Music Director Steve Massey has Patiently Built a ‘Culture of Musical Excellence’ in Foxborough

Foxborough Public Schools is best known for its excellent music program thanks in large part to the patience and leadership of Foxborough High School Music Director Steve Massey.

The music culture in Foxborough is a product of three decades worth of patience, support and leadership from Massey, students and the community.

That culture, along with Massey, was featured in the March edition of School Band and Orchestra Magazine. The feature, “Developing a ‘Culture of Musical Excellence’” by Eliahu Sussman, profiles the Foxborough music program through the eyes of Massey in a well-done and detailed Q&A.

Among the highlights, Massey tells SBO Magazine he takes pride in his work as a high school music director and the success of his students for building a strong musical culture in Foxborough.

“I’ve seen this culture evolve here over 30 years and get deeper and deeper in terms of the quality of the student work, the quality of the teaching, the quality of the community support and the quality of administrative and parental support,” Massey told SBO Magazine. “That persistence and that effort has paid itself back to us many times over here.”

Massey believes the role of a high school music director is a “very noble profession” because of the time invested into teaching students how to play music and perform while establishing a relationship with the community.

“In this profession it takes so much time to build programs of excellence in music, to build community support and to develop tradition – which is what you’re really doing,” Massey told SBO Magazine. … “Sometimes young music teachers are waiting for some principal to say, ‘Here’s the program and here’s how it’s going to work.’ But you’re going to have to build what you want and it’s going to take time to do that. And I encourage young teachers to be patient about that because it is a slow process.”

To read more from Massey’s interview with SBO Magazine, click here.

While the sustained success in music has been a feather in the cap for Massey and his FHS musicians, the director told Foxborough Patch that’s never been the goal of the program.

“That’s never really been a goal of the program but it is an outgrowth of a successful curriculum,” Massey said. “If you teach them well then you might just do well at a festival. Rather than teaching them to do well at the festival.”

Above all else, Massey is extremely proud of his students for the dedication and time they’ve given to music over the years.

“We’re proud of the culture that we have here,” Massey told SBO Magazine. “The student leadership, the attitude, the positive spirit, the community service; everything about what we do as student musicians is part of this overall culture."

According to the magazine, 250 out of 840 students at Foxborough High School participate in music classes, which calculates to about 25 percent.

Performing ensembles at Foxborough High School in 2012-13 include:

• Concert band
• Marching band
• Jazz Lab Band
• Wind Ensemble
• Jazz Ensemble
• Percussion Ensemble
• Symphic winds
• Concert choir
• Jazz choir
• A Cappella choir
• Flute choir
• Clarinet choir
• Brass choir
• Chamber singers
• Symphony Orchestra
• String orchestra