HARLINGEN — When that light appears in a young musician’s face, Maria Coronado remembers again why she’s a band teacher.
“That’s what I love the most,” said Coronado, the new head band director at Harlingen High School.
Coronado is beginning her 18th year teaching band at the Cardinal campus.
However, last year she was assistant band director and Ronnie Rios was in charge of the HHS band department. This year, Rios is the Harlingen school district’s director of music programs.
“I am very excited,” said Coronado, a 1985 graduate of Harlingen High School.
“I know that there’s a very rich tradition in this program,” she said. “Working with these kids, you see their eagerness to learn, their desire.”
Coronado earned her formal music training at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She then returned to the Valley and worked in McAllen for 10 years before moving back to Harlingen.
“I just knew the Rio Grande Valley had great music programs,” she said. “I knew I wanted to come back here.”
So what’s her technique for developing great musicians?
“That’s something you can’t easily put into words,” she said. “The love we have for music is a draw. I enjoy every aspect high school band has to offer. The music, the pageantry on a football field, the different colors, different designs. They bring out individual interpretations. The ones that write it, they bring more life to music.”
She herself has a passion for music outside of school. As a band director, of course, she must have a thorough knowledge of all band instruments. However, her music of choice is that of the trumpet.
“I’ve been to Europe with the Corpus Christi Wind Symphony,” she said. “I also play with the Valley Symphony Orchestra.”
She’s looking forward to performing with that group next season.
Meanwhile, it’s back to encouraging more young musicians in their endeavors.
“Their faces, the look of joy,” she said. “It lets us know that we are the ultimate.”
