Left Hand Laurel Rick Clark and Bob Stadtherr

Rick Clark and Bob Stadtherr are the latest recipients of Left Hand Valley Courier's Left Hand Laurel for their contributions to local music - most notably, as members of the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band.

The Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, formed in 2005, is iconic in the Niwot community. The band plays at local events such as Rock & Rails, the July 4th Breakfast and Parade, Enchanted Evening, the Christmas Holiday Parade, and Niwot High School basketball games, as well as other events throughout the year.

Rick Clark and his wife Kay Stephens moved to Boulder County with IBM from Maryland in 1989. The Heatherwood resident initially met Biff Warren at the Niwot United Methodist Church where they sang in choir together. Warren had helped organize the community band and asked Clark to join. The rest is a rich history of musical performance and camaraderie.

Bob Stadtherr moved to Niwot from California in 2003. He was living in San Luis Obispo with his wife and five children when they decided they needed a bigger place. Niwot offered him not only a house with more space, but a town that "felt right." Stadtherr, who lives in Peppertree, met Warren at a church musical performance in Louisville with Warren on trombone and Stadterr on alto saxophone. As Stadtherr recalls, Warren 'hooked him' on the band and he's been playing with them ever since.

Both Clark and Stadtherr started playing musical instruments around the age of five. Clark started with the saxophone since that was the instrument his parents played. Clark's family moved frequently in support of his father's job with IBM. With each move, his parents would find a band for him to join. Clark continued to play in bands through college where he was part of both the marching and concert bands at Lehigh University.

Stadtherr didn't come from a family of musicians, but he was curious and prescient enough to say "yes" when his parents asked him if he wanted to start taking music lessons while growing up in California's Central Valley. Stadtherr learned how to build and fix things from his father, who, prior to owning a hardware store, serviced jukeboxes and installed the associated sound systems.

Stadtherr's musical interests continued through college where, while he was obtaining his degree in electrical engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he was a member of the school's Dixieland and jazz bands. He also served as both bands' equipment manager.

While both men played the saxophone growing up, including soprano, alto and tenor saxes, they now both enjoy playing other instruments as well. For Clark, that instrument is the mountain dulcimer and for Stadtherr, it's the wind synthesizer. Stadtherr has also passed along his love for music to his children, with his son Aaron (drums) and his daughter Kristen (clarinet) having played with the community band at times.

Stadtherr's service to others in support of his love for music continues to this day with the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band where he's the equipment manager. Small shows may involve just two battery powered amps and a wireless mic and larger shows would include more amps and larger speakers on poles. Either way, Stadtherr brings his own equipment and is prepared and ready to support the band. He also sets up the lighting for the band at the Enchanted Evening performance the day after Thanksgiving.

Stadtherr performs each Sunday at a parish in Arvada. Consistent with his job as Chief Engineer at PS Audio, he enjoyed designing the audio system, and implementing and assembling the console for St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Longmont when the church acquired an organ in 2021.

Clark's service to others in support of his love for music is expressed by teaching dulcimer lessons, including to Warren's daughter Katie Warren, also a member of the community band, and by recording the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band's rehearsals and performances.

Clark originally started recording the rehearsals for himself where he would isolate his part (tenor sax) to practice prior to their performances. Over time, other band members started to ask for their isolated rehearsal recordings so they could practice more effectively as well. He now maintains a website with links to almost every song in the band's repertoire, now numbering over 200, which allows band members to practice at home when they can't make a rehearsal. It also allows groups such as the Niwot High School cheerleaders to learn routines to the band's songs when the band performs as a pep band.

Both men enjoy being in the Niwot band because of the camaraderie, the making of music and enjoyment they get from bringing their unique musical expression to the songs they play.

Next time you listen to the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band, give Clark and Stadtherr and the entire band an extra long round of applause in support of the smiles they bring to our faces, their hard work, and the way their music makes us feel.