Spring Valley Academy Music Department Sings to a New Tune

The 2024–25 school year is in full swing at Spring Valley Academy (SVA), and so is the busy Music Department concert and tour schedule. With another record enrollment year of 564 students, grades K–12, the music groups and classes are bigger than ever.

Band Director Donald Huff is entering his 25th year teaching band at SVA. He arrived in the fall of 1995, but left in 2006 to teach at Loma Linda Academy, only to return to SVA in 2011. This year is the first time he has had to divide his high school band into Junior Varsity and Varsity bands. With 84 students within the two groups, respectively, the split was necessary. The groups will play together during their upcoming Florida music tour that will include Disney World performances, as well as sep- arate performances throughout the rest of the year.

“I’m excited to have the two high school bands this year,” says Huff. “I love that, after all these years, there are still new experiences to be had.”

Another new experience these last couple of years is teaching the kids of former band members. “My goal is to develop a love of music in my students that makes them want to get their own kids involved in music someday,” Huff says. “So, the fact that those alumni trust me to teach their own kids is a powerful, full circle moment in teaching.”

Huff is also working with a new colleague this year. Cyril Punay (left) is the new choir director, having just completed his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Andrews University (Mich.). Originally from the Philippines, Punay also comes to SVA with a recent significant accomplishment under his belt: winning the Grand Prix of the Singapore International Choral Festival 2024 with his choir Sola Gratia Chorale this past summer. More than 70 choral groups representing Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and China participated in the competition.

Now that he is at SVA, Punay is looking forward to connecting with his students and co-workers, “not just in the classroom and workplace but also in the churches and our community,” he says. He will take on music education for elementary students as well as the junior high and high school choirs.

Regardless of the grade level or group, music remains an important and special part of SVA. “We’re so blessed with eager and talented students who have really embraced music while at SVA,” says Principal Spencer Hannah. “Our Music Department has done a fantastic job of nurturing those talents and inspiring our students to use them to praise God. I am excited to see what the rest of this school year holds for these students and teachers.”