By PHOEBE MOSES
MIAMI, FL – The “It Gets Better” video project, the brainchild of author and journalist Dan Savage, along with other anti-bullying campaigns, are providing inspiration for the Youth
Pride Band of South Florida, an honors band comprised of high school students who have joined together to promote tolerance and understanding through music. The band is a project of the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble (SFPWE).
The Youth Pride Band consists of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning students, as well as straight allies from various South Florida high schools. Three student band members will each receive $1,000 college scholarships.
Although there are more than twenty adult gay bands across North America, the Youth Pride Band of South Florida is the first of its kind, says SFPWE president Alain Ortiz.
“With so many teen suicides and assaults occurring in the past year or two, we felt it important to do what we could to address bullying and provide a positive experience for young musicians,” Ortiz explained. “For many of us, band was a place where we could escape the teasing and really fit in.”
The Youth Pride Band’s 27 student members, ages 15 to 18, will make their concert debut in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, Feb. 12th at 7 p.m.
Internationally-acclaimed composer and conductor David Shaffer of Miami University of Ohio will conduct a program of traditional band works, in addition to his own compositions.
Natalie Mullen, 17, is a clarinetist from McArthur High School in Hollywood. “It’s really important for me to support my friends,” she says. An openly-gay friend at her school broke both his legs after trying to commit suicide by jumping from a second story building. Another admitted on Facebook that he cut himself. “The bullying really affects their self-esteem,” Mullen emphasized.
Christina Dunbar, 18, is president of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at Pembroke Pines Charter High School, one of Broward County’s largest GSAs. The flutist, who is bisexual, says she has experienced firsthand the challenges of coming-out as a teen, as well as the homophobia of classmates, which is often masked as playful hazing and good-natured teasing. “This is a side of the gay community that I hadn’t seen,” she says about the SFPWE. “It’s amazing how supportive everybody has been.”
Says Shaffer, who has conducted bands across North America and was himself the victim of teen-aged bullying: “This is a fantastic opportunity to get kids involved in a weekend making good music and bringing young people together.” The conductor was recently commissioned by the Toronto (Canada) Board of Education to compose a piece that specifically addresses bullying. “It’s important. I definitely relate back to when I was in junior high school.”
The Pride Youth Band also provides some students with an opportunity to perform that they can’t get at school. Gay saxophonist Julio Marcone, 17, attends Fort Lauderdale High School, which recently eliminated its band program due to budget cuts. A scheduling mistake landed him in band in middle school, so he learned to read music, took up the trumpet and later switched to tenor saxophone. “It’s been an experience,” he says of the first rehearsal. “I heard about the band from a friend and I’m so glad I have the chance to play again.”
The Youth Pride Band will open the Broward Center concert, followed by a performance by the SFPWE. Under the leadership of artistic director Dan Bassett, the organization has become a leader in the gay band movement.
“Not only are we providing an educational experience for these talented young people,” notes Bassett, “they are getting the opportunity to work with successful role models and perform with one of the leading conductors in the country. It’s going to be a fantastic concert and the start of a program that will touch many young musicians.”
Tickets are $10 at the Broward Center Box Office, BrowardCenter.org. For more information, go to PrideWindEnsemble.org.
