Sunset Middle School band marches with "Pride of Niwot" in Longmont

The Sunset Middle School seventh and eighth-graders in Advanced Band joined the Niwot High School Marching Band in the Longmont Halloween Parade on Oct. 28.

The event provides middle school students an almost immediate connection and sense of community with their high school colleagues. It also provides a unique opportunity for Sunset students to get a taste of what marching band will be like when they join the high school marching band - a very different experience than concert band.

"My favorite part (of the Halloween parade) is seeing the Niwot High School students work with the Sunset Middle School students," said Madeleine Cort, band director at Sunset Middle School, "[Niwot students] do a great job of showing [middle schoolers] how to march and perform in the parade... It's so fun to see the connections and friendships between the students start early."

Leading up to the parade, members of the Niwot High band and teaching staff went to Sunset to help show middle school students the ropes of moving their feet in time and playing parade music.

This year's selection for the parade was "Ghostbusters." Cort said, "Students always start out unsure about marching band and memorizing music, but they end up really loving the experience." She credits the opportunity to not only work with high school students, some of which are Sunset alumni, but the energy of getting to wear costumes and trying unique marching instruments like sousaphone (tuba) and marching drums.

Cort also expressed gratitude to the teaching staff of the Niwot High School band for giving Sunset a great experience, but also lending their equipment to them. "I'm so grateful to work with such collaborative and wonderful colleagues," she said. Mutual gratitude was expressed by Wade Hendricks, Niwot Director of Bands, and members of the "Pride of Niwot" Cougar Marching Band.

Sunset band students will get another opportunity to experience performing alongside Niwot High School on Thursday, Dec. 7, during Niwot High School's "Evergreen" winter concert, but this time it will be in a concert band setting.