Music with Mr. Rossi and Mr. Griffin

Meet the Music Teachers ...

Mr. Rossi was born and raised in Salinas. He even attended elementary school in our very own Salinas City School District. This is Mr. Rossi's 34th year of teaching. Besides being a credentialed teacher, Mr. Rossi is also a full-time musician. He plays multiple instruments, performs with multiple music groups, and he'll be the first to say, "I never get tired of playing music!" Mr. Rossi's teaching philosophy is very simple. He believes that every person needs a creative outlet. He encourages his students to express themselves; learn an instrument, write a poem, write a song, sing a song, and keep an open mind. All music is great!

Mr. Griffin was born fittingly in Music City, better known as Nashville, Tennessee. His love for records and FM radio as a youth helped pave the wave for his love of music. His mother, Mrs. Griffin of Monterey Park School, used to have a wide variety of vinyl records and he would listen to everything from The Doors to Cyndi Lauper, The Beatles to Prince, Metallica to Nirvana, and everything in between. Mr. Griffin was actually in the beginning stages of being a classically trained pianist around the age of seven. However, he was also very drawn in by the acoustic and electric guitar. The first songs Mr. Griffin learned on guitar were some early rock and roll and blues numbers as his skills at the time were of the three-chord variety. Mr. Griffin grew up and began performing in various bands, started his own band, and tried learning as many instruments as possible. Previous to joining the Music Department, Mr. Griffin taught 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade at Monterey Park and Kammann schools, both in our Salinas City Schools District. Mr. Griffin loves inspiring students and is very excited about working alongside Mr. Rossi as the new music teacher for our schools!

Let's See What Mr. Rossi and Mr. Griffin Will Be Teaching Between August and May (2018-2019) ...

2017 Spring Schedule.docx

Beginning in August and lasting until the end of May

Mr. Rossi and Mr. Griffin will visit each school in the district during the morning hours; that's 14 schools and over 9000 students!

Each session will begin with the Star Spangled Banner

The lesson continues with a Music History lesson, vocal warm up exercises, review of songs already taught, and finally the introduction of the "Song of the Day" which could be something contemporary or something old, something special on the calendar (such as Sandwich Day), something requested by a student, or something requested by a teacher.

Periodically, the students are treated to Special Guest Day

Mr. Rossi and Mr. Griffin invite a musician friend to come in and tell their story about how they became a musician; hopefully inspiring some of the students along the way. They also share their talents and their musical skills.

During the afternoon hours Mr. Rossi and Mr. Griffin will visit separate schools and conduct enrichment sessions

The sessions may include Choir, Guitar or Ukulele lessons, Recorder lessons, STOMP percussion class, Garage Band, a Project Based Learning Collaboration, etc ...

CONTACT US

Mr. Rossi Kinder Letter.pdf
Mr. Griffin Kinder Letter.pdf

Thanks to Ms. Meyers and her very talented Kindergarten students for the wonderful letters ...

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