When Mr. Victor Villaorduna logged into his band class on Microsoft Teams in 2021 at the height of the Covid pandemic, he noticed something that displeased him.
“There were many times where I would come to practice and there’d be a few too many people not here,” said Villaorduna. “It started to become habitual.”
The SBHS music teacher had taken the helm of all the Bulldog bands- symphonic, marching, and jazz, after a tumultuous time for the high school’s music program. Two of the previous band directors had left in short succession.
“I took over after some dark times within the band itself,” he said.
Numbers were already dropping, but it was easier when he could just blame the pandemic. Ingrid Garcius, now an alumni of South Broward, decided to confront Villaorduna one day after class: she was thinking about quitting, and she wasn’t the only one.
“She told me I was too much of a tyrant,” said Villaorduna. “I’m not empathetic at times.”
He took the confrontation for what it was: a wake up call to find a way to keep the students in his program.
“It helped me change my philosophy and mindset,” he said.
Going forward, he allowed students to hang around at lunch or study hall, as well as having more laid back and conversational practices, the exact opposite of the advice he’d been given when he was earning his bachelors in music education at Florida Atlantic University.
“In college we were taught to distance ourselves and put up a wall,” said Villaorduna.
But that was advice he had been following, and he could see the negative impact it was having on his students. Now, he was putting effort into connecting.
“I guess I just started thinking that every interaction matters; what you say, how you make a student feel, is very powerful,” he said. “I decided to treat them as humans instead of just workers.”
Today, he has managed to turn the band around, earning 9 superior rating awards at the annual Broward County band assessment within his six years at the school. It was a long hard road that is taking a new turn. After six years as band director, Villaorduna is leaving his beloved band.
“I tell my students I’m gonna miss them, cause I am,” he said.
Though it may seem like it to some of his students, Villaorduna’s decision to leave isn’t personal. It’s just that the support system he wants for his new born son happens to be in Orlando. His sister along with her husband and their kids would live just twenty minutes away after they move out of South Florida.
”I want my only son to grow up with his cousins,” he said.
Villaorduna’s band members would love him to stay even just one more year, and many are going to miss the role he plays in their lives. This is true for junior Edna Menendez, who has been in his class since her freshman year.
”He’s become kind of a father figure,” said Menendez. “He’s always there to help us with anything.”
She plays the trumpet like Villaorduna, who would encourage her to come during her study hall to work on music she was having a difficult time learning, something she is very grateful for.
”I was thinking about not being in the band after he leaves,” she said. “But I know he would tell me to stay.”
One of Villaorduna’s favorite things to do with his band is bring them on extra curricular ensemble field trips, where his students can learn from others that aren’t him. This is to ensure they get as many opportunities as possible to improve.
“You get out of these four walls and you learn from other directors,” he said.
He takes pride in the improvement his students have made over the years. In past years, only the band’s top students earned awards at the yearly assessments. This has become a thing of the past, as Villaorduna established both a legitimate second and third group to bring with him.
“They went from playing grade level 1’s, the lowest you can go, and now they’re playing grade level 3’s,” he said. “So a drastic improvement has been made with them.”
Daniela Cruz-Ayala, a senior in the band, was able to come to Villaorduna with her musical aspirations.
“When I told him I wanted to pursue music after high school, he really dedicated time to helping me with that,” she said. “He gave me advice and even helped with auditions.”
Unfortunately, Villaorduna won’t be able to continue mentoring his students once this school year wraps. Though he is leaving a job he has become so familiar with, he doesn’t intend to hang up his director’s hat just yet, as he plans to continue teaching after the move.
“I just don’t know what level, whether elementary, middle, or high school,” said Villaorduna. “I just know I’d definitely be teaching music.
No matter where he ends up, South Broward’s band students won’t forget Villaorduna any time soon.
