Instructor’s lifelong passion for music now inspires a new generation of musicians at Vista del Lago
“Vista is the academic school, and Folsom is the sports school” is a comment many locals in Folsom have agreed with. Whether you share the sentiment or not, Vista isn’t just the academic school. While yes, the campus provides a wide variety of courses that appeal to an academic audience, that’s not the only thing that makes Vista’s campus so different.
One of the factors that makes Vista so different is its phenomenal music program. Mr. Vince Martini, the teacher in charge of most of the music programs on campus, shares insight into the nature of this program and how it came to be. Martini is the instructor for Beginning Guitar, Intermediate Guitar, Advanced Guitar and Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME).
Born right here in Sacramento, Martini was raised with musically talented parents. As he sat down with Folsom Times, he shared, “From the time I was a kid, I’ve wanted to play music, and I hadn’t really thought about anything else.” Using his parents as an inspiration, his passion for music was formed.
That passion directly fuels the program at Vista. Throughout his teenage years, he became obsessed with music and got real-world experience early on. When he was a junior in high school, he was invited to play with a couple of band kids from UC Davis; this is where his music debut began. He played with them for a while until one day he created a band of his own called the 99 Tales.
But as his debut was happening, he grew up. He moved to San Francisco for college but still held his band gigs together. As many college students do, he had taken on newer responsibilities. Those responsibilities had become: study and go to classes, work for a living at a bookstore, and still live out his passion for music at late-night gigs. He was sure busy. When asked why he would put so much effort just to play music, he states, “I didn’t care about money, I just wanted to play my music.”
After he graduated college, he eventually went on to become a music teacher. An amazing music teacher, to be precise. When Vista first opened, it presented a new opportunity for an enthusiastic music teacher such as Martini to create a program unlike any traditional music course.
That is how CME was born. CME, or Contemporary Music Ensemble, is a class unlike any other. In this class, students are allowed to take music they find of interest and collaborate on how they would like to interpret and perform the song. Students taking this class have been highly involved with it and put all of their effort into their performances.
These amazingly talented students have performed everywhere. From the Welcome Back Rally to Open Mic Night, the students have really made their mark. They use music that is “new on the horizon” to inspire them to keep creating. And they’re creating art. Martini adds to that by commenting, “One thing I want my students to know as they leave my program is the power of music and how it connects to people in life.”
So, to all the students in any form of art, pay attention to the closed doors because they will lead you far. While these students are just at the beginning of their music careers, we can all see they have talent. True talent that radiates through any venue. So whether they continue on in music throughout their lives like Martini, or go into a different field after high school, their passion for music and talent will always stay within this program and their lives. Next time you’re going about, check out Vista’s CME program; I promise you won’t regret it.
Yara Elkheir is a Folsom resident who attends Vista del Lago High School and is currently a student intern working with Folsom Times.
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