ABOUT
Mission & Vision
Music enriches the life and nourishes the soul of the performer and the audience. Therefore the South Bay Music Association believes that instrumental music properly plays a vital role for the 21st century family. At its noblest, music is an enriching and nourishing bond that brings families and communities together.
SBMA demonstrates the power of live music by entertaining and educating families in the community:
Performing interactively in which the audience becomes educated about the music or instruments being played and creatively participates in the entertainment.
Creating or sponsoring programs that educate family members on how to play, how to nurture, or how to listen to instrumental music.
History
In 1998, one dozen parents of El Segundo High School band students performed at a band event playing the song "Louie Louie" as a surprise for their kids. The parents enjoyed playing so much that they formed the El Segundo Community Concert Band. As they grew, the group became a non-profit organization, created educational programs, and established a significant fund-raising sector. In 2014, the organization renamed itself as the South Bay Music Association to better represent its changed size and scope.
Today, the Association:
Provides El Segundo music teachers with mini-grants to support altered teaching methods due to COVID-19
Provides scholarships to students
Edie & Mike Rice Instrumental Music Scholarship - awarded to selected graduating seniors, or current college age students, who particpate in an organized music program
Perry DeNisi Scholarships - private lessons for selected students who participate in the El Segundo Concert Band
Coming Soon - funding for El Segundo families who need assistance paying fees for school music programs
Presents free music concerts by the El Segundo Concert Band, and various small ensemble recitals to the community throughout the year.
Funds, and hosts in-school musical clinics by professional musicians
Board Members and
Program Directors
Steven Allen Fox, president & music director
Steven Allen Fox is a Conductor and Composer with a Bachelors in Music from Illinois State University and a Graduate Certificate in Film and Television Scoring from USC. In addition to his duties for ESCB Maestro Fox is also the Founding President/Artistic Director/Conductor of the Golden State Pops Orchestra. Maestro Fox has conducted internationally, including Video Games Live and the City of Prague Philharmonic. He has conducted over 30 Premieres and composed or arranged for over 10 film projects and CDs. Steven has been the conductor for the El Segundo Concert Band since 2001.
Arlene Vinzon, secretary
Arlene is the Senior Manager of Operations at Animo Legacy Charter Middle School, a Green Dot Public School. A mother of three children who have participated in the instrumental music SBMA sponsored programs throughout their elementary, middle school and high school education and in El Segundo school bands for 13 years. As a band parent Arlene worked tirelessly in many capacities to support the positive experiences offered to the music students. Arlene and her husband Noel are life long community service volunteers. A former ESUSD employee she is an avid fine arts supporter. As a Board Member of the South Bay Music Association, Arlene is sharing her past experiences and expertise joining in the SBMA commitment to keep the music playing in the ES schools and community.
Brian Crowley, treasurer
Brian has been an aerospace systems engineer and test engineer since 1975. He was a founding member of the El Segundo Concert Band in 1999, and the treasurer from 2001-2017. Brian began playing trombone in 1960, and has played with school bands from elementary school through graduate school. After grad school he took a break from trombone to work and raise a family, and returned to playing when he answered a 1999 newspaper ad seeking players for the El Segundo Concert Band. Getting back to playing trombone eventually was always his intent, and the ESCB provided that opportunity. He also has played in several other bands, including the Vintage Brass of Long Beach, and the Beach Cities Swing Band of El Segundo.
Todd Levin, board member
Todd Levin is an El Segundo resident, born and raised in Southern California. He and his wife, Beth are parents to two amazing, trumpet playing boys, Jacob and Parker. When he's not working, he enjoys all things DIY, mentoring the ESHS POTATOES Robotics team and being a proud band parent.
Danny Roque, board member
Danny Roque is a Los Angeles based actor, singer and songwriter. He has worked in theater, film and television, with an extensive voice-over history. With his background in comedy, he has performed many times as an MC and host for companies such as Disney, Toyota, and the Angels World Series celebration at their stadium. He is an expert with dialects and as such, has performed many roles and voice-over jobs using those skills. He is always happy when called on to record material for someone's project, where he often gets to create new characters in the studio.
Diane Simons, board member emeritus
In 1996, Ms. Diane Simons co-founded the South Bay Children's Choir with the late Dr. Jane Hardester, who retired from the choir in June 2000. Inspired by a vision of choral excellence for children and of providing choral education to children of the South Bay and surrounding communities, the founders built a program that has achieved a high degree of success. Ms. Simons earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from UCLA and has conducted choirs at both the high school and the elementary school levels, as well as teaching voice at El Camino College and in her private studio. She presents workshops for singers as well as teachers and has been active as musical director for Community Theater. In 2009 she conducted the Los Angeles Unified School District Elementary Honor Choir. She retired from teaching music in the El Segundo Unified School District in 2004 after 37 years of teaching in that district. She served on the Western Division ACDA Board as the Repertoire and Standards representative for children’s choirs from 2007 until 2013.