Miami Beach Rock Ensemble Celebrates Beloved Teacher Doug Burris

It has been eight years since beloved Miami Beach Senior High School music teacher Doug Burris died. Still, his influence continues to have an enormous impact on the students who take part in the Miami Beach Rock Ensemble. In

1972, Burris, then 29, established the first high school rock ensemble in the United States at Miami Beach Senior High. He'd recently been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The debilitating disease left him in a wheelchair, but according to his students, the chronic illness never drained him of energy, inspiration, or a love of music.

Sammy Gonzalez was one such student influenced and inspired by Burris. "When I was 9 years old, I attended North Beach Elementary Arts and Culture Day, and I was floored by a performance by the Miami Beach Rock Ensemble," Gonzalez tells New Times. "He taught hundreds of students guitar and rock 'n' roll every day. When a musician dropped out two months into the semester, I was recruited to be a part of the band. That's where my Rock Ensemble experience took off."

Burris' dedication left a lasting impression on Gonzalez. "Mr. Burris' superpower was simply in the power of always showing up," he says. "He was a mentor and father to so many of us. He was obsessed with classical guitar and rock music and would spend hours after school teaching us how to read, play as an ensemble, and develop a deep reverence for the art. I can't tell you how many hours I spent with this man rehearsing and performing gigs with him, perfecting our skills and having the best times together."
Inspired by how music can influence young people's lives, Gonzalez created the nonprofit Young Musicians Unite and the Wynwood School of Music. "Toward the end of Mr. Burris' life, I was able to play guitar for him and share my passion for my organization, Young Musicians Unite. He told me how proud he was of me and called me a Renaissance man. This simple phrase and approval meant everything," Gonzalez explains. "When Mr. Burris passed, I was on vacation in Medellín. I was shaken, even though I knew it was coming. He meant the world to me."

A few years later, Gonzalez got a call from Iran Garcia, the director of the Rock Ensemble at the time. "He told me he was leaving for California, and if I didn't take over the program, it was going to fade away," he explains. "I decided to step up, become the director, and bring the Rock Ensemble under Young Musicians Unite. I don't think I fully knew what it was to be an adult until I filled those shoes. It changed something in me."

The current iteration of Miami Beach Rock Ensemble will get to show off its skills during the Doug Burris tribute concert on Friday, February 23, at the Miami Beach Bandshell. (The event was initially scheduled for December, but a storm postponed it until this month.) Also on the bill are performances by Rock Ensemble alumni like Coye, Ben Katzman, and Gonzalez's instrumental prog-rock act Magic Tusk. Katzman will be celebrating the release of his new record, Transcendental Shreditation, while Magic Tusk has new material to show off in the album Beyond the Crescent Moon.

For Gonzalez, the night will be about remembering the man who started the Miami Beach Rock Ensemble while being aware of the impact the performance could have on young minds in the audience. "I had this crazy full-circle moment the other day when I brought the students to perform at North Beach Elementary's Arts and Culture Day and thought to myself, This is the concert that inspired me to pick up an instrument, join this ensemble, and here I am 30 years later leading the next generation of our youth. What a blessing!"

Miami Beach Rock Ensemble: Doug Burris Tribute. 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 23, at Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; miamibeachbandshell.com. Tickets cost $18.03 at dice.fm.