Steel band

Inspiring the next generation

While Lee enjoys teaching Spanish at Klahowya, it’s the steel band that keeps him going.

“The joy of my whole teaching day is being able to do this,” Lee said. “This makes it more than a job. This is my passion, you know?”

That passion is reflected in many of the kids Lee teaches.

“When I first played [a steel pan], I just kind of liked how it thrived through my body,” said Aden Alter, 12, who played a tenor pan in Lee’s class this year.

Due to ongoing health issues, Lee is unsure whether he’ll be able to keep teaching until his current class of steel pan players graduates. However, “I have hope that this is something I can hold onto and see through,” he said. “It would be devastating to leave, because some of these kids love it so much.”

Jayden Cortez, 13, is one of those kids. He was part of the Unified Arts program last year.

“I found it scary because I had social anxiety last year,” Jayden said.

But by the end of this year, those watching the band might have caught Jayden dancing in a confident circle in between hitting his notes.

“I found that I loved it,” Jayden said.

Olivia Reese Brown, 13, said her favorite part of Lee’s class is the performances.

“All the kids, they just get really happy when they see us playing,” she said. “And it’s just really fun to see everyone.”

For Olivia, there were some early challenges involved in playing steel pans.

“It was nerve-wracking [to have to memorize the music], because I’m not very good at memorizing and stuff,” she said. “But it becomes more easy, because it’s just kind of like the ABCs.”

But Klahowya is grateful, too, said Klahowya principal Scott McDaniel.

“We are very lucky,” McDaniel said.