Musical Renaissance in Burbank

The first time Dean Immel stepped into Burbank High School’s band room, he wondered how a music program could have fallen so far.

White, Pegboard walls were falling in pieces. Old sheet music and broken instruments littered the floor. And the band’s 12 members were playing cards in the practice room.

Today, the walls have been patched and painted, the room is as ordered as any high school classroom could be, and more than 200 students participate in a music program whose success can be seen in its trophies and eager young musicians, who swarm the cabinets each Friday looking for instruments to take home for the weekend.

“It was so bad, the kids were having sword fights with the trumpets. They were all dented when I got here,” said Immel, the school’s instrumental music director. “But in the last year, the program has really turned around.”

It’s taken about three years and $250,000 for Immel to change the direction of Burbank’s music program. His success and that of music director Tom Whaley, of John Burroughs High School across town, have brought statewide and national recognition to their schools and inspired a musical renaissance within the Burbank Unified School District, which, like so many other school systems, has cut music in recent years to save money.

“The programs at the two high schools will rejuvenate the middle and elementary schools,” district spokeswoman Susan Boegh said. “When those students wander into their hallways and see the trophies, it motivates them to take up music.” The district plans to revive an elementary music program in the fall, which Immel believes will provide a strong foundation for his program.

“Students coming in with a few years of experience would quicken this program because they already know the basics,” he said.

Boegh said Immel was a driving force in the start-up of the elementary program. The music instructor has a lot of experience working with young people and creating successful music programs, almost from scratch, she said.

When Immel took over at Burbank High, he said, the district gave him about $9,000 toward an immediate goal of creating a program that students would want to join.

Immel said he used the money to buy used instruments, chairs and stands because the school only had 19 instruments, which were broken. As for uniforms--the pride of most high school bands--Immel tracked down used outfits at Mayfair High School in Lakewood, which has the same colors as Burbank High’s blue and white.

Next, Immel got the names of 250 students who had been involved in music programs at middle school and contacted them. Out of those calls and letters, 60 signed up.

After a rocky first semester in which eight of the original 12 musicians dropped out, Immel said, interest picked up and it’s been growing since. The community responded by offering financial support to the program, including an annual $7,000 grant from the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“The community and the district were thirsty for a strong program,” Immel said.

The students were also eager for a musical outlet.

Gerardo Reyes, a junior who plays the bass, credits the music with improving his failing grades.

“If it wasn’t for band, I would be heading for trouble,” said Reyes, who is now an A-minus student. “I’d definitely would have been expelled by now.”

Burbank High’s music program now features a jazz band, marching band, symphonic orchestra, concert orchestra, string ensemble and beginning band, which are guided by Immel and five other music teachers.

“I think our program right now is on par with Burroughs,” Immel said. “We are stronger in some areas and they are stronger in others.”

The Burroughs High School band has become a nationally recognized program since Whaley took over in 1991. The band continually places high in regional competitions and took the most awards, including three first-place trophies, last year at Musicfest, a national high school band competition in Orlando, Fla. The band performed at an opening ceremony for Universal’s CityWalk in 1993 and has appeared in several movies, including “Little Giants” and “Speechless.”

“Since Day One, it’s been a steady climb,” Whaley said. “I’m not sure how high it will get.”

Whaley also took over a deteriorated music program that required a major overhaul. The familiar refrain: The band room needed repair, there were no uniforms and all the instruments were broken.

With a $500 budget, Whaley similarly found creative ways to get the program up and running. He sold the school-owned broken instruments to buy new ones. The instruments were professional models, which, even broken, were worth something.

“I traded four saxophones for $15,000 worth of student-model instruments,” Whaley said.

That first year, Whaley said, he enticed 25 students to sign up; only eight had been registered for the program before.

By word of mouth, the band’s reputation as a quality program grew throughout the district and the community. And in his fourth year, Whaley said, he had 125 students involved in the program, which included a jazz band, marching band and wind ensemble.

“I just asked them to give me a chance,” Whaley said. “My only fear was teaching for the first time.”

Amy Bray, a senior percussionist, said Whaley’s fresh approach to his students sets him apart from her other teachers.

“He relates to us more than other teachers would and he understands the whole kid-teenager thing,” Bray said. “He always wants to know what’s up.”

Bray said after several years of having a bad reputation, the band has not only made a name for itself around the country, but in the school as well.

“It’s kind of a jock school, but I think we’re getting more respect,” she said.