumpet, but his father steered him away from the horn, believing a beginning clarinet player would be easier on a parent’s ears.

Lesser later switched to the saxophone, and it became his main instrument although he also learned to play the flute and tuba.

As a teenager, he played in the Mountain View High School marching band and several other musical groups — all of which taught him about teamwork.

“There was a very strong sense of community and family during my high school band experience,” Lesser said. “I try to share that with my students . . .”

He attended Fresno State, where he played in the marching band and several smaller musical groups at the university.

In an opening talk to this year’s band and color guard members, Lesser stressed the importance of students taking responsibility for themselves.

“I’m not here to be your mom or dad. I’m here to make you good,” he said, adding: “Not everyone is a superstar, but everyone can play.”

He urged students to encourage other band members who aren’t as confident or proficient yet. “It’s easy to beat them down,” Lesser said. “It’s just as easy to lift them up.”

Drum Majors

“I like the fact that all of us are working together as a team. This is our family away from our biological families.” — Nick Moyer, drum major

“I like being with a bunch of people who love music and performing, and who embody the spirit and personality of each piece of music.” — Michelle Sanders, assistant drum major

“You form such good relationships with people in the band, and you feel very included.” — Ashley Christensen, assistant drum major

Color Guard

“It’s fun being in a group where there are people like you.” — Chris Upchurch, co-captain. Amira Sumler is the other co-captain.

A voice from the band

“When I play the clarinet in the band, I can express myself. I was born in Armenia, and the clarinet is a traditional instrument there. Our band has an amazing staff, and the atmosphere here is not negative. I can’t put it into words. It’s amazing.” — Yervand Boyajyan, four-year band member

Fall competition season

“The first 13 weeks of school take a lot of time, but it is all focused around the same activity. It’s great because it’s the one time throughout the year when the entire band program is working together as one unit.” — Lesser

Competition show

The show is entitled “Time Crystal Motion” and will feature original music composed by Shawn Glyde of the Clovis North band staff as well as “Mothership” by the American composer Mason Bates.

Traditions

The band has a saying: “Make the last time, the best time.” Lesser explained its significance: “If we work to improve one thing each time we perform, we will continue to see greater results.”

Assistants

David Gabrielson and Jose Vargas serve as assistant directors, and Arthur Howansky is director of orchestras. Other staff members are Nikki Astorga, Steve Dailey, Joe Farkas, Shavon Garcia-Stack, Rachel Gascon, Dave Glyde, Shawn Glyde, Roberto Hernandez, Preston Howard, David Kelly, Joe Lenigan, Paul Lujan, Chris McKie, Jay Murphy, Key Poulan, Alexis Powell, Francesca Preciado, Ryan Vance, Jaycee Wilson and Andrew Worth.

Band Boosters Club

John Ramirez, president

Band and Color Guard members

Daniel Adam, Pedro Aldaz, James Aldaz, Ashley Amiott, Matthew Amiott, Nicolas Archer, Gabby Avila, Aliana Avila, Braeden Avila, Cameron Baber, Oleks Babich, Makayla Bailey, Randall Balaga, Jacob Beach, Aimee Biggs, Eric Bird, Ryan Bird, Noah Blevins, Isiah Boatwright, Esai Bojorquez, Yervand Boyajyan, Dian Braganza, Lucas Brumm and Rylie Brunson.

Connor Calvert, Valentine Camacho, Andrew Casey, Christian Chamalbide, Tim Childs, Ashley Christensen, Johnathan Colbern, Andrew Colbern, Sydney Cook, Michael Coppedge, Zach Curtis, Zach Davidson, Melina Delatorre, Diva Delatorre, Alberto DiCicco, Dane Dormedy, Chelsea Eaton, Emily Escoto, Savannah Evans and Aiden Evans.

Roman Felder, Brooke Flores, Ryan Fong, Brad Frates, Nolan Frates, Anthony Fuertes, Sarkis Galstian, Johnathan Garcia, Wade Gonzales, Lily Green, Nicholas Grigorian, Kiara Grimes, Kyle Groves, Japnaam Gujjar, Destin Ha, Katrina Hamburger, Austin Hansen, Gavin Hardcastle, Josh Harris, Joel Harris, Rachel Haugen, Taylor Heaton, Joshua Holguin, Alex Johnson, Eric Kim, Elizabeth Kim, Nicholas Kim, Jordan Kozuki, Matthew Kutz and Robert Kutz.

Mackenzie Lazarus, Josh Lloyd, Roman Lopez, Jason Lum, Felix Ma, Vivienne Macias, Mackenzie Maes, Amanda Mallory, Cody Maniquiz, Sophia McFadden, Claude McGlorie, Mackenzie McSwain, Branden Menes, Travis Morris, Nick Moyer, Matthew Mraz, Michael Neufeld, Brian Ngo, Eldon Nguyen, Dakota Nolan, Jonathan Nunez, Caetlyn Oba Spence, Kennah Ott, Mark Padilla, Alice Pambukyan, Alyssa Pena, Alan Pham, Nathan Prieto and Jason Pritchard.

Ethan Quintero, Carlo Quitorio, Jasmine Ramirez, Laura Reyes, Aaron Reyes, Isaac Rodriguez, Chase Sanchez, Michael Sanchez, Michelle Sanders, Palveen Sekhon, Komal Sekhon, Alexa Sexton, Bryan Shaddy, Hailey Shah, Johnathan Sieve, Yasmine Sio, Shomari Somerville, Jamie Starlin, Tyrique Streeter, Amira Sumler and Magnus Swanson.

Evan Tanner, Dylan Taslim, Spencer Taylor, Jack Taylor, Chris Tiu, Davis Tourangeau, Cynthia Tyra, Chris Upchurch, Connor Urquhart, Joanie Vail, Josh Van Heusen, Andrew Vance, Gaby Villaverde, Klea Washington, Clayton Welch, Jared Whitt, Cooper Williams and Sophia Winton.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Newest Clovis band found its way quickly to the top."