Band class is back at Walkerville 

Wildcat News is a presentation of Walkerville Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.  

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor 

WALKERVILLE — Walkerville Public Schools music teacher Alessandra Dronchi is excited to be a part of the school district’s historic return to band instruction. After a four-year hiatus, music is once again filling the halls of the school.

The band room is located in the former art room, and Dronchi spent the summer getting the room ready for music instruction. 

A Fremont native, she graduated from Saginaw Valley State University. After college, she moved back to the area and began substitute teaching. 

She was approached by fellow educators, encouraging her to apply at Walkerville to get the band program going again.

After working in the district as a sub, she was offered the music teacher job. “I’m certified K-12 music, and I will be teaching K-12 music,” she said just prior to the start of the school year.

Music has been a big part of her life since childhood. “We’re just a very musical family. My grandpa (Joseph Dronchi, Jr.) when I was growing up had a music shop in Fremont — Marcus Music. In elementary school, I would go there every day after school, and he would teach lessons on all the different instruments. When he passed away, it drove me to be more interested in music.” 

When beginning music as a young student, she had to decide which instrument to play. “I went in and I said, ‘I want to play whatever instrument is going to annoy my brother the most,’” she said with a smile. “I’ve been playing the trumpet for 13 years.”

After playing the trumpet for a few years, she found out that her great grandmother, Lois Dronchi, had also been a talented trumpet player. “She was in a band in New York and she played music with New York schools.”

When the teacher attended college, she learned how to play all the other band instruments. “You have to get that perspective that it is hard to learn an instrument and that the kids are intimidated, too.”

A lot of her students are interested in playing the guitar, and she is incorporating the more versatile instrument into band instruction. 

Grant funding from the Electric Forest Festival through the Oceana Community Foundation upped the tempo for re-launching music at Walkerville schools.

The festival’s $10,000 donation inspired matching grants from nine other generous contributors to triple the support to $29,500. The program provides instruments, equipment and supplies for under-resourced music and choir programs in Hart, Hesperia, Montague, Shelby, Pentwater and Walkerville schools. Walkerville received $7,500 through the program, said Dronchi. 

Because Walkerville does not have a high school football program, there is not a marching band. The school launched a middle school football team last year with the hopes of getting a high school program going within the next few years.

Dronchi has plans to start a pep band that would play at high school basketball games, and she hopes to eventually get a marching band going, too.

“My biggest philosophy in music teaching is every child deserves the opportunity to learn music.”

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