“Fostering growth and leadership by investing in the creative minds of students through music.”

This philosophy has guided band and orchestra director Chad Davies since the dawn of Wilsonville’s music program. Chad Davies reflected on how his inexperience with string teaching birthed the foundation of student leadership in his classroom:

“My first orchestra gig was here at the high school as a trumpet player. I didn’t have string orchestra in my upbringing, so the literature [was] new, the language was new, everything was new.”

Two of his students in the first Wilsonville orchestra also played for the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP), a high-caliber youth orchestra based in the Portland metropolitan area. Davies relied on those accomplished musicians to teach music in orchestra: 

“The way I taught was, I would say something, and then I’d say [to the PYP students], ‘Can you translate that into string [language]?’ And then they would… [help] the rest of the group and then we’d go. It created this environment around where students were empowered to help each other. It takes work to learn how to build each other up and not tear them [down].”

This philosophy has evolved as Wilsonville’s music programs have grown, but the principles that founded a now-vibrant music program are largely the same. 

Davies stated that “this program was built through student leadership,” and has created “an environment where students can work together [and] learn from each other… not worry about who’s better than who, but create an environment where everyone wants to contribute.”

This environment has created an inclusive space for students to grow not just as humans, but as leaders in their community. The Borchestra Council is a testament to this inclusive environment.

In the first week of every school year, the Wilsonville High School band and orchestra programs elect students to leadership positions on the Borchestra Council, the combined student leadership team for band and orchestra. Elected onto this council are a president, vice president, and social chair for orchestra and three more of the same for band.

In addition, each co-curricular ensemble—concert band, symphonic band, string orchestra, and chamber orchestra—elects 2 to 3 ensemble representatives to join the council as additional voices of the music student body.

Seventeen students make up the Borchestra Council this year, which meets twice a month. However, meetings are open to all band and orchestra members who want to share input. Orchestra Vice President Morgan Wonderly testifies to the inclusive environment of Borchestra, saying that she “loved the leadership last year,” and, so far, is seeing that positive atmosphere reflected this year.

As a junior, this is Wonderly’s second year on the Council, having served as the social chair last year. Wonderly claims her campaign for vice president was centered around building community. With experience as the social chair last year, Wonderly had the skills she needed to fulfill her goals of “bringing everyone together.”

Historically, the Council tends to elect juniors and seniors, since those students have the most experience and strongest leadership skills. However, this year is different: six of the seventeen elected Borchestra members are underclassmen.

Sophomore Griffin Sword, a Symphonic Band Representative, shared that he enjoys “hearing what people have to say,” and that the different perspectives play an important role in the Council’s decisions when planning social events. Sword stated, “It impacts [us] because when the music department has more events, there are more events for [music students] to go to.”

For the first time in over four years, the chamber orchestra has a freshman representative in the Council, Lee King. King shared that she hopes to provide a new voice that can represent underclassmen and incoming freshmen:

“A new voice is one thing. Of course, there are new voices [who come with] a new council [every year], but as someone new to the high school, I can bring a younger voice that [represents] incoming high schoolers.”

Diverse in age, skillset, and background, this year’s Borchestra Council is unique and exemplifies the teaching philosophy and its success. Regardless of having a named position on the Council, each student brings a distinct voice to the program and leads with their peers, especially in the classroom.

“[Leadership] is something that all of our musicians do,” said Davies. “Serving others, helping others be prepared… That’s the kind of leadership we don’t even talk about… It just happens. Servant leadership creat[es] a much healthier environment.

“We’ve created an environment where students are… making decisions and helping and serving each other… It’s created such a good vibe in the program that anyone who comes and watches [our] class is just kind of dumbfounded at the behavior in the classroom, the drive for excellence.”

The Wilsonville Music program’s collective investment in building student leadership has created a distinct approach to music education. Revisiting the program’s mission statement, the focus is more on leadership, and music was mentioned merely as a mediator between investment and student growth.

This may seem odd, but it represents the power of music. Wilsonville’s music education isn’t centered around music, but instead develops students holistically, preparing them for life beyond their classroom. Students learn notes and rhythms, but also develop an understanding of their place in the world through their investment in musical literacy.

Wilsonville’s music students are musicians today but ultimately become the leaders of tomorrow.