Art Student of the Week: Kaitlyn Duncan

Discipline is a trait Kaitlyn Duncan developed at an early age. Duncan, the Niwot High School Arts Student of the Week, is a section leader in the Niwot Band flute section.

Growing up, she tried to take advantage of as many opportunities as she could to better herself, not only playing the flute, but also becoming a leader in general. As a result she practiced hard, taking flute lessons and working on her management skills.

She has developed those skills as part of another of her interests, martial arts. "I've done martial arts since I was six," Duncan said, "So that is a big part of my personality." She has competed in two national karate tournaments, performing in the Battle of Atlanta, a national tournament where Duncan worked individually and with a team.

"The first year we got a bronze medal and then the last year we did it, we got a sixth-place medal for teams, which was really fun," she said. "We were very happy with that outcome. It was very fun and very eye-opening just to see how many people have the same interests as you, and just getting to see all the different styles of martial arts."

Asked if her martial arts experience has had any influence on her flute playing, Duncan quickly agreed. "Mainly because with the martial arts it was a whole lot of 'You need to practice, you need to go, you need to make sure that you know it so well that you can do it in your sleep,' and a lot of that transferred over to playing the flute. It transferred over into not only my leadership, because I've also led martial arts groups, but also to just how I practice and how I make sure that I'm ready for everything."

"Kaitlyn has been a member of the Niwot Band program since her freshman year," said Wade Hendricks, director of bands at Niwot High School. "In that time she has grown immensely in her playing ability. She is one of the section leaders this year for the excellent flute section, of which there are many talented members. Along with the band classes during the school day, Kaitlyn is a leader of Club Heartbeat, a student-led after-school ensemble whose mission is to perform music for residents at extended care centers around the Longmont area."

Duncan started playing the flute at Erie Elementary School in fifth grade, an after-school band, but dropped band during sixth and seventh grades to sing in the choir, because her middle school did not let students take both. She started taking private flute lessons with a friend from her martial arts school who is a music teacher. She played flute in the jazz band in middle school for one year.

"It was very difficult," she said. "Jazz flute is very, very difficult." It was choir that helped Duncan learn how to read music and how to blend her voice with other singers. But in eighth grade Duncan joined band again. "And that got me back to being able to play with other people and understanding everything with the entire band," Duncan said. "Then I joined marching band during high school and became the section leader my junior year."

As the manager for NHS Club Heartbeat, Duncan not only performs but makes sure that the members of the band have all the music they need, and that they have a venue at which to play at the end of the semester. The club is an afterschool program with no class component, and is a smaller group than band, with a limited number of instruments.

The members learn the music as a small group, and then set up performances, primarily at local nursing homes. "Normally what we try to do is have one performance each semester, so that gives us enough time to work on the music and make sure everybody is comfortable with it so that we sound somewhat decent when we go off and play," Duncan said. During the Covid pandemic, however, the group recorded videos of their music, and sent the videos to nursing homes as a way to continue their efforts.

Although the members of Club Heartbeat have not been able to perform live the last few years, they have continued to have fun. One of Duncan's favorite memories last year was making a recording. "There was just one time where we could not set up the camera correctly," Duncan remembered, "and it kept falling. So by the end, we just thought, 'We can do it! We've got to get it done fast.' We had to do it so quickly because the camera would not stand up. But we got it done and then we were able to send out the video and we got some good reviews from it."

Duncan's interest in music is very broad. One of her favorite composers is Shostakovich, "especially his works during the World War II era," she said. The pieces she plays in band are very different from the music she listens to on a daily basis. "Because I mostly play the flute," Duncan said, "I definitely know a lot more classical pieces. It's just a lot of fun to see how music has changed over the years, how it changes from soft smooth music to rock 'n roll with its very hard hitting beats."

Duncan is a senior this year. Her experience, she said, has actually been very positive at NHS. "All of the people in band are so nice, and it's very funny because over the years, especially throughout Covid, you can see the real connection from all of the band kids," said Duncan. "We have all become so much closer because it kind of gave us something to look forward to during Covid: not only being able to actually see other people when we did videos, but also to understand and know that people are in the same boat as you and that people are struggling just as hard, to understand not only the music but just whatever is happening in the world at that time,"

After graduating from NHS, Duncan hopes to study directing and producing film. There is a strong relationship between her interest in music and her passion for film. "I love directing," Duncan said. "I'm in Niwot's film club. I'm looking forward to doing that. And honestly how I got into film surrounded music, because it made me want to make music videos for some of the songs that I know."