BELLFLOWER – Internationally known musician and teacher Michael Briones is joining the faculty at St. John Bosco High School as the Director of Music. The appointment will be effective immediately, according to school principal Casey Yeazel.

Briones will oversee the Advanced Band, Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Chamber Winds, Men’s Choir, Percussion Ensembles, Drum Line and the Liturgy Band.

He will also be teaching AP Music Theory as well as Introduction to Music for beginning band students.

Briones received his Bachelor of Music in Performance at Long Beach State University and his Master of Music in Performance at Azusa Pacific University.

He is an accomplished trombonist, and has played with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, the Disneyland Band, Matthew Morrison from Glee, AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys and Earl Klugh, who is considered one of the finest acoustic guitar players in the world today.

Briones has played in such venues as the Hollywood Bowl, the Gibson Amphitheater and the Ryman Auditorium. He has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, where he was honored with the Outstanding Soloist Award.

He has also performed at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, and has recorded for Capitol Records.

Additionally, Briones has served as adjunct professor at Santa Ana College and Professor of Music for the Rancho Santiago Community College District, while simultaneously building a successful private teaching studio where many of his students have achieved admission into honors orchestras.

“Our school is very fortunate to have Michael Briones join us as our Director of Music”, commented Yeazel. “Our young musicians, beginning students as well as experienced musicians, will be the beneficiaries of his fine teaching skills and wonderful real-world experiences.”

“I am delighted to join the staff at St. John Bosco, and am looking forward to helping the students continue their tradition of excellence,” said Briones.  “I am looking forward to seeing an already accomplished music program reach new levels of success, while simultaneously helping our students grow in their spirituality.”

Briones and his wife, Bianca, live in Santa Ana and are the parents of a young son, Agustin.

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Published: Aug. 7, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 17