Arts Student of the Week: Mark Rokhlenko

Arts Student of the Week Mark Rokhlenko, Niwot High School Band's drum major, played the tenor trombone since the fourth grade, thanks to Sean Kemp, the music teacher at Flagstaff Academy but was uncertain if he wanted to continue in high school. He took a band class in his freshman year at NHS to earn his Fine Arts credit and intended to quit band after finishing that class.

Freshman band camp completely changed his mind. "The people were incredibly welcoming, supportive, fun to be around, and I'd say that I improved my playing ability that single week more than any other so far." He is now the band's drum major and plays baritone and bass trombone for the NHS Symphonic Band, Advanced Symphonic Band and Orchestra.

"Mark is a returning drum major of the NHS Marching Band who just helped run a seven-day Band Camp in preparation for the upcoming season," said Director of Bands Wade Hendricks, who selected Rokhlenko as Arts Student of the Week. "For the second year in a row he put together a Band Leadership Academy where all of the members of the Band Leadership Team got together to get trained on how to be band leaders. He has a real passion for the marching arts."

"Many not involved in marching band believe that the drum major is the leader of the drums or plays the drums. This is incorrect. The drum major leads the entire band, and during performances does not march on the field, instead standing on a podium at the front of the band and conducting them to make sure they stay in tempo," explained Rokhlenko.

During his sophomore year at NHS, he taught himself how to play the baritone and last year, he also taught himself how to play the bass trombone, and he has been playing it in Advanced Band ever since.

His interest in music is twofold: the beauty of music, and the people who perform it. "Music," he explained, "has a great ability to communicate emotion. Now, we can tell the members of the band how to articulate a note, how to change the position on their lips to play the note in tune, but we can't tell them how to play with feeling, with emotion. We simply agree on the tone of the music, and some incredible magic happens in their heads to produce that feeling. I love producing genuine emotional reactions out of music."

"I care deeply about producing a good field show to play at football games, but I care more about making the band a positive space where people look forward to being in," Rokhlenko said. "I have met some of my best friends in the music programs at Niwot, and I want that environment to remain."

Many of the people he met in high school have had an impact on his philosophy of leadership. His low brass section leader his freshman year, Mason Lutsch, had an especially positive impact along with Henry Stauch, who played baritone and served as drum major, Alexis Marez, who played trombone and now plays in the CU marching band, and Sreya Karumanchi, the drum major during Rokhlenko's freshman year.

At the end of Rokhlenko's freshman year, Rokhlenko auditioned to be the next year's low brass lead, with the desire to spread the same positivity Lutsch and the other leaders had shown him that year.

Over the course of his sophomore year, Rokhlenko realized that he could have an even greater positive impact on the members of the band from the top leadership position as Niwot's drum major, so Rokhlenko auditioned and landed the position at the end of that school year.

His co-drum major that year, Lily Sykes, shared an ambitious vision for the band. It helped that they were already friends before being drum majors together since they were both in leadership positions on the robotics team. Together, they streamlined activities in band camp, planned and ran the first Band Leadership Academy at NHS, and enjoyed a terrifically successful season.

Rokhlenko has been a part of the Niwot Symphonic Band for one year and part of Niwot's Advanced Symphonic since last year. "I really love the Advanced Band. As drum major I don't play my instrument at all," he explained. "So playing hard music is a really nice change of scenery."

For Rokhlenko, NHS is very much a school that allows students to prioritize what they would like to learn. "If you want a laid-back experience," he said, "you can get that here. If you want an artistic filled life, our music and drama programs are excellent. If you want to be academically challenged, they have plenty of AP and IB classes."

He is currently in the IB Diploma Programme. Last year, he and a friend founded the Music Theory and Composition Club at NHS. The club met once a week for an hour, and together they improved their composition and improvisational skills.

Rokhlenko has a variety of other interests. His extracurricular activities include serving as the Technical Program Manager for the Up-A-Creek Robotics Team 1619 and participating in the Niwot High School Mock Trial Team as team captain. He volunteers at Flagstaff Academy's VEX Robotics Program, where he has been coaching middle school students in robotics for three years. In addition, Rokhlenko enjoys film analysis and production, playing strategy board games, and watching Drum Corps International. He also reads the news, particularly the "New York Times Digital" and enjoys reading fiction.

After graduation, Rokhlenko plans to attend college and major in political science with a concentration in international relations. He would also like to minor or double-major in film studies. He also plans to save money to audition for Drum Corps International after his freshman year of college. He hopes to march competitively in a drum corps as a baritone player.