Solomon Banda Jr

Region XIV Hall of Fame

On the first day of 7th grade at Lanier High School in San Antonio during the last period of the day, Solomon asked the P.E. instructor if he could go over to an old church building sitting on wooden beams behind the gym. He could hear sounds coming from within the church. Solomon asked Al Sturchio what kind of class this was and Sturchio told him that it was a 7th grade class of band beginners. Al asked Solomon if he would be interested in taking band. Solomon said that he had no idea of what type of instrument he could play and wasn’t prepared to get one, particularly if any money was involved. Al said that he would provide him with an instrument and that he desperately needed a tuba player. Solomon enthusiastically agreed! When Al sat down with Solomon for the first time to show him how to use the mouthpiece on how to buzz and get a tone out of the horn; Solomon was able to play the first 5 notes of the Bb scale. Al told him that if he could do this for the very first time, he would be in the performing band in a matter of weeks. After 8 weeks Solomon was promoted to the high school band and he knew that he wanted to follow the footsteps of Al Sturchio and become a band director by getting a music scholarship and going to college.

After four years at Lanier High School, Al took the job as the assistant band director at St Mary's University with his father, Frank Sturchio. That same year, junior year, Solomon transferred to Jerfferson High School and was under the instruction of Joe Bellamah for one year and Richard Kole for his senior year. Solomon also made the All-City band, District band, and Regon band. For the All State at the All-Region tryouts, he missed by one chair going on to state. After graduating from Jefferson High School, he was granted a music scholarship; to St Mary's and the rest of his musical career quickly started to unfold.

At St Mary's, Solomon learned how to play the string bass for the new-formed jazz band started by Al Sturchio. He then took advantage of playing dance jobs and earning money as a union musician to help pay for his tuition, room and board by playing at most of the nightclubs, dance studios, officer's clubs, military bases and just all around in and out of San Antonio. After graduating from St Mary's in 1964, Solomon taught for four years as an elementary school music teacher and as a junior high choir director. In those days, it was hard for a hispanic person to find a head position at a high school in and around the San Antonio or any large town including the Valley.

Solomon Banda Jr

One summer after his fourth year of teaching elementary, Solomon attended a marching band camp at Texas A&I, in Kingsville, where his former high school band director, Joe Bellamah, presided as the band director. On the last day of his stint, Dr. Joe asked if anybody wanted to share any issues to get some advice. Solomon said that his issue was that that he was looking for a band job and if anybody knew of a position that was in the area, he woud like to check it out. As soon as the meeting was over, Solomon was approached by Charles Musch, who had tossed a coin with another band director on who would get the first choice of talking to him for the position, all thanks to Dr. Joe. Dr. Joe told the the group that he would indeed make a good band director if given the opportunity.

That was the beginning of Solomon's band career at Falfurrias, TX as a junior high school band director. The junior high had never received a first division in UIL music contests. The very first year as the band director, the junior high school recived its First Division Special award. After three successful years at the junior high school earning first divisions, Solomon was promoted as the head director. The high school band had also never received a first division in concert or sightreading, but that first year as the high school band director, they received the first 1st division in UIL concert band history. Two years later, they received their first sweepstakes, and for four consecutive years before he left.

When Solomon took over in Woodsboro, the band had never received a first division in concert, sightreading or marching. The very first year the band earned a first division in concert and every year until his third year when the first sweepstakes was achieved. The very first project that he fulfilled was put carpet in the band hall, which was acoustically not outfitted as a bare concrete floor. A few other acoustical and aesthetical improvements include: 1) he got rid of the old metal folding chairs, 2) he painted the room white with green trim, 3) he plowed, disk and planted grass for a practice field for the band, 4) he irrigated and fertilized the grass, 5) he eventually marked the field in yard lines and had a band parent built a tower to put by the field, and 6) he started the traditional turkey dinner that is still held today.

After Woodsboro, he was called to come to rebuild the band program at Pleasanton that had fallen on hard times after being a perennial sweepstakes winner (under Doug Williamson) and had not made any first divisions in twenty (20) years. When approached fot the job the second time, Solomon accepted and was able to bring the band up from getting 5's the year before and eventually making sweepstakes, even though he still had to work with an 80-yard practice field that had to be marked and irrigated every weekend during football season by himself and also had a tower made for him so as to work with on drill design.

Solomon's proudest accomplishments and greatest pride are his former students and his former student teachers and assistant band directors that have gone on to be successful in their own careers. Assistant band director Joe Menchaca, recently retired was inducted to Region XV Hall of Fame. Student teachers from A&I, Robert Garza, Rio Hondo; Roel Elizondo, Rio Grande City and Darrel Gan, Madison High School, San Antonio are just some who hve been very successful at their schools with their bands. Some of his Falfurrias high school former students, Yolanda Moreno, Laredo, Oscar Herrera, La Joya, Jose Lopez, San Diego, Manuel Romo, Jourdanton, Roel Saenz, Falfurrias are just a few who have used their musical talents to further their education by setting goals to better themselves and using their academic abilities and talents to pursue their authentic talents just like Solomon did in seeking a higher education. Some of his students from Falfurrias, Woodsboro, and Pleasanton have become lawyers, professors, Dean of Law School, teachers, medical doctors and so on. Solomon believes that the reason for this success stems from the notion that band is not a requrement to graduate: it is an elective and when a goup of students collablorate to perform for excellent results, they do so using their GOD given talents. Solomon learned from his band directors, especially Sturchio, Bellamah ,Kole and his teachers that if you want something bad enough and were willing to work hard for it, any goal could be reached no matter what your race or ethnicity. Solomon has attributed his own personal success is a result of working with students of all levels and watching them flourish with their own talents. Also he was a member of TBA, TMEA and TMAA.

Now retired Solomon and his wife Pat, live in San Antonio, Texas. His children, Trey and Bercela both work and live in Florida.