by James H.

The orchestra program is a huge part of the Alamo Heights community. It allows students to express their creativity in productive ways, and they learn how to work with other students as well. It’s hard to imagine Alamo Heights Junior School without the orchestra program, but it wasn’t always here.

“The orchestra program was started in 1973,” says current orchestra director Lani Gil. “It was the first orchestra program in the city,” she adds. It was started by Margery Keller, who would go on to hire Mary Ruth Leonard and her sister, Elizabeth Steinberg, to be the first teachers for the program.

Although the orchestra program looks great now, it’s important to remember its humble beginnings. The orchestra building we see today wasn’t always there. “It’s one of the newer buildings on campus,” says Ms. Gil. “It was actually built in 2006,” she says. “It used to be in one of the art rooms.”

By 2019, the orchestra program had about 260 students at the junior school. For reference, Alamo Heights Junior School currently has 1,090 students, which meant that nearly 25 percent of students at the junior school were attending the program at that time. But that changed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. “Because of the pandemic and COVID, things kind of dropped off because students were unable to practice regularly,” says Ms. Gil. But things are changing for the better. “Since the pandemic, we’ve grown about 40%. From like 120 students to 193 currently, and I hope next year we can get to 200 students!” she exclaims. The orchestra program’s popularity just goes to show how great of a program it really is!

The orchestra program’s success is mostly credited to the amazing directors: Mr. Garcia and Ms. Gil. Ms. Gil was inspired by her own middle school teacher, Ms. Post, who sometimes visits the school to help. “She was a great teacher, she was so positive and caring, she was one of the people that inspired me to be an orchestra teacher.” Both teachers run classes with infectious enthusiasm and are very knowledgeable about what they teach. They motivate students to try their best while creating a fun atmosphere to learn in. Alamo Heights Junior School is lucky to have such great teachers and such an amazing program!