Leading the Band of Distinction to Greatness

After four years of hard work and dedication, Alex Leon is proud to hold the title of drum major in the school’s Band Of Distinction (B.O.D). He is currently a senior in the Visual Performing Arts Academy. As a child, Leon’s admiration for music was foreseeable. His parents noticed that he was musically talented around the age of five when he would play around with a pair of bongos that belonged to his father. Growing up, Leon would enjoy playing with musical toys and would listen to different genres of music. To this day, Leon has been fortunate enough to have parents that support him through all his musical endeavors.

Leon’s passion for music arose when he was in the seventh grade and was becoming proficient at the saxophone; it is an instrument that he loves and has been playing for seven years now. For two years, Leon has been playing the tuba. However, he can play most instruments at a standard level. Since he was young, band was something he was interested in, and hedecided to join B.O.D when he started high school because it was a team that allowed him to play music while meeting new people. The role Leon plays as drum major is to be the role model for the band. If there is no one to lead at rehearsal he is to take charge of the band and set the example for every member. Leon’s thoughts while conducting are mainly about staying in tempo and thinking of what song for the band to play next. On the other hand, his emotions while conducting depend on the song. He conducts to depict the emotion of the song. While conducting, he sometimes remembers how hard he has worked for four years for this position and it gives him that extra motivation to do even better for himself and the band.

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The Band of Distinction means to me family, love, ambition, struggle and home.

— senior Alex Leon

After graduation, Alex will like to purse a minor in either musical education or performance and then a major in business or vice versa. All of Leon’s knowledge of music has come directly from him; he is a self-taught musician. Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Maynard Ferguson are Leon’s musical icons. His favorite genre of music is mainly jazz and some rap, but when it comes to playing, he prefers jazz or classical. For Leon it has been quite easy to balance his practice with his other obligations.

On Leon’s agenda for this year is motivating the band into greatness and to make the most out of his last year of high school. You can catch the drum major in action at football games, pep rallies and school performances.