Founded in 1999, the Reagan Educational Center Instrumental Music Program serves the students at Clovis East High School and Reyburn Intermediate School in Clovis, CA. The Instrumental Music program performs and competes at a high level and strives to be the best in all we do while providing accountability and excellence for our performers. We give every student a safe place to express their music through whatever ensemble they choose. We want each student to express who they are, and to be their best. The Instrumental Music program is available for any Clovis East and Reyburn Intermediate student to participate.
The band program currently operates with two high school and three middle school concert bands, as well as offerings in Jazz ensembles, percussion ensembles, color guard units, and a competitive marching band. The program serves nearly 350 students in grades 7-12. All of our band ensembles are frequent participants in district and local California Music Educators Association (CMEA) Festivals where they earn high ratings for their performances. The Clovis East Wind Ensemble is a consistent earner of superior and unanimous superior ratings at local and state level festivals, as well as regularly participating in the Nationally Accredited San Joaquin Valley Concert Band Festival, hosted by Music For All. The Wind Ensemble was selected from pool of applicants from across the country to perform in the 2020 Festival of Gold in Chicago, IL on the prestigious Orchestra Hall stage- the home of the World renown Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In February of 2025 the Clovis East Wind Ensemble was invited to perform as one of the premiere bands at the California All-State Music Educators' Conference in Sacramento, CA. Immediately following, in April of 2025 the Clovis East Bands will be traveling to New York City to perform in the beautiful and prestigious Carnegie Hall. The Marching Band is a strong contender in the Western Band Association (WBA) class 5A division- frequently earning several 1st place and caption awards. The marching band had an undefeated 2018 season and placed 5th in the State at the 2019 Championships, both in the 3A division. In the fall of 2024 the Clovis East Marching Band & Guard were Valley Champions in the 5A division and placed 3rd in the state. The Clovis East Winter Percussion Ensemble had an undefeated season in the Spring of 2024. Students were the Open Class Champions in both Central California (SJVCGPR) and Northern California (NCPA) Circuits. Students from Reyburn and Clovis East bands are both well represented in the FMCMEA and California All-State Honor Ensembles as well as the CMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival.
The Reagan Educational Center opened in the fall 1999 and includes Reyburn Intermediate and Clovis East High Schools. Now, 25 years later, the Orchestra Program at the REC currently has over 250 students participating in the Reyburn String, Intermediate and Chamber Orchestras, as well as the Clovis East String, Chamber and Symphony Orchestras. Current director, Alexandra Gilroy Golden has worked hard to develop the orchestral program since the fall of 2013. In the fall of 2024 Mrs. Hannah Oliver joined the directing staff to help with the large enrollment numbers. The various string ensembles have enjoyed numerous accolades under their leadership, including regular Unanimous Superior Ratings at California Music Educators Association (CMEA) Festivals as well as several appearances at the San Francisco State University's Annual High School String Invitational Festival, College of the Sequoias String Festival and Homestead String Festival. In 2020 the Clovis East Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform at Festival of Gold at Symphony Hall in Chicago, IL. In March of 2023 the Clovis East Orchestras traveled to Honolulu, HI where they earned a Gold rating and won the highest overall score. The Reyburn Orchestras were rated the highest scoring Junior High Orchestra in all of Clovis Unified at the District Assessment in the Spring of 2024. In April of 2024 the Clovis East Orchestras performed at Cerritos College as one of only a handful of orchestras accepted into that year's State Large Ensemble Festival. In April of 2025 the Clovis East Orchestras will be traveling to New York City to perform in the beautiful and prestigious Carnegie Hall. Students in the Reagan Educational Center Orchestras are also well represented in the County and State Honor Orchestras as well as Solo & Ensemble Festivals. Part of the program's success is due to students having access to instrumental coaches on a weekly basis. These coaching sessions provide students with the kind of detail-oriented instruction that advances student techniques while supplementing full ensemble rehearsals. Talented and devoted section coaches for the program include Jackson Snead (Violin), Trinity Her (Violin), Melissa McGlumphy (Viola), Sophia Hurst (Viola) Emma Hill (Cello), and Jana White (String Bass).