It may be called the Little School of Music, but you could say its accomplishments, such as receiving gold at the WorldStrides Heritage Festival in Anaheim, prove otherwise.
Bands “Flashback” and “Crazy Crew” received the highest ranking in the competition, which was comprised of groups from seven states, including Hawaii, Florida and Alaska, and two Canadian provinces.
“We actually have five rock bands, two new ones that just started up, and three bands, ‘Spotlight,’ ‘Flashback’ and ‘Crazy Crew’ performed recently at Pocock Brewing Company and it was super fun,” said Little School of Music owner Mindy Cabral. “After that ‘Crazy Crew’ and ‘Flashback’ went to Anaheim and they nailed it.”
According to Cabral, earning gold is the highest award one can receive from the festival.
“We’re super proud of them, and it’s based on a national standard of music, so it met all the criteria to achieve that level of prestige,” Cabral said.
“Crazy Crew” and “Flashback” were formed in the past two to three years, and while bands at the school have been around since 2017, various ensembles have formed throughout the years.
“We opened in Santa Clarita in 2005, originally as a school for young children, and we expanded our programs to include individual instruction and music ensembles and rock bands,” Cabral said. “Teachers can recommend students for ensembles if they feel they’re ready and there’s interest.”
Students may need to audition if there’s an open spot. Once accepted, they practice only once a week to enhance their craft, while cultivating friendships along the way.
“We’re just so proud of the students. They’ve been practicing a long time. That just shows their dedication and talent to be able to come back and have such a high rating and get really great feedback from the adjudicators.”
Under the leadership of band director Frank Browne, the students have learned the ins and outs of performing locally to then compete at a national level.
“We’ve done charity events, the Dragon Boat Festival at Castaic Lake, as well as playing here in the recital hall. They’re gotten out and performed around the community,” Browne said.
Crazy Crew consists of six performers, including vocalist Ashbi Rivera, 17, pianist and backing vocalist Sophie Arango, 11, guitarists and bassists Coco Endo, 11, Archer Rosales, 14, and Devin Kozakis, 16, in addition to drummer Rowan Montemayor, 12.
“I’ve been a part of Little School of Music since 2016. Playing music by yourself is one thing. It’s definitely still an enriching experience, but getting to be around other musicians and make music together, is definitely something entirely different. It’s wonderful getting to collaborate on such a cool piece,” Rivera said. “It’s really cool because it’s not just connections you make as musicians, but connections you make as people that you wouldn’t normally make.”
According to Rivera, the group is in the process of transitioning from rock songs to more “emo” songs, such as “Welcome to the Black Parade,” by My Chemical Romance, “In the End,” by Linkin Park and “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” by Green Day.
“I’ve been at LSM since I was 4 years old, and even before that, I’ve always really loved music and knew immediately that it would become my passion,” Arango said. “I really love the experience, and I like being able to share creativity and musicianship with all these amazing individuals.”
“Being in a band is really fun because you get to meet new people that’s not just your school people or whoever. It’s so fun, especially when you get a gold to remind yourself that you and your amazing bandmates and teammates earned that,” Endo said.
“Me and Coco are the only ones left in the very beginning, because we were actually a guitar ensemble. A lot of people left and then we got a guitarist, drums and a vocalist and that’s when it really took off,” Rosales said. “I had a lot of fun.”
“Flashback” consists of an older group of five: pianist Harry Christiansen, 16, vocalist Arun Ghoshal, 18, drummer Solea Novelo, 17, bassist Lily Christiansen, 16, and guitarist Charles Graves, 23.
“I’ve been a part of the school for 12 years now, and I’ve been in bands since 2018. Competing in WorldStrides, it’s been nice; I like competing and getting input from judges. We’ve done a lot of the same songs over and over at different gigs so we’re prepared to go on, but it’s still nerve wracking,” Novelo said.
According to Harry Christiansen, “Flashback” is mostly a cover band, but they have been in the process of releasing original works.
“I’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s always a great opportunity to play music with other people because you may not have friends that play or play different genres. It’s a really great opportunity,” Christiansen said. “I’ve been in three different bands at Little School of Music and this is the one that I’ve been in for the longest. We just dropped an EP on SoundCloud.”
“I’ve been at the school for 15 years since 2009; I started in the band program when I was just going into middle school,” Ghoshal said. “I think this is the strongest group that I’ve been a part of so far. It’s really nice working with these people.”
