House Resolution 115
By: Representative Lupton of the 83rd
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing and commending Juana P. Alzaga; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, Juana P. Alzaga began her distinguished teaching career in 1978, establishing
orchestra programs at Miami Edison Middle School and High School in Miami, Florida; and
WHEREAS, in 1985, she joined Gwinnett County Schools and developed orchestra
programs at Pinckneyville Middle School, Summerour Middle School, and Norcross High
School; and
WHEREAS, she conducted the Gwinnett County Festival Orchestra from 1988 to 1994 and
later served as conductor of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, associate
conductor of the Emory Junior Chamber Orchestra, and a visiting orchestra director at the
Paideia School; and
WHEREAS, Juana P. Alzaga pursued advanced training as a violinist and conductor at the
North Carolina Conductors' Institute and the Juilliard Conductor's Institute, later becoming
a sought-after clinician and adjudicator for many music organizations in metro Atlanta; and
WHEREAS, in April 2021, she founded the Buford Highway Orchestra Project (BHOP) as
a pilot program with 10 students, which has since grown to serve 55 young musicians from
19 DeKalb County schools; and
WHEREAS, the BHOP provides after-school and weekend enrichment opportunities for
disadvantaged students from third to eighth grade who reside in the Buford Highway
Corridor, giving them access to music education and fostering skills, parent involvement, and
community-wide engagement; and
WHEREAS, Juana P. Alzaga has received numerous accolades for her contributions to music
education, including the 2022 Georgia ASTA Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2023
Telemundo Community Hero Award; and
WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this
remarkable and distinguished individual be appropriately recognized.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that
the members of this body recognize and commend Juana P. Alzaga for her decades of
contributions on behalf of the youth of this state and beyond as well as extend the most
sincere best wishes for continued health and happiness.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized
and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Juana
P. Alzaga.