There are some new sounds coming out of the band hall at Fox Tech High School this year. First, there’s the rock — punk, metal, ukelele-driven folk. Then there’s the Tejano, and the Jazz. Students are picking up a variety of instruments and tackling multiple genres of music via the Modern Band program.
The program, under the direction of Stephen Cox, draws high school students from the three schools physically housed at the Fox Tech campus — the Advanced Learning Academy, CAST Tech, and Fox Tech Health and Law Magnet — together to learn guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, and then form performing bands to put those skills into use.
Cox teaches two high school band programs with a mixture of students from the three schools: 40 students in a traditional concert band, and 70 in the modern band program. He also teaches 35 middle school students from ALA in a mixed middle school band.
The multi-school groupings are part of what drew him to San Antonio ISD this year after 10 years as a band director in Eastland, Texas.
“What’s going on at these campuses is completely unique,” Cox said. “I was specifically looking for an opportunity like that, to experiment and change things and do music education a little bit differently. I’ve got the flexibility here to create an environment for every different type of student — the students who want to go all in, the students who want to be a little more casual. They can both find a place.”
In the modern band program, after some early instruction in fundamentals, Cox said he serves as facilitator — watching and helping them make groups, giving tips when needed, and helping them book performances.
So far, modern band students have performed at the Winter Concert, at the BiblioTech EDU opening, and are slated to audition for the CAST schools Youth Rally. But more than that, Cox hopes to have them performing all across downtown.
“I really like authentic public performance for kids,” Cox said. “When kids are making music, we all win. What I'd really like is for the band here to be famous in a two-mile radius and for everyone downtown to know about them.”
For the concert band program as well as the modern band program, Cox is encouraging his students to follow their interests and develop a genuine love for music. There is a lot of crossover of interests and developing skills in multiple instruments.
“I try to make sure that we put aside time each week for them to pursue adjacent interests: forming small ensembles themselves or studying a second instrument,” Cox said. “There’s so much crossover. Playing guitar makes you a better clarinet player and playing clarinet makes you a better drummer, and so on. The goal is well-roundedness and lifelong musicianship.”
What’s more, Cox just happens to be a Grammy award winner. He received the 2022 Music Educator Award and is about to attend the Grammy in the Schools Fest in Los Angeles March 10, where all 10 recipients of the award over the last decade will be recognized again.
Cox’s students know he’s famous — he met Doja Cat after all — but the main draw to the program is his teaching methods, which allow them to develop and explore music according to their interests.
“He makes us better players by showing us techniques and offering us different resources to use while we are increasing our skills,” ALA sophomore Viviana Villanueva said.
Villanueva, who picked up the ukulele over the summer, loves the progress she has been allowed to make with her band.
“As soon as I got here, I’m performing songs with my band,” she said. “My vocal skills and my instrument skills have increased astronomically since I came here.”
For Cox, the growth has just begun, as the new modern band program works to book a slate of public performances and is currently in the middle of an instrument drive that would allow students to practice at home.
“I am really excited to be here,” he said. “This is such a cool town with a rich musical history and this campus should be a part of it. It has been for a long time and it’s neat to get to do the next generation of that.”