Niwot High Marching Band off to a good start

The Niwot High School Marching Band has been working hard to prepare for the upcoming school year. Members perform at a multitude of events throughout their tenure with the band including the Boulder County Fair Parade, Niwot High School football games, St. Vrain Band Night, and several local parades. These performances would not be possible without the substantial practice time and effort each band member puts into their instrument.

The first practices each year that bring the group together are those at NHS' Band Camp. During the week of Band Camp, each musician has time to learn and perfect the fundamentals and nuances of their instrument as well as find connections with the other members of the band.

Although Band Camp is the foundation upon which the band members learn their music, improve their playing skills, and work out any technical aspects of their performances, the 15 student leaders still manage to work in a bit of fun throughout the week.

While packing in all of the essential information while also making time to teach and review everything in only one short week, drum majors Lily Sykes (senior) and Mark Rokhlenko led the band to success.

Before Band Camp began this summer, Sykes and Rokhlenko organized a Band Leadership Team retreat in order to better prepare each leader for the weeks to come. According to Band Director Wade Hendricks, the retreat paid off. "From the focus and dedication that I witnessed at Band Camp, I can tell this is a special group of students." Hendricks said.

As hard as the students work, Band Camp is never short on fun, including popsicle breaks, ice-breaker activities, and even a visit from Mountain View Fire and Rescue, a new addition to their activities. After a hot day of practice, the Mountain View Fire and Rescue squad cooled everyone off with a friendly dousing of cold water from the fire truck. The tradition of a potluck style barbeque continued at the end of the long week, and was held on the grounds of the Niwot United Methodist Church for the second year in a row..

The band most recently performed at the Boulder County Fair parade alongside other bands in the school district. Altogether there was an ensemble of about 200 or more musicians. There, they learned new music, met like-minded people, and practiced what they had learned at camp.

There are many more performances to come during the 2023-2024 school year including the band's first halftime show of the year on Thursday, Aug. 31 for the first home football game.