Niwot High Orchestra places third in National Championship at Lincoln Center

The Niwot High School Orchestra traveled to New York City on Feb. 27 to participate in the Orchestra Cup at the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, the national school orchestra championship, and came home winners of a third-place trophy.

Each year, only fifteen high school orchestras across the country are invited to compete in the Orchestra Cup, the national championship of orchestra competitions. The orchestra students from NHS were members of one of those few ensembles selected in October to attend. Forty-two students departed on Thursday, Feb. 27 and of them, twenty-seven competed on Saturday, March 1.

Under the direction of Keynes Chen, Orchestra Director at NHS since 2019, Niwot High School is now recognized as the third-best orchestra in the nation.

NHS junior Carmen Marin Valverde was named as the sole "Outstanding Performer" soloist in the nation.

Valverde plays the flute and is an exchange student from Spain who came to NHS in August 2024. "I'm really excited," Valverde said after receiving the honor. "I couldn't have done this without the opportunity to perform as a soloist thanks to Mr. Chen."

Valverde said her achievement is due to the support she has received at NHS. Although she said she was nervous when she first arrived at NHS, she now says, "It is so fun being here at NHS. I don't want to leave."

The hours of rehearsal before the performance at Lincoln Center were grueling. Keynes only found out about the opportunity after the Fall Extravaganza on Oct. 16. There was one vacancy left for the competition, so Chen applied. Niwot High School's orchestra was then invited, which didn't leave much time to rehearse and raise $40,000 for the trip.

The repertoire was selected and the orchestra got to work right after Thanksgiving break with after school rehearsals beginning in January. For eight weeks, students dedicated two hours every Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for their trip to NYC. One challenge Chen faced was coordinating full ensemble rehearsals for the past two months since many of the students had very active schedules.

Their hard work paid off. At the competition, they performed "Symphony No. 5" by Dmitri Shostakovich, "Pizzicato Blues" by Darren Mitchell, "Crisantemi" by Giacomo Puccini, and "Il Terremoto" by Joseph Haydn.

"We are a smaller group compared to some of the others that competed," Chen said, "but we are mighty." He said he felt that if his students came to the competition doing the best they could, worked as a team and performed really well, they could easily place in the top three.

Chen was correct. The NHS Orchestra earned "Second Runner Up" honors for their dedication and musicianship, essentially earning the title of the third best high school orchestra in the nation. "The competition was stiff," Chen said. "We produced so much sound and are no less than any other ensemble."

NHS Orchestra members who competed in the Orchestra Cup included Jed Armstrong, Bode Beaver, Mariana Caraveo, Charlotte Castaneda,Bodhi Churchill, Adam Cirne, Aidan Coble, Abby Gabbard, Bella Gabbard, Justin Ge, Evan Green, Noemi Grooms, Zach Johnson, Carmen Marin Valverde, Micah Marshall, Salvador Montes, James Nichols, Violet Ouwenga, Emily Payne, Owen Raabe, Ori Schreurs, Oliver Sitja Sichel, Ian Springsteen, and Angela Tran.

The competitors had the opportunity to work with professional clinicians, who complemented Niwot musicians for their musical phrasing, dynamics, and articulations that can be difficult to capture with larger groups.

Niwot High School Principal Eric Rauschkolb, who hired Chen in 2019, attended the NYC competition. Rauschkolb said, "Keynes Chen is one of the best hires I have ever made....(Chen) has turned the (Niwot High School) orchestra into a world-class group of dedicated musicians who are so passionate and high-achieving."

Rauschkolb also expressed his immense pride in the students for not only their musicianship, but their ability to work together as more than an ensemble, essentially as a team. "It's a source of tremendous pride for our school, our district (SVVSD), and the community at large," he said. It's unbelievable."

The next opportunity to hear the orchestra perform live will be on March 12 at 6 p.m. in the NHS Auditorium.

"I feel that after all these years of work, we're finally at the point where these kids are playing at the top of their technical level," added Chen. "There was a lot of emotional stress throughout the process for everyone, but I am so proud of these students for what they now realize what they are capable of achieving. It is so rewarding."

Chen said he is also very grateful for all the support from the NHS administration as well as parent volunteers for everything they have done to make this incredible experience possible.