Once More, With Reason

High school band veterans can easily imagine a number of good reasons why student musicians might deserve discipline and why the entire ensemble might come to suffer punishment as a result. But for holding unauthorized extra rehearsals?

This “crime” rates something other than punishment. Simi Valley High School officials should find a way to turn this excess enthusiasm in a positive direction.

Band directors Don Orser and Cindy Baum canceled two performances that had been scheduled for last weekend after two students held an unauthorized practice for the mellophone and trumpet sections. The student leaders were removed from the band.

Apparently, band members arrived for a scheduled rehearsal to find a note on the band room bulletin board announcing that the session had been canceled. Some of the musicians decided to stay and work on their individual parts without adult supervision--and thus ran afoul of school rules.

The incident has created such dissonance that the Simi Valley Music Boosters, a parents organization that raises $60,000 a year for the school’s music programs, has threatened to withdraw its support.

We do not question school officials’ authority in this matter or any other. As we wrote last year when Simi Valley High School was in the news for a dispute over its proposed prom theme, the principal is the boss and his final decision must be respected.

Yet there must be a way to get all this talent and energy back on the same page. We encourage Principal Dennis Rast to meet with the parents, students and band directors and clear up what appears to be a communication problem.

We urge the students to give a break to their new directors, who have the difficult challenge of setting a new tone for the ensemble following the retirement of its previous leader. That sort of transition is always tough in an outfit that runs on tradition and spirit.

Like sports teams, school bands require an extra measure of hard work and initiative from their members. Part of their value is teaching the importance of following rules, working together and sometimes yielding a little personal glory in the interest of group success.

Our advice: Everybody pause to get in tune, then take a deep breath and take it from the top.