Arroyo Seco Junior High School band and choir students played a tribute performance Tuesday to honor their teacher, Rod Bennett, who was killed last week in a hit-and-run traffic collision.
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“Last Thursday was a difficult day for all of us here at Arroyo Seco, with Mr. Bennett’s passing on Wednesday afternoon,” said Arroyo Seco Principal Rhondi Durand. “ A lot of the students were just finding out about it when they got to school on Thursday.”
She said that students decided to do something to honor Bennett soon after they heard about his death.
“It was on Thursday when the beginning band said ‘we need to play,’” she said. “And they got their instruments out and just started spontaneously playing the songs that he had taught them. It was so beautiful and very moving.”
The impromptu performance sparked a larger movement that led to Tuesday, when beginning band, choir and advanced band students took to the stage at lunch to pay tribute.
“The performing groups here at Arroyo Seco wanted to perform in Mr. Bennett’s honor,” said Arroyo Seco Choir Director Rebekah West. “They chose some of his all time favorite songs to play….just to show what they do and what a great teacher Mr. Bennett (was).”
Get live news updates about Santa Clarita by following KHTS on Facebook and KHTS on TwitterWest worked closely with Bennett as the leaders of student musicians on campus.
“He just really genuinely cared about every person, whether it was staff, teachers or students,” she said. “He genuinely cared about their lives and what was going on with them.”
She added that the students have been taking the news the hardest.
“It’s been hard, but they’re each dealing with it in their own way,” West said. “A lot of them are sharing memories”
One of those students is Ryann Beilleur, who plays flute in the Arroyo Seco band.
“Band was probably my favorite subject because it was just so much fun to be in and he was such a great teacher,” she said. “He inspired a lot of people. Some people who didn’t even know him were crying for him because they thought he was really nice.”
The memorial for Bennett will be held on Thursday, June 9 at Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary in Newhall, beginning at 1 p.m. An overflow crowd is expected.
The CBS Cycling Club of Santa Clarita has also organized a Ride of Silence in honor of Bennett on Saturday, June 11.
The ride will depart from Placerita Junior High — not Arroyo Seco– at 8:30 a.m. and ride to Santa Clarita City Hall. There, a moment of silence will be observed. After, there will be two different routes riders can take, with one longer than the other. For more information, contact CBS Cycling directly at 661-259-9600.
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