How Does Niwot Work – Niwot Community Band

"I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy.....Born on the 4th of July" The line from "Yankee Doodle Dandy" fits the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, which first performed on July 4, 2005, as part of the bandstand dedication ceremony in Whistle Stop Park.

"The Niwot Business Association built a bandstand in the park reminiscent of the bandstand that stood for many years on the corner of 2nd Avenue and Murray Street," Biff Warren, one of the founding band members said. "We had everything ready for the dedication, except a band. So we put an ad in the Courier, recruited a few musicians from Niwot High School, and got their band director, Heather Meier, to conduct. We had about 14 people, and we played about five songs that day.

The music came from Wally Moffett of Heatherwood, a member of the Shrine Band in Denver, who played tuba in the Niwot band and got the Shrine Band to loan the band some music. One of those tunes was, ironically, Yankee Doodle Boy.

The Niwot Historical Society has photos of the all-male Niwot Military Band, which performed regularly at the Niwot bandstand in the early 1900s. The Niwot Community Band, as it was originally known, had about the same number of musicians, but about half of them were women.

"We had such a good time that we decided to see if we had enough people to play for other events in town, like Niwot Nostalgia Day," Warren said. "It's just grown from there. We have almost 40 people who play with us from time to time."

The all-volunteer band is sponsored by the Niwot Cultural Arts Association and Left Hand Grange No. 9. The band's name has evolved over time. The band performed in parades in Niwot, but most members weren't up to marching, and the band borrowed a flatbed trailer. Soon there were more musicians than would fit on the trailer, so some had to "semi-march." Thus the term was added to the band's name, which was also a play on Boulder County's Comprehensive Plan description of Niwot, which it describes as "semi-rural."

The band rehearses and performs from time to time at the Left Hand Grange. At one of those rehearsals, it was suggested that the band's name include "Free Grange" as a play on the popular term "free range," and the name stuck, since the band played for free at the Grange. As one member noted, "No musicians were harmed in the making of this music."

The band's name eventually drew the attention of the national Grange organization, which objected to the use of the term "Grange" in the name until a formal sponsorship agreement with Left Hand Grange was signed.

Although Meier directed the band's first performance, Lee Shaw of Niwot quickly assumed the director's duties when Meier left Niwot High. Shaw was part of the original band, serving as equipment manager. His background was in drums, and theater organ music, but he quickly became adept at becoming the band's "semi-conductor."

Shaw retired as director last year, but remains the band's director emeritus, filling in from time to time as needed. Tenor saxophone player Rick Clark of Heatherwood filled in as interim director, but returned to his instrument when current director Debbie Benson of Erie volunteered to conduct the band. Her background is in orchestra, but she has made the transition easily after being recruited by her sister, trombonist Diane Beeman of Berthoud.

Not all members are from Niwot, but almost all have a connection to the area. Dr. Jenn Hronkin, who plays clarinet, lived in Gunbarrel when she joined the band, but has since moved to Denver. She continues to perform with the band whenever she can make the trek, which is quite often.

Doug Miller (trumpet) of Niwot is the band's librarian, and the band's repertoire is now over 200 songs, ranging from rock & roll to R&B, jazz to polka, and Beethoven to Sousa. Mike Pierce of Creekside plays trumpet with the band when he is not performing with his seven-piece rock band, All About the Brass.

Several musicians have a professional background, including Adam Kuyt of Longmont on baritone sax, Bob Stadtherr of Niwot on alto sax, and Paul Schafer on trumpet. Schafer and Chris Doyle (tuba), both of Niwot, can often be heard around town playing bagpipes, while Kirk Stewart (baritone) of Niwot also plays fife with a fife and drum corps.

Others have a musical background, including alto saxophonist Brenda Luksch of Gunbarrel, a music therapist who also fills in as conductor at times. Sandy Burrell (flute) of Niwot teaches music lessons, and Katie Warren (baritone/trumpet) of Berthoud has a degree in music therapy. Eric Blough (trumpet) also has performed with the Boulder Symphony Orchestra, while Jannette Rogers (bass clarinet) also performs with the Loveland Concert Band.

Karen Looney of Gunbarrel is accomplished at both clarinet and flute, filling in wherever the band needs her, while Janet McDaniel of Heatherwood often takes the lead on clarinet parts. Fred Denny of Niwot has been a fixture on trombone for the band over the years.

Kim Kalinski (flute) of Niwot was recruited by her son, Quinn Kalinski, who played tuba with the band when he was at Niwot High School. Quinn Kalinski has since gone on to college at CU, earned a degree in music education, and now directs the high school band program at Green River, Wyoming.

Drummer Joe Kunches of Niwot played in a rock band in high school, and Biff Warren (trombone) of Niwot and Mike Weiss (tuba) of Gunbarrel played in On Fire, a classic rock band for several years after playing in rock bands in high school. Weiss was originally recruited by Moffett, whom he worked with at Ball Aerospace. Weiss then recruited his wife, Gayle Weiss, the band's original photographer, to play clarinet.

Maya Tsuchiya (alto sax) has her own musical instrument rental and repair business, M's Music & Repair, in Longmont. Julie Daves (tenor sax) of Niwot and Margaret Nokes (flute/piccolo) of Berthoud have joined the band in recent years. Heather Rutherford (clarinet) and Elizabeth O'Neill of Niwot joined the band after hearing their neighbors, Warren, Burrell and Kunches, rehearsing with the band in Warren's garage. Belinda Strickland (flute) of Creekside was recruited after her husband, Rev. Skip Strickland, became the interim pastor at Niwot United Methodist Church.

The band now has its own trailer for parades, which is made available to other non-profit groups in the community. Uniforms purchased off eBay (no two are the same) give the band a "Sgt. Pepper" look during some performances.

While most of the band's performances are at local events, including the July 4th Pancake Breakfast, Rock & Rails, Why Not Niwot? Juried Art Show, National Night Out, Great Pumpkin Parade, Enchanted Evening, and the Holiday Parade, the band has also performed at Habitat for Humanity events in Dacono and the Denver Christkindl Market. In 2018 the band played the National Anthem at a Colorado Rockies game, and performs once each year as a pep band for the Niwot High girls and boys basketball teams.

New members are always welcome, with many members joining after many years away from their instruments. For more information, contact Biff Warren at [email protected].