Bowker and Bringhedahl are back and readier than ever to make the instrumental music program bigger and better

Musician studies her music before a busy class in the band room. (Sophia Nagra, Social Media Manager, The Puma Prensa)

Written by: Sophia Nagra, Social Media Manager

Renowned Carrillo instrumental art instructors, Matthew Bowker and Matthew Bringhedahl, have implemented fresh and exciting new classes this year: Mariachi, Arts Appreciation, and AP Music Theory.

Proving that their program knows no limits when it comes to talent and dedication, the MCHS Music Program’s strong enrollment consists of “about 200 students in the Instrumental department, and approximately 130 on the vocal side” according to Bringhedahl. Bowker adds that this large pool of engaged musicians is made up in part by “the first full class that had a full middle school experience that wasn’t cut short by Covid”. 

Due to students’ holistic experience before entering high school, the foundation for an inviolable is being paved at a steadfast rate. Music students this year have shown diligence, which Mr. Bowker describes as “incredible teachability” allowing them to be hand-plucked in new classes like Mariachi. 

For some, this style is completely foreign and may be causing expected timidness. To combat this, Bowker ensures student success and confidence by placing free folk instruments in their hands “from day one”. 

These instruments, funded by the Luther Burbank Center–where this teacher has worked for two years directing 150 kids–are not just musical instruments, but tickets to a new world. Many do not have the opportunity to buy or rent an instrument themselves, however, the rare and direct path to the privilege of music is being paved by these guitars, guitarrones, and vihuelas. 

For Bowker–who you can always find either with his hand-painted ceramic coffee mug or guitarron–the dedication to helping students transcend stereotypes is evident. Bowker halted his melodic strumming on the guitarron, which he had not been able to put down for 12 minutes, to make his point that “if you get a Prius but I get a Challenger, they’re both cars and do the same thing,” comparing sports to music; “but that’s how you express yourself and what you enjoy driving. This is what I enjoy driving and how I express myself. You could make both a career, we are doing the same thing.”

 Highlighting the undoubtable stigma around pursuing music, he preaches that respect is of the utmost importance when handling either. Seeing as both athletics and music are admirable objectives, it is underscored that the paths one may end up walking may not always be the ones one had expected. 

For Bowker, a baseball player of 15 years, his life faced a major focal point in freshman year, when he could no longer play for his school’s team. Now a professional saxophone player and teacher here at Maria Carrillo High, he teaches others the importance of having an appreciation for the arts.

Spending an abundant amount of time in his Arts Appreciation class compared to those he is better acquainted with has pushed Bowker and his students to discussions utilizing niche fine art knowledge and creativity beyond that in any other class. The rawness this first-period class brings at 8:30 am is refreshing, as one learns the roots of modernity. Being grounded is not important solely for this reason, but for being a segue into more hands-on learning classes, such as band. Allowing students’ passions to aid in whisking Wednesday discussions, Bowker will lead a lecture on any requested art topic an appreciator may have. 

Inspired by Prop 28, the Arts and Music in Schools initiative; with which this class is provided additional funding for arts education in California public schools; our music program has been taking leaps and bounds towards a higher level of education and success to expand our great legacy.

Prop 28–additionally funding Matthew Bringhedahl’s revived class, AP Music Theory–has turned out to be a blessing, but not so much so as the passion of music students. Without the current seniors, this class would not have existed, but due to high demand, petitions, and discussions with the school board; it is back in action. 

Existing at Carrillo back in 2004 with esteemed Sonoma State Professor, Dr. Andy Collinsworth, this exciting AP class is not new, but has risen from the ashes. The lack of enrollment was a nearly unavoidable plague that was the ultimate death of Music Theory’s first round. Now, with a program of high enrollment and interest, the class can concentrate on 15 high-performing upperclassmen, with strong musical backgrounds and highly developed critical thinking skills. 

Being a high-intensity class, Bringhedahl says, “People who don’t have me or Ms. Bowers are at a complete disadvantage unless they have a musical background. If not, they’ll be way behind”. Much like Bringhedahl, this class can be focused and intense, but also lively and entertaining. Keeping students on their toes, subjects shift from the pitch and its existence in Western classical music with eurocentric division, scalable, and module concepts, compounding intervals, foundations of tonality without shifting into chromaticism, how to build melodies and harmonies, rhythmic breakdowns, transposing instruments, and much more. It is said that music is a developer of the mind, and this may be due to the development of skills that must take place before reaching full maturity and mastery. 

For Mr. Bringhedahl, the skill acquisition of learning to teach this class came relatively easily. His main consultant was Bobby Rogers, an esteemed former conductor of the Santa Rosa Symphony Youth Ensembles, and teacher of AP Theory at Pioneer High for 20 years, where students had “incredibly high pass rates”. 

Now thriving in his class flow, Bringhedahl teaches in a lecture format; beginning in the band room with a live feed of his piano cast on the TV next to music, and over the smartboard he uses daily to enhance his lessons. After the visual demonstration, the class then moves into the piano lab, as one of the College Board’s requirements for the class is that all students have access to one. While some students may not have access to a tangible piano, technology has provided adequate substitutes for tackling nearly any obstacle at hand. 

Bringhedahl, a firm supporter of technology and disbeliever in homework, has created advancements many teachers could never imagine pursuing. These include making music workbooks virtually accessible on Google Classroom, a platform he restarted the program on scratch from in 2014. 

Although Mr. Matt Bringhedahl says “growth is not linear”, the 2024-25 music program looks as though it will be an exception, with the help of these three prodigious new classes.