MARCHING BAND SPECIAL SECTION
PRIDE
MARCHING BAND STUDENTS WORK TOWARD PERFECTION ON THE FIELD
Stories by Nathan Meacham Portrait photos by Justin Joiner | Action photos by Nate Wick, Nathan Meacham and Justin Joiner
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t’s the constant sound of a metronome, “one more time” turning Colorado Springs, they can still do it,” St. Peter said. “The only difference is that those kids decided that they’re going to do it and they can into 50 more times, sore necks and shoulders, and a big family. do it.” It’s marching band. It’s resulted in more exciting shows and movements, passionate stuA collaboration of students, staff and supporters come together each fall to create a memorable show on the football field, dents and the most success in the program’s history. Teaching basic steps and styles is supported by strong student leadbut it’s far from a three-month season. ers, and each year comes with new challenges while the students learn Even as the Montrose Marching Band prepares to compete at new styles or techniques. the Colorado Bandmasters AssociaSt. Peter is traveling to Indianapotion State Competition on Saturday, lis for the national marching band ideas and discussion have already finals to watch different shows and started for the 2015 show. start planning for next season. The marching band scene has Students get the music first, memoexploded in Montrose during the last rizing the different movements, and four years. The band has grown to then start working on the drill in 115 members, nearly 10 percent of the practices ranging from an hour after high school population. school to eight-hour marathons. “It’s a family,” senior drum major Judges factor in every part of Alli Engel said. “That’s what keeps us the show for a complete score, so together and that’s why I think everyMontrose introduces more elements body has been noticing us, because throughout the season. we’re so close.” “It comes out very entertaining for It starts with a man the band calls the judges and the audience as well,” “SP.” St. Peter said. MHS Band Director Josiah St. Peter The Olathe Marching Band found took over the program five years ago itself in a transition season this year, and started changing the culture of with the drill playing a major role in the band. the band’s growth. His first band boosters meeting A change in directors late in the included just his wife and three summer resulted in two less days parents, now a flock of red shirts for band camp, and a loss of memsupporting the Montrose Marching NATHAN MEACHAM/DAILY PRESS bers made the big show even more Band follows the kids wherever they Sophomore Karson Jones gets set for a performance during troublesome for a small band. perform. halftime of an Olathe football game Sept. 19. “It’s still too big for us, which has Expanding the group even included been a struggle this season,” new some education for the parents. A loud crowd contributes to a better score, so each performance is accom- director Lisa Boyko said. All the students fought through the cold mornings and long hours panied by cheers, signs and applause from the Montrose contingency. under the sun to improve every day. Olathe and Montrose may be at “Our parent group is fantastic,” St. Peter said. “They are known all different stages in their programs, but they share similar struggles and over the state for being rowdy and making a lot of noise for the kids.” strengths throughout the marching band season. With St. Peter also came a new set of expectations from his staff. “It never ends,” St. Peter said. “Kids are kids. Just because they grow up in Montrose vs. L.A. or
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MONTROSE
MONTROSE
SAMANTHA RICE Bass clarinet, Senior
“It means perseverance. Through all of band camp, practices, hurt knees and injuries, it just means keep going and trying your hardest no matter what.”
LAURYN HUSKA Trumpet, Junior
“It’s showed me what I want to excel at in life. It’s taught me how to be a leader and how to have patience.”
SAMANTHA STONE HANNAHLYNN TALLO
Baritone, Senior
“It’s taught me that if you have an ambitious goal and you work towards it, no matter how hard it is, if you work for it, it will come true.”
Color guard captain, Senior
“It means that every performer is only a beginner who has fallen in love.”
ROBYN STEVENSON Pit, Senior
“It’s taught me a lot about leadership, especially being a section leader, and how to think on my feet and know what to do in tough situations. That’s really helped me.”
MARIAH HILTON Flute, Junior
“Marching band has been my family. They really taught me how to break out of my shell. I’ve learned how to step up and be more outgoing.”
MEGAN RUIZ Alto saxophone, Senior
“I’ve learned not to work against the other guy but to work against yourself and always try to be better every day.”
ALLI ENGEL Drum major, Senior
“It’s helped me grow as a leader, as a student and as a person in general.”
Nate Wick/Daily Press
A trio of Montrose flute players, from left, junior Marina Brown, sophomore Kara Phillips, and junior Mariah Hilton, perform during halftime of the Homecoming football game Oct. 10.
Increased expectations The Pride of Montrose continues to reach new heights
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to stop improving. There are many YOU HAVE “There is no point in reasons the Montrose settling,” Engel said. Marching Band climbed TO PUSH, “We want to keep raisinto the upper echelon of YOU HAVE ing the bar and raising 4A bands across the state expectations.” in the last two years. TO GIVE 100 The band has 16 secThe easiest one to find PERCENT AND IF tion leaders including lines up on the field. two drum majors, A belief and confiYOU DON’T DO THAT the Engel and junior Eldence shared among larie Anderson. Those the students has helped YOU’RE THE ONE student leaders help the Pride of Montrose THAT’S STICKING St. Peter manage the become the best band on 115 member band, with the Western Slope and OUT.” drum majors commuone of the top-10 bands in ALLI ENGEL, nicating with section the state. and those lead“It’s year after year conSR. DRUM MAJOR leaders ers working with their vincing them, ‘you can do respective sections. better, you can do better,’ And don’t expect the momentum to and that’s why we’ve progressed the stop anytime soon. way we’ve progressed,” MHS Band “I always try to improve. I always Director Josiah St. Peter said. want to be better tomorrow than I am The band placed second at the today,” Anderson said. “That’s kind Colorado Bandmasters Association of what’s the driving force of the Western Slope Regionals in 2012 bemarching band.” fore placing 15th at state that season. The 2014 show “Inferno,” a compoThey returned the following year sition by Robert W. Smith, is full of to win the Western Slope Regionals excitement mixed with some creepy and place 8th overall in the finals of sights and sounds. the 4A state competition. It was the The show is never complete, and first time Montrose qualified for the the band continues to add new elefinals and the highest finish in the ments and visuals leading up to the program’s history. state competition on Saturday. They are set up for an even better “We teach our kids to always try finish this season after winning the to improve,” St. Peter said. “There Western Slope Regionals again and is never really a final product. There earning a top-6 spot at state. is an end date but the final product Senior drum major Alli Engel, doesn’t ever get there because our who started out playing the flute as goal is perfection.” a freshman, said the mentality is The band has an open-door policy completely different than what it was for students to join. The success and four years ago. excitement among the students is a Band members that worked hard good recruitment tool to make the used to stick out during performancband one of the largest activities on es. Now it’s the opposite. campus. “That’s the expectation that we give St. Peter would always like the them,” Engel said. “You have to push, band to grow, but he is amazed you have to give 100 percent and if by work and effort exerted by the you don’t do that you’re the one that’s students at each practice and perforsticking out.” mance. St. Peter brought those expecta“We ask them to do any little thing, tions with him when he took over the ‘we want you to roll on the ground, program five years ago. reach up to the sky and wave your He said it’s taken time for the arms around,’ and they’ll do it,” he students to start believing in themsaid. “It’s just fantastic.” selves, but now the program has built For the band, they look right back a strong student leadership core and at the man they call “SP.” the motivation comes from within. “He’s the one that’s raised the bar “It’s really exciting for them to take and he’s the one that’s made us who ownership,” St. Peter said. we are today,” Engel said. For the band, it doesn’t make sense
Nate Wick/Daily Press
Junior Lauryn Huska, left, and the Montrose Marching Band get rowdy in support of their football team during the Montrose Homecoming game Oct. 10.
Nate Wick/Daily Press
Montrose senior band member Megan Ruiz adjusts her hat in the stands during the homecoming football game Oct. 10.
Nate Wick/Daily Press
Senior Robyn Stevenson performs with the rest of her band members after being crowned Homecoming Queen at the Montrose Homecoming game Oct. 10.
MONTROSE
STEVEN BARELA Baritone, Senior
“Without marching band, I would probably not be in school right now. It really helped me in my life.”
ELLARIE ANDERSON Drum major, Junior
“Marching band taught me what it takes to be successful. It takes ambition, hard work and dedication.”
DUNCAN COMPTON MEGAN LAHM Clarinet, Senior
“It gives me the ability to be part of something bigger than myself.”
Tenor saxophone, Senior
“Marching band means I’ll always have a family, no matter where I go and no matter what’s going on, I’ll always have people there for me. They will always be there by my side.”
TAYLOR WILL Mellophone, Junior
“It’s made me realize that I have a very large group of friends that won’t judge me.”
BENNETT RUSSELL Sousaphone, Junior
“I moved from Denver and I probably would have lost all my music, but I got into the marching band and it gave it back.”
JOE AREBALOS ERIN WARNER Second color guard captain, Senior
“It teaches you an appreciation for getting everyone to work together toward the same goal.”
Snare drum/drumline captain, Senior
“Marching band has giving me every friend I’ve ever had in high school. It makes up a lot of my high school memories that I can remember for a long time.”
Olathe
Kitara Smolinski Trumpet, sophomore
“Marching band is important to me because it not only lets me learn new things and it’s one of the hardest things to accomplish because you have to use both sides of your brain, but also because this is one of the only places band people fit in. It’s the biggest clique in school.”
Kim Hardman Drums - Quads, senior
“It’s given me something to focus on and it’s like a big family for me. You don’t have to worry about trying to find somewhere to fit in, you have your band.”
Riley Barela Clarinet, junior
“Marching band means late nights on the field, working when it’s freezing cold outside, fingers numb... It’s being a family and arguing like a family, working through our differences so that we can make something that’s pretty astonishing for what little we have.”
Angel Pollard Color guard co-captain, junior
“It gives me a place where I feel wanted. Marching band has given me something that I love and it’s also given me something to do in the future.”
Yulisa Uribe Color guard co-captain, senior
“It’s somewhere we all can relate and something we all love to do. It’s just like a little family, a really dysfunctional family that argues with each other but we love to be around each other. It’s a really neat thing to have at school.”
Jordan Solseth
Saul Reyes Alto Sax, senior
“It’s somewhere I can be with friends, have a good time and practice what we like to do.”
Mellophone, junior
“Since I’ve been able to learn music, my test scores have gone up. I play sports, too, so it’s fun to put the music and athletics together.”
Brook Garrett
Anayansi Gonzalez
Drum Major, Junior
Flute, junior
“It kind of is my life. I’ve always done this and I’m too stubborn to quit. It’s really hard and I like challenging stuff.”
“Marching band is where all your friends come together to do something you enjoy, making music and marching on the field.”
Olathe Marching Band section leaders pose for a portrait on the Olathe football field.
Justin Joiner/Daily Press
Building back up
Olathe focuses on improvements with first director change If there ever was a word to describe the Olathe Marching Band’s 2014 season, it is “transition.” The band director that started the program three years ago, Keith Acuncius, took a position at a Front Range school in the middle of the summer. While the Pirates already had all their music for the upcoming show, the departure left them without a leader just before band camp. That position was quickly filled by Lisa Boyko, and the rebuilding process began. She didn’t have keys to the building in time for the first day of band camp, and the second day was spent encouraging section leaders to take on a bigger role during the season. “They were really receptive to that, which was awesome,” Boyko said. Other challenges came and went in the first few months. The band lost about 11 members from last season, including the drum major, which meant the drill had to be rewritten several times to fit a smaller band. Then junior Brook Garrett stepped up, putting down her sousaphone and stepping up on the podium to lead the band as the drum major. “We’re starting back from the bottom and we have to work our way back up again,” she said. The group continued to push forward. They only learned the first movement of the show “Aqua,” by Gary P. Gilroy, before their first competition Oct. 4. It meant they had to stand and play the final two movements; after watching other bands and later their own film, the desire to improve was reignited. “They didn’t like that,” Boyko said. “I think that really inspired them.” They would finish the final two movements in less than two weeks and improve by four points at the 2014 Western Slope Regional Marching Qualifier held Thursday. “A lot of people didn’t know what they actually looked like,” Garrett said. “Once they saw the other competition, that’s when it hit them that this is real.” There were only a few seniors in the band this season, and both Boyko and Garrett hope they can build off the late-season improvements next year. “There is potential,” Boyko said. “They have the drive and they have the skill, it’s just putting it all together.” It will help to have a full year under Boyko to find the right show for the band. Olathe nearly qualified for the state competition last season, but it’s difficult to maintain the growth with a late transition to a new director in just the fourth year of the program. There is still a foundation of passionate students in the band, and six of nine section leaders will return to the field next year. “It’s just a matter of taking that foundation and pushing it to the next level,” Boyko said.
Nathan Meacham/Daily Press
Junior Yadira Corona plays the chimes during the Olathe Marching Band's performance Thursday at the 2014 Western Slope Regional Marching Qualifier at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction.
Nathan Meacham/Daily Press
Olathe drummers Kim Hardman and Clay Kimberlin perform Thursday at the 2014 Western Slope Regional Marching Qualifier at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction.
Nathan Meacham/Daily Press
Olathe senior Saul Reyes performs during halftime of the Olathe football game Sept. 19.