Loud cheering can be heard, filling the sky just like the sunset. Ryan Cabildo guides his marching band out in front of the stands of McCracken Field. In front of hundreds of people, Cabildo starts guiding the marching band as they walk along the field. They begin to play their instruments with passion and power to the steady beat Cabildo sets.

This year is Cabildo’s first official year teaching at MCHS. He actually started his career at MCHS in February last year, due to the last band conductor quitting unexpectedly. However, Cabildo came to the rescue of the MCHS band and became the new director fresh out of college.

“I started thinking about going into teaching music towards the end of my junior year of high school,” Cabildo said. “There are a lot of academic aspects or ways to think about music. But at the end of the day, band should be fun. It should be something that people show up to because they want to be there.”

Since Cabildo is fresh out of college, most students came into this school year without knowing what kind of teacher Cabildo is. But many students have made a connection to him in the short amount of time he has been teaching at MCHS.

“He inspires me because he’s always encouraging us to do better,” freshman Lilly Koscher said. “He doesn’t make us afraid of failing. He makes us more excited to succeed in a way. He teaches just because you fail, doesn’t mean you’re bad at your instrument because you’re not. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and that’s okay, but he pushes us to do better.”

Funding is not always readily available for every extracurricular. For band, it can get hard to find the money to continue old traditions, and there are many different challenges that occur. Due to money the band is not always able to do as much as they would like to.

“Part of the challenge has been one of the things that in the past we’ve done, it’s been able to offer scholarships for students to take private one on one lessons on their instruments,” Cabildo said. “But we haven’t been able to do that recently because of financial limitations. So we’ve had to sort of roll back and basically stop that private tutoring program for now.”

Cabildo cares deeply for his students and wants them to gain as much experience in band as they can. He’s not even afraid to admit when he is not the best at certain instruments, but regardless he is very confident in the fact he can teach them. Many students see this as a positive thing, as Cabildo can admit when he is not the greatest at something. Despite the fact he may not always be a jack of all trades he is a useful source of information and inspiration for his students. 

“He’s definitely very relatable. I understand that it’s his first year really doing this.” Koscher said, “But he’s very good at what he does for being fresh out of college and he’s very hip with the kiddos. He’s backed his teaching and field teaching.” She said, “He is always trying.”

The last note of the band plays and cheers erupt from the people crowding in the stands. They have been there for the football team, but the energy is undeniable. Though, Cabildo does not pay attention to the cheers that rise around him. He gazes proudly at the students who have worked hard to get where they are. Pride fills his chest as he guides the band back to the stands with a smile on his face.