eighth grade at Wawona , adding piano , guitar and percussion classes . Students also participate in band and orchestra events in Fresno and beyond , as well as percussion and drumline events , including the San Joaquin Valley Color Guard and Percussion Review Winter Drumline Circuit during their competition season . Offering percussion , piano and guitar instruction is unusual for a middle school , he said .
Principal Delia Nuño said Clark contributes far more than music knowledge to his students .
“ He teaches essential skills that our students need , not just in music , but thinking skills ,” Nuño said . “ He builds relationships with our students . Students have said about Mr . Clark that he is a person they can trust . The relationships he builds with them are open , honest and supportive and I think that ’ s important , especially for the middle school years , that students have someone like Mr . Clark they can go to .”
Clark grew up in Savannah , Ga ., where he learned to play the piano at age 9 . By age 13 he was good enough to give private music lessons and he also played for his church ’ s Sunday school . He majored in piano performance at Savannah State University and got his teaching credential from Armstrong State University ( now part of Georgia Southern University ).
But instead of pursuing teaching , he toured with Mali Music for seven years , which brought him to Fresno , where the band leader lived . In 2013 , however , he was ready for a change , and he applied for the music job at Wawona .
“ It ’ s been a fun job . We ’ re a small school , but the kids grow tremendously musically ,” Clark said .
He is now tackling a new challenge . In the sixth grade , he decided he wanted to be an orchestra conductor after hearing “ The Force Theme ” during the binary sunset shot of Luke Skywalker in “ Star Wars IV : A New Hope .”
That dream was on hold – until now . Clark , 41 , is in the master ’ s program for orchestral conducting at Fresno State . The master ’ s degree will create new opportunities , he said , including teaching at the college level .
“ But I love the middle school level . I won ’ t stop doing this ,” he said .
“ I love this age group . They ’ re old enough to realize who they are becoming as individuals but still young enough to be shaped and molded .”
Wawona K-8 School music teacher Christopher Clark works with , front row from right , Nathan Johnson , Heaven Vang and Santiago Morales , and back row at right , Nathan Castro and Jovanni Barrios .
Wawona K-School School Christopher Clark works with eighth-grader Amarii Tolliver .
20 FACES : CHRISTOPHER CLARK