Paul Shaghoian, director of jazz studies who led bands at Clovis Unified's Buchanan Education Center to national recognition, died Friday [April 16] of a heart attack. He was 45.
During his 25-year career in performance and music education, not only did Mr. Shaghoian's groups win many awards, but he was honored for his own achievements.
His accolades include being named the California Music Educators Association Jazz Educator of the Year for 2003 and earning Down Beat magazine's Achievement Award for Jazz Education in 1999.
His diverse career included playing the trumpet; teaching at schools outside Clovis Unified School District and in the music department at California State University, Fresno; and contracting orchestras for celebrities such as Bob Hope, Mel Tormé, Burt Bacharach and The Temptations.
Clovis Unified Superintendent Terry Bradley said Mr. Shaghoian was a good friend and an outstanding music instructor "with an unbelievable work ethic." He said Mr. Shaghoian's leadership led jazz bands at Buchanan High and Alta Sierra Intermediate to win national attention. Both schools won Outstanding Big Band awards from Down Beat each year from 1996 to 2002.
Another example: Buchanan High's Jazz Ensemble "A" earned an invitation, after a rigorous application process, to perform in January at the International Association of Jazz Educators conference in New York City.
"Thousands of students have benefited from his tireless efforts to help all of his students reach their full potential," Bradley said Monday of Mr. Shaghoian. "He will certainly be missed by his immediate family and his extended Clovis Unified family."
Born in Kingsburg, Mr. Shaghoian earned his bachelor's degree in music education and master's degree in music performance-conducting from Fresno State.
He was former lead and jazz trumpet for the North Texas State One O'Clock Band and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He also was a Yamaha Performing Artist.
He taught at several local schools, most notably San Joaquin Memorial High School, before joining Clovis Unified in 1991. Since 1998, he also taught trumpet and jazz band at Fresno State.
Mr. Shaghoian's survivors include his wife, Laura Shaghoian; his sons, Gregory Paul Shaghoian and Timothy Dane Shaghoian; his mother, Rose Shaghoian; and his sisters, Sharon Shaghoian, Susan Burley and Vicki Shaghoian.
©Fresno Bee
It is hoped that this website will serve as a communal gathering place to allow his colleagues, educators, students, friends and family to share their remembrances, stories, experiences and tributes to Paul's legacy. Immediate plans are to update this site with pictures and audio samples spanning his celebrated musical career. Please contact the webmaster if you are able to share audio or visual media.
Comments and suggestions are welcomed.
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