By Patrick Quinlan
He stood at the pinnacle of his high school career, diploma in hand, before the full audience at the Jackie Gleason Theater. His white cap and gown were a reflection of four years of hard work, friendship and the Beach High Silver Hi-Tide Marching Band.
Four years later, in August of 2008, Joshua Figueroa was sitting on his mother’s couch, fresh out of the University of Miami School of Music, when the phone rang from Dr. Rosann Sidener, Miami Beach Senior High principal.
“She told me that the former band director had left and that there was no one in charge of the music program,” Figueroa said. Although he planned on moving to Los Angeles to teach, Figueroa knew he had to go back to his alma mater.
He began with the jazz band, teaching part time for the 2008-2009 school year. “Jazz Band last year was a whole new experience from what we were used to,” said Elvis Hatcher, sophomore alto saxophone player. “He combined elements of improvisation, musical theory, technical skills, and regular music to create a very young, professional band”.
During the fall, Figueroa assembled an alumni all-star band of over 100 members to play at the homecoming game alongside the 12 current horn players he had; it would be a precursor to the revival of the silver hi-tides band that he undertook starting in June of 2009.
According to Figueroa, the rebuilding of a students-only band this year was a much longer, more arduous process. “A marching band is a musical ensemble that one cannot create over night,” Figueroa said. “It takes hours of dedication, planning and rehearsing.” With his core members from the previous years’ Jazz Band, Figueroa began training the band in July. Months of sometimes daily 8-hour practice, perseverance and parades finally culminated in the Homecoming Game on Nov. 13th, where the 65 member band marched on to Memorial Field with the first Halftime Routine in 5 years.
In addition to running the Marching Band, an extracurricular organization, Figueroa currently teaches Beginning Band classes, Jazz Band, and Music Appreciation. However, he does all of this work part-time and recently the idea has been raised of making Figueroa a full-time teacher.
“Teaching full time allows not only growth on my part, but growth for the entire music program at Miami Beach Senior High,” Figueroa said.
Isaac Bichachi, senior drummer, summed up his bandmates views of Figueroa: “Joshua Figueroa is a fabulous teacher”
