Picking up a musical instrument and looking at a music sheet may feel like a different language. But not with our one-of-a-kind Mr. Hernandez, the Quartz Hill High School band director and instrumental teacher. Among the astonishing staff of the campus, Mr. Hernandez definitely stands out. He teaches instrumental band, percussion, show corps, and marching band. What a packed schedule! Mr. Hernandez is one of the few teachers who grew up in the Antelope Valley. However, he actually attended Eastside High School. Seriously, what a surprise! He also attended his four years at Cal State Long Beach with an extra year for their credential program. Mr. Hernandez’s teaching years go far beyond his two years at Quartz Hill. He’s actually been teaching for around ten years! While at Eastside, he was a section leader in the band, including his time teaching in college, and has officially been a teacher for two years.
Becoming a section leader during high school played a significant role in his choice of becoming a band director. Being able to bring people together, forming a family within the band, and being able to help were all what inspired him to take this path. Once he went to college, he got his degree in music education and can now teach students not only music, but also the key to becoming an adult. When asked what was so important about what he does, he answered that all of the students’ work, coming on time to practice, going to competitions, having leadership roles, and having a routine for music and becoming an adult, is essential.
“In the real world, they aren’t going to be telling and showing you all the ropes and how to be one in a society,” Mr. Hernandez says.
Mr. Hernandez believes that the skills that students learn in his classroom are helpful for their future and throughout their adulthood. Mr. Hernandez builds the community, the skill, and the family within the band. The most challenging part of Mr. Hernandez’s career has been learning everything about it. In his early years, he sometimes struggled with teaching, communicating, the loads of paperwork, planning things, and fixing problems. Yet, Mr. Hernandez always thrives past his struggles. How, you may ask? The mass amount of motivation he gets from the students. Each day, when he sees his students walking into the band room with smiles, ready to learn, improve, and grow, it is a simple reminder of who he’s doing it all for. Because at the end of the day, he’s doing all of this for his outstanding students.
One of Mr. Hernandez’s most significant pieces of advice is to always ask questions. There is never a dumb question to be asked. People want to help you, so be daring enough to ask a question. If you ask any of his students in the marching band, everyone has heard his famous speeches, “You’ll never march alone” and “Life is like an extension cord.” The motto, You’ll never march alone, comes from a football club, but has been slightly edited. When he heard it, he immediately thought about how he wanted to bring it and implant it here at Quartz Hill. When he came into this program, it was rough to say the least. It comes as a motto of never being alone and the program’s rebirth.
“Life is like an extension cord came out of nowhere. I know for band camp I had to think about a speech, and I had a cord in my hand,” Mr. Hernandez says.
What exceptional improv skills! This commonly heard speech relates to the heavy emotions we as people feel daily. Being in the marching band, along with every other class taken, the mental stress from day-to-day life gets heavy. When taking everything slow and straightforward, even though it takes time, it allows you to distract yourself from the stress and comes out neat when you unroll it. With your extension cord, you can wrap it quickly and easily, but when unrolled, it comes with knots and curls.
In his free time, Mr. Hernandez loves soccer with all of his heart. He also enjoys reading, playing chess, and riding his bike around town. One question that may be lingering in your mind is how many instruments Mr. Hernandez can play. Being a band director comes with the obvious skills of many instruments, such as piano, saxophone, clarinet, flute, and trumpet. Basically, anything and everything. He even knows how to play guitar and is currently learning the ropes of colorguard.
Mr. Hernandez is a very open teacher, so if you ever walk into his classroom to join his class, you’ll probably be asked one of these important and essential questions. What aisle is your favorite at the grocery store? Or, what is your favorite road sign? When it comes to the grocery store question, Mr. Hernandez will probably hit you with,
“The toy/toothpaste aisle that they put all the nitnacks in, because you never know what you’ll find. Oh my goodness, a coloring book!” Mr. Hernandez says.
Safe to say, Mr. Hernandez likes the chaotic, unorganized aisle. And please, someone, get him a coloring book. Now, regarding a road sign, you’d think to hear maybe a stop sign or the merging, even the bicycle crossing, due to his love for riding a bike in his free time. But nope! Not Mr. Hernandez.
“I love yield, it’s big, yellow, and different. Yield,” Mr. Hernandez says.
Truly, how inspiring.
That’s only a small deep dive into the amazing Mr. Hernandez. His final words were that the band is in the rebuilding process, and it’s making a lot of promises. He’s looking forward to the many possibilities for the future. Wish him and his amazing students the best of luck this season. Now, for a subtle plug. For direct support, please attend the Battle Royale Field Tournament, hosted by yours truly, Quartz Hill High School, on October 21st, 2025. Save the date, everyone, come and see the versatile skills and levels of marching bands.
