ACG Juvenile Justice is a music education program creating a safe space for incarcerated youth in juvenile detention centers. Safe spaces are created through group guitar classes that provide an environment to foster a sense of personal success and accomplishment while providing an outlet for personal expression. Learn more about our Juvenile Justice programs. 

 

My childhood experiences, family members, friends, and challenging experiences that I have heard from students are what pushed me in the direction of Juvenile Justice. Most of my family members have been in Juvenile Justice or incarcerated in prison and have not had the support that is needed to break the cycle. – Hector Aguilar, Director of ACG Juvenile Justice Services

Education is at the heart of Austin Classical Guitar . We are deeply grateful to connect with the young people in our community and play a part in their journey toward growth. We are in awe of the grounding, connection, and healing that can be created through music, and nowhere in our work is this more important and more precious than in our programs within the Juvenile Justice System. 

This week, we had the opportunity to speak with our Director of Juvenile Justice services, Hector Aguilar. 

Hector is originally from Brownsville, Texas and has been teaching for twelve years. He opened his own private studio after graduating from UT Brownsville. He offered lessons on a variety of instruments to a large client base including students that were part of the housing authority system. During his graduate studies at Texas A&M and UT Rio Grande Valley, Hector focused on how classical guitar could positively impact the community such as how the classical guitar ensemble could be used as a space of empowerment for Latinas from lower socioeconomic communities in Brownsville. He continued to perform and present his research in cities throughout Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Portugal.

Hector became involved with ACG during his undergraduate years. He shared, 

“Every year Dr. Michael Quantz would bring us to the ACG Ensemble Festival where we would take part in the premiere of the winner of the guitar composition competition. It was in these visits that I learned about the Juvenile Justice program and became very interested in the work that ACG does as an organization. During these trips, I would ask Travis Marcum and Jeremy Osborne questions whenever I could. However, it was not until I spent time serving the people from Brownsville, and upon completing the Master of Arts in Performance Studies, that I reached out to Matt Hinsley to further understand what this great organization does overall.”

Hector became part of our Juvenile Justice program in January of this year and we are so grateful to have him as part of our team. Hector shared, 

“My childhood experiences, family members, friends, and challenging experiences that I have heard from students are what pushed me in the direction of Juvenile Justice. Most of my family members have been in Juvenile Justice or incarcerated in prison and have not had the support that is needed to break the cycle. I was going down that path in my youth but a successful audition to a fine arts high school changed my mentality. I have seen firsthand how music can have a positive impact on a person, and I completely embody that common saying ‘music saved my life.’ Wanting to offer someone the opportunity to have a tool that could potentially save their life is what has mainly pushed me in this direction.”

Hector is currently working with the students at Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center, Phoenix House, and WilCo in Williamson County. He shared this beautiful story with us: 

“I have so many stories I’d like to share, but one that stands out the most is from an experience at Gardner Betts. Before being released a student mentioned that she did not know how she could, but that she would figure out a way to get a guitar. Earlier she’d expressed how she wanted to use the tools she obtained at the center to turn her life around. I explained the details to our Education Director and he said that ACG has guitars available for these types of students, so we got one for her. 

The following day I showed up with the guitar and spoke to Kim (the counselor) about how ACG was very proud of her and that we had a guitar for her. Word spread, and the entire staff seemed overwhelmingly happy, to say the least! Kim had me visit her classroom so that I could give her the instrument. Upon walking in I told her “look what we brought,” and she said, ‘Oh damn, another guitar.’ She did not know it was for her yet. I said, ‘Yes it is another guitar, but this one is for you.’ 

She couldn’t believe it at first. She got off her seat and grabbed the case saying ‘No! Really?!’ Everyone had a huge smile, especially her. She said, “Damn sir, this is awesome. My mom can’t even afford this, and I didn’t know how I was going to get one. Now I don’t need to think about it.” I told her that ACG, Mr. Osborne, and myself are very proud of all the hard work and commitment she has done, and that this was a gift for her efforts. She tried playing the guitar but was too excited and kept stopping and getting off her chair to pace. 

Words can’t really describe the experience, you’d have to be there, of course, but perhaps you can get the idea from my story.”

Stories like these push us to continue growing, continue the connections, and continue the healing. We wouldn’t be able to experience these heart-warming moments and share the deep significance of music if it weren’t for the support of you, our community.  

 

Read a story on our Music & Healing program here.
Learn more about supporting ACG here