Photos illustrate music program over the years

When music department head Michael Boitz came to Saratoga High in 1997, there were only 11 students in the entire orchestra program. Fourteen years later, the department has expanded to hundreds of students. With the construction of the McAfee Center in 2005, music performances are no longer held in a gym decorated with blue tarp and poinsettias.

The journey of Boitz’s music department memories are displayed in the panorama of pictures hanging on the walls of the music building. He originally started hanging pictures after the building’s remodeling 12 years ago, and since then, his collection of pictures has steadily expanded to fully cover the walls of his office and hallways.

Boitz said one of his favorite pictures is of the marching band from 1999.

“I like to show this to students sometimes,” Boitz said, pointing at the picture. “The Color Guard had nine people here, and now there’s 40. Also, the wind ensemble we have now is larger than this entire band.”

The framed photos vary from artistic snapshots of the music program taken by alumni to senior pictures, which have become a tradition for the graduating class to give to Boitz as a present.

Each one of the hundreds of photos in the music building has a story behind it, which is one of the reasons that make the room so sentimental.

“Every one of them is there because they represent the [alumni] during some point in history,” Boitz said.

One of his favorite photo shows former drum major and current marching band instructor John Pwu enveloped in a group hug, surrounded by ecstatic fellow marching band students. For Boitz, the joyous expressions on their faces of the students truly show the camaraderie of the music department.

The most intriguing memento that hang on the walls of Boitz’s office is a collection of musician action figures. Gifted from students, the action figures come in the forms of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner.

Boitz hopes that the pictures he puts up in the music building will inspire the current students to dream big. The photos represent the value of his love for teaching and show the growth of his students as they learn from their passions.

“[The photos] are up there because I like the students to see some of the history that’s taken place before, and what’s possible,” Boitz said. “For a lot of kids, this building is a home for them, and we strive to make it a safe environment.”