About.The Jurupa Hills Instrumental Music department features marching band, jazz band, string orchestra, mariachi, color guard, drum line, and guitar 1 and 2. The band competes in the California State Band Championships (CSBC) marching circuit in the Fall, and SCSBOA in the Spring. The Color Guard competes in WGASC in Spring and drum line will compete for the first time in the ADLA circuit in the Spring of 2020.
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Established in 2010
The band started when the school open in August of 2010. The band director that opened the school was Carlton Wong and he was at Jurupa for 4 years until he moved to another new school Ruble Middle School. Mrs. Jennifer Belsey then took over the program for several years and instituted the start of the marching band program. Under her leadership, the band won the CSBC 1A division championship in 2016. In 2018, Mr. Bill Borjan took over the program and is entering his fourth year for the 2021-22 school year.
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Our GoalOur goal is to build students into the best musicians, dancers and players that they can be. Winning first place is not our goal. Continuous improvements over the school year and years is the main goal of this program.
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Our Instruction Staff
Bill Borjan
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Frankie Araiza
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Jacob Ponce
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Star started playing the horn when she was 11 years old. In her second year of playing at Kealing Middle School in Austin Texas, she had the privilege of playing at the world renown Midwest Clinic. She won the band director's choice award and won the principal chair in the Region 18 middle school honor band. As Star continued into high school, she was accepted to play the Music City Drum Corp of Nashville, TN for the 2015 and 2016 season. She made the jump to world class DCI competition when joining the Bluecoats in Canton, OH in 2018. These years in DCI allowed Star to travel the country and perform in physically demanding field shows across the country in stadiums packed with fans, ending each season with a performance in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.
In 2016, Star moved in Redlands, CA to begin her Bachelors in Music Performance at the University of Redlands. During her time their, she was performed with the University Orchestra, Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band, brass and woodwind quintets, large brass ensemble, and University Choir. Star recently finished her degree from Redlands in the spring of 2020. Star has found great joy in teaching marching band as well. Her brief time in DCI greatly influenced her philosophies as an educator and performer. She hopes to pass on the lessons she has learned to her students to prepare them for any path they take, musical or otherwise. She first taught at her own high school in Austin, TX, and since coming to California teaches at Jurupa Hills as the lead in the visual and brass programs, and at Rancho Cucamonga high, were she is a member of the visual staff as well. |
Star Wasson Brass & visual coach
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Jeff also is a graduate of Redlands and is working on his masters in music in performance under Dr. Eddie Smith. Prior to attending Redlands, Jeffrey eaned his AA from Riverside City College. He studies have included music education, classical performance, jazz performance, and woodwind studies.
As he aims to teach collegiately, Jeffrey has worked in with local middle and high schools in Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Fontana, and Corona. Through his focus on education, Jeff has performed around the world with the Riverside All Stars to Paris, France, and touring Costa Rica with the Sax Orion Student Quartet. He has worked as a pit musician with productions including Young Frankenstein and Thoroughly Modern Millie and has also performed and recorded with upcoming composers at the University level. He has earned the Woody Herman jazz award, been a part of groups that earned two different Downbeat awards, and in 2019 was the runner-up of the University of Redlands Concerto Compentition |