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On Thursday, February 23, the Sweetwater Union High School District will honor a San Diego icon. In a dedication ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m., the district's Visual and Performing Arts Department will become the William Virchis Visual and Performing Arts Department.
Along with being a richly deserved tribute, the event is historical: the first time a curriculum and program district department will be named after an individual.
Virchis founded and directed the department, which included the largest mariachi and folklorico program in the nation. Among many other achievements, he brought back the "All District Annual Summer Play Institute."
The department also became Exhibit A for the value of arts in education. A study on the program's impact was the first to show how students who took VAPA courses improved their GPAs and test scores.
Virchis has been an educator for more than 30 years: in the Sweetwater High School District and the Southwestern College Theatre Department. Among numerous awards for teaching, in 2007 he received the California Music Education Association's prestigious "District Administrator of the Year."
His community service and volunteer work earned him the United States Congressional Award for Citizen of the Month, and George W. Bush's Presidential Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
And...
If San Diego Theatre had a Hall of Fame, Bill Virchis would be a first-ballot inductee.
He has directed, acted, and, behind the scenes, nurtured countless productions and people. Some of his work at Southwestern College - the world premiere of Elena, in particular - received national attention. He co-founded of Teatro Mascara Majica, whose bi-lingual La Pastorella is one of San Diego's most feisty, and popular, Christmas shows.
If you could measure influence, if everyone Virchis has touched in his lifetime carried a rose on a given day, San Diego would become a garden.
Linda Castro, award-winning actor who worked with Virchis: He's "sort of a Shaman, with an amazing energy to get stuff DONE, and get people to do it and LOVE doing it.
'When he directs, he's constantly teaching (but doesn't condescend to the more experienced in the cast); great confidence as a director and producer and yet, will seek guidance when in the actor's seat. The honor's richly deserved. I love him."
Sam Woodhouse, artistic director of the Rep: "It is not really possible that the energy and spirit of one human being can make mountains move and inspire crowds of passionate people to jump off a cliff together - but the energy and spirit Bill brings to everything makes me think it might be possible.
"I know of no one in San Diego who has given as tirelessly and as selflessly to the young people of our city. Bill has impacted the lives of thousands."
The ceremony takes place at the William Virchis Visual and Performing Arts Department, 670 L Street, Chula Vista, with a reception to follow.
On Thursday, February 23, the Sweetwater Union High School District will honor a San Diego icon. In a dedication ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m., the district's Visual and Performing Arts Department will become the William Virchis Visual and Performing Arts Department.
Along with being a richly deserved tribute, the event is historical: the first time a curriculum and program district department will be named after an individual.
Virchis founded and directed the department, which included the largest mariachi and folklorico program in the nation. Among many other achievements, he brought back the "All District Annual Summer Play Institute."
The department also became Exhibit A for the value of arts in education. A study on the program's impact was the first to show how students who took VAPA courses improved their GPAs and test scores.
Virchis has been an educator for more than 30 years: in the Sweetwater High School District and the Southwestern College Theatre Department. Among numerous awards for teaching, in 2007 he received the California Music Education Association's prestigious "District Administrator of the Year."
His community service and volunteer work earned him the United States Congressional Award for Citizen of the Month, and George W. Bush's Presidential Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service.
And...
If San Diego Theatre had a Hall of Fame, Bill Virchis would be a first-ballot inductee.
He has directed, acted, and, behind the scenes, nurtured countless productions and people. Some of his work at Southwestern College - the world premiere of Elena, in particular - received national attention. He co-founded of Teatro Mascara Majica, whose bi-lingual La Pastorella is one of San Diego's most feisty, and popular, Christmas shows.
If you could measure influence, if everyone Virchis has touched in his lifetime carried a rose on a given day, San Diego would become a garden.
Linda Castro, award-winning actor who worked with Virchis: He's "sort of a Shaman, with an amazing energy to get stuff DONE, and get people to do it and LOVE doing it.
'When he directs, he's constantly teaching (but doesn't condescend to the more experienced in the cast); great confidence as a director and producer and yet, will seek guidance when in the actor's seat. The honor's richly deserved. I love him."
Sam Woodhouse, artistic director of the Rep: "It is not really possible that the energy and spirit of one human being can make mountains move and inspire crowds of passionate people to jump off a cliff together - but the energy and spirit Bill brings to everything makes me think it might be possible.
"I know of no one in San Diego who has given as tirelessly and as selflessly to the young people of our city. Bill has impacted the lives of thousands."
The ceremony takes place at the William Virchis Visual and Performing Arts Department, 670 L Street, Chula Vista, with a reception to follow.