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As Marcie Sartor looked upon the Gardiner Spring Auditorium stage, a sense of accomplishment enveloped her. On the shadowed stage a group of 97 violinists, cellists and bass musicians from the five Ontario-Montclair School District middle schools rehearsed. Chris Taylor, instrumental music teacher from Serrano Middle School in Montclair, was the conductor. Teachers from the other schools stood on the sidelines, ready to offer assistance.
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The group was rehearsing music which it performed Thursday in the district's adjudicated band and orchestra festival.
Later that evening these musicians would join the OMSD elementary honor orchestra, the Montclair High School Mariachi group and the Chaffey Joint Union High School District orchestra for the second annual Ontario-Montclair School District-Chaffey Joint Union High School District String Night.
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Jenny Houng, 12, front, and Leslie Galicia, 12, both of Ontario practice with the rest of the 97-piece student orchestra.
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"I do have a great deal of pride," said Sartor, district lead instrumental music teacher, as she watched the young musicians.
In her 31 years with the school district, Sartor has seen many changes in the string instrumental music program.
She arrived as a young teacher from Kansas to a district with a strong string instrumental music program. The surrounding high schools, such as Chaffey and Montclair, had similarly strong programs.
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Chaffey Joint Union School District Orchestra Director Tom Mazur adjusts a bow for a student Anthony Quan, 13 of Montclair.
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"Then times got a little lean," Sartor said. "Little by little the programs eroded."
While the band program flourished, the string music program didn't. At its lowest point, 15 years ago, only a handful of elementary schools and one junior high still had a string music program. None of the high schools did.
Then Sartor became a mentor teacher. With the encouragement of her boss, district music coordinator Carl Schafer, she decided to take on the task of revamping the music program as her first mentor project.
In what she called a group effort between herself and district staff and administrators, Sartor began first at the elementary school level. She helped institute an instrument loan program. Then she designed buttons to distribute to music students.
"The idea was to promote, promote, promote that strings were important," Sartor said.
The establishment of the elementary string instrumental music program led to a renaissance at the middle school level. Then three years ago, the Chaffey Joint Unified School District orchestra - comprised of students from Chaffey, Montclair and Ontario high schools - was born.
"It took a decade to get back to the original program, but we did it," Sartor said.
In that decade, Sartor has gone from mentor teacher to lead instrumental music teacher. She teaches music at Ramona, Howard and Central elementaries and to fourth-graders at Moreno School in Montclair.
Sartor firmly believes in the value of music.
"Music literacy is as important a part of a student's education as any other subject area," she said.
Music education, and especially participation in bands and orchestras, helps teach students responsibility and teamwork.
Sartor knows this from her experience as a teacher and as a student. Music helped keep her in school, she said.
"From the moment I touched a clarinet, it was like, 'this is it,' " Sartor said.
Sartor attended Wichita State University on a music scholarship. She graduated with a degree in music (with a focus on clarinet) and education.
Two months after graduation she was recruited by the Ontario-Montclair School District. It was her first time in California. She never left.
Sartor likes the collaboration established between OMSD and Chaffey. She has helped start annual band nights at Montclair, Chaffey and Ontario high schools featuring high school and middle school bands.
She would like to see even more collaborative activities between the two school districts.
Evan Berry, who is in his first year teaching instrumental music at Wiltsey Middle School, would like to see more opportunities for his students to perform with other district students.
Gary Yearick, instrumental music teacher at Oaks Middle School, said events like the middle school festival afford students the opportunity to perform with other students, plus a chance to work with another band director.
Students like it, too.
"You get to hear different techniques, it's real fun," said Ashlee Barba, a 13-year-old violinist from Oaks Middle School.
"You get to meet people who are interested in the same thing you are."
Dave Kraus, Vina Danks Middle School instrumental music teacher, said the middle school instrumental string music program couldn't exist without an elementary or high school program. Each are essential to the other's survival.
For their part, students enjoy playing their favorite instruments.
Vina Danks eighth-grader Amanda Miller played the piano before she took up the cello about two and a half years ago. She wanted to play in the band and the teacher had an extra cello. Amanda, 13, was hooked.
Sheryl Gregory of Vernon Middle School in Montclair comes from a family of violinists. Her mother plays the viola.
"I kind of wanted to carry on the family tradition," 12-year-old Sheryl said. She took up the violin in November.
Now here she was, sharing the stage with other middle school students. And Sheryl was enjoying every single minute.
"It's fun to hear all the students," she said. "It sounds a lot better than with just your class."
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