Opportunity is the single unifying principle that Al Rodriguez has built his orchestra program around at Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, Virginia, and at the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra. “My programs serve culturally diverse, socioeconomically varied and highly transient communities, including military-connected and immigrant students,” explains the Orchestra Director and Music Technology Teacher. Oftentimes, his students do not have access to private lessons or personal instruments. “Rather than viewing these realities as limitations, my work is grounded in the belief that talent, curiosity and musical potential are not tied to financial or cultural privilege.”

Every rehearsal, performance and ambitious project is intentionally designed to expand access and remove barriers, allowing students to see themselves as musicians capable of achieving at the highest levels. “The goal is not to bridge gaps, but rather to create learning environments where opportunity is expected, excellence is normalized, and student identity and experiences are treated as assets, not obstacles,” Rodriguez explains.

When he arrived at Mount Vernon eight years ago, the orchestra program consisted of two ensembles with 40 students. Today, there are three ensembles and almost 100 students. To foster recruitment and retention, Rodriguez spearheads the Mount Vernon Area Orchestra, an elementary ensemble for 5th and 6th graders in the district. During the eight-week event, rising elementary and middle school musicians come to the high school to meet each other, learn fun new music, and work with the middle school and high school directors. “My high school orchestra students act as mentors and buddies for our younger students, which builds a sense of community, as many of those high school students participated in area orchestra when they were younger. This creates a feeling of continuity and welcoming in our pyramid: Orchestra becomes a place that is fun, enjoyable and waiting for you when you get to high school,” Rodriguez says proudly.

Outside of Mount Vernon, Rodriguez directs the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra for students in grades 9 through 12, which is part of the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association. Last year, he brought the youth orchestra and the philharmonic ensemble together for a “side-by-side” concert. This event provides students “an incredibly unique opportunity to play some of the greatest pieces of classical music next to adults, many of whom are not professional musicians, but community members who value keeping music in their lives at a high level,” he says.

Rodriguez also started the Grand Staff Orchestra (GSO) during the 2023-2024 school year, which was an opportunity for any Mount Vernon staff member to learn how to play a string instrument. His orchestra students acted as teaching assistants, running sectionals and helping staff members with note reading and technique. “We had an incredible ensemble of  teachers ranging in age from 24 to 60 and performed wonderful beginning orchestra pieces like ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Lightly Row’ at our concerts,” Rodriguez said with a smile. “The energy spread around the school like wildfire, and we saw increased attendance at concerts. We plan to run the GSO every few years to provide my students the chance to explore music education teaching opportunities.”  

As all music educators know, fundraising is an important aspect of their jobs. Rodriguez started the Music Marathon, which was based on an event he participated in when he was in high school. “We ask parents, other teachers, neighbors and local business owners to ‘sponsor’ an orchestra student to show that they support the incredible things they do being part of the arts,” he explains.

Different sponsorship levels come with different gifts. The highest is the “Golden Baton” level, which grants the donor the opportunity to guest conduct the orchestra. “Guest conductors choose from a variety of recognizable short themes, get the world’s shortest conducting lesson and then jump right into the action and makes their conducting dream come true,” Rodriguez says. “We’ve been honored to have our superintendent, school board members, principals and other community business leaders join us on the podium!”