Along with new students to the program, orchestra welcomes a new assistant director, Brandon Lucio.
“I decided to teach here because I had already taught at middle school for four years and the initial area that I wanted to teach was high school,” Lucio said. “Ms. Blackstock [orchestra director Julie Blackstock] was kind enough to let me know that there would be a position available here and I also student taught here at Liberty High School back in the spring of 2021 and I’ve always heard excellent things about Liberty High School, even when I was in college.”
Lucio’s past experience in the orchestra program has allowed students to get used to the change in directors.
“It is comforting to know that he shares similar goals to Ms. Blackstock of knowing, understanding, and being there for students,” senior and orchestra president Nolan Sow said. “As president, we work closely to build an orchestra community beyond just playing music through socials and different activities. It creates a very seamless process, which I’m very grateful for, especially with someone new.”
For orchestra director Julie Blackstock, Lucio offers skills that benefit the program.
“We always have fun and a good laugh,” Julie Blackstock said. “He’s encouraged me to redecorate the office again which has been blank for the last few years. He likes things to be clean, which is different from me.”
Along with a new face teaching students, Lucio brings a variety of new ideas to the orchestra program.
“I am most excited to work with Mr. Lucio as he brings a different perspective and new ideas to our program,” Sow said. “Orchestra being a very social environment, coming up with different ideas or ways to spice things up can be hard. However, with Mr. Lucio, he may have past activities that we have never done before or implemented any enjoyable games.”
Lucio aims to create a memorable orchestra experience for his students, just as he enjoyed during his own high school years.
“Music…when you put it all together and when everyone has something in common, it just creates magical, long lasting experiences for everyone,” Lucio said. “For myself, the things I remember most from high school are about being in orchestra. And that’s not just because I’m an orchestra teacher now, that’s because I’ve heard it from my friends who are not orchestra teachers now and have gone on to pursue different careers. They tell me that orchestra, band, theatre, any of the fine arts—that’s what they remember most.”
