Left Hand Valley Courier - All Local, All The Time

Niwot High School senior Hayden Baldwin performs in the NHS Marching Band and two of the high school choirs: Tenor/Bass Choir and Evenstar. “Out of the two,” Baldwin said, “by far my favorite...

This week's Arts Student of the Week, Natalie Fitches, is a percussionist who started out playing mallets and auxiliary instruments in her middle school band. Fitches joined the band in seventh...

According to Kalah Jackson, the Arts Student of the Week, when she got her first jewelry commission it opened a new world of possibilities for her future. Jackson saw creating jewelry as a potential...

Ash Kissinger, a sophomore at Niwot High School, got involved in theater almost by accident. "I never really intended on getting into it seriously, it just kind of happened," Kissinger said. Now, he...

According to Lily Sykes, Arts Student of the Week, "Music is a beautiful mix between emotion and mathematics." Sykes believes that is what draws her to it. "Music theory is fundamentally based in...

One of the first jewelry pieces Edward Amsbaugh had accepted in an art exhibit was the first piece he ever created. "It was a deer head," Amsbaugh said, "that I cut from a 2 x 2 piece of metal. By han...

Niwot High School trumpet player Paola Ramirez has found inspiration for her music in many places. She is a big fan of Colorado musician Greg Gisbert. "I love seeing him play," Ramirez said. "He...

Autumn Rutherford has been taking ceramics courses since her freshman year at Niwot High School. Now enrolled in Advanced Ceramics, she first started learning ceramics in middle school and thoroughly...

Before Joshua Ibarra-Trujillo became a musician, he was not a big music fan. "I just listened to it and didn't think much of it," Ibarra-Trujillo confessed. But in December 2019 the romantic comedy...

When spotlights illuminate a theater set on opening night, the audience is usually unaware of the work that has gone into making sure that the world they see on stage provides a safe environment for...

Even though she is only a freshman, Arts Student of the Week Prugh Dunfee has already chalked up an impressive list of accomplishments in her first year at Niwot High School. She is a member of the...

Jasper Allison has been listening to music and playing drums his entire life. "Music has always been a necessity for me," Allison said. "I don't think of it as an interest, but rather a part of my...

A few weeks before opening night, students from Erie Middle School came to see a special performance of Niwot High School's "Beauty and the Beast." "All the kids absolutely loved it!" said NHS...

As a technical theater student at Niwot High School, Claire Plath has had the opportunity to learn about all aspects of theater production. From set design and construction to lighting and sound, she...

When she was five years old, Sarah Depestele loved to watch her father sketch cars. "That's when I started drawing seriously," Depestele said. "And that's because my dad loved drawing cars. He drew a...

Arts Student of the Week Kennah Brackett first became passionate about music in middle school when she started taking music courses and composing. "Music gives me a warm, comforting feeling that...

As a young girl, Anastasia Williams loved the sound of the flute. "I can't remember a time when it wasn't my favorite instrument," Williams said. "When I was in third grade, I started taking flute...

"Twins," The philosopher Hippocrates once conjectured, "are like one another for the following reasons. First, the places are alike in which they grow; then they were secreted together; then they...

Mimi Archibold, this week's Arts Student of the Week, was motivated to become an actress by watching her sisters, and she had many to choose from. Archibold has eight older siblings. "When I was...

Although she has experimented with many artistic mediums, including painting, drawing with graphite and pen and ink, ceramics, and multimedia sculptures, Niwot High School senior Hannah Geiling most...

"Ever since I was in elementary school," Najla Onofre Valles admits, "I've been wanting to use a guitar and learn how to play it. I just thought it would be something really fun to do." Valles, who...

Greta Stauch has a passion for choral music. The Niwot High School sophomore describes the music as "a group of people attempting to blend their voices into one sound with as much beauty as...

"There is a kind of closeness in the theater," the musical composer John Kander once said. "The rehearsal pianist, the head carpenter, the stage manager, the star of the show-all are family." Niwot...

During the first week of December, the Niwot High School Jazz Band played in an unusual venue. Instead of performing in the school auditorium, where such performances have been held in the past, the...

Arts Student of the Week Mya Wells has fond memories of the music that surrounded her during her childhood in California. "My mom was born in Mexico. In the morning she'd sing mariachi songs while...

Although ReyLynn Killinger specializes in beautifully drafted, intricate graphite portraits, the Niwot High School senior gets especially excited when she talks about her work as a make-up artist. "I...

For someone who has always been interested in theater, Paige Ioerger knew at an early age that acting was not her calling. "I did a little of it when I was young," Ioerger said, "but I've stepped...

If there is one art form Niwot High School senior Mark Crochiere would encourage people to try, it would be ceramics. "Just try out ceramics," Crochiere says. "It's not for everyone, but you can't...

Shefali Joshi has an earnest curiosity about the world which lights up her face when she talks about her studies and her plans for the future. This curiosity led the Niwot High School sophomore to tak...

In seventh grade, Sophie Arnett-Simon traveled with her family to New York City for spring break. While they were there, they saw "Wicked" on Broadway. The moment the show started, Arnett-Simon knew t...

Discipline is a trait Kaitlyn Duncan developed at an early age. Duncan, the Niwot High School Arts Student of the Week, is a section leader in the Niwot Band flute section. Growing up, she tried to...

Keynes Chen, the Niwot High School Orchestra Director and the Assistant Director of Band, said his student, John Hu, "has shown dedication and strong leadership ever since he was a freshman at NHS."...

When you listen to Paige Hahn talk about her daily schedule, it is easy to get the impression that this dynamic Niwot High School junior never sleeps. Her coursework in the high school International...

"Every child is an artist," Pablo Picasso once said. "The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." In her four years in the art program at Niwot High School, Ruby Walker has matured as an...

Niwot High School student Hannah Rudolph has an energetic optimism that drives her to succeed. She is an artist, a singer, and a cheerleader. She plays guitar and she played flute for three years in...

Niwot High School senior Jessi Lehman clearly remembers her experience as a trumpet player in middle school. "There were definitely a lot more boys in the trumpet section," Lehman said, "Pesky middle...

Jude Dow-Hygelund graduated from Niwot High School this spring and has been accepted to CU Boulder to study piano performance. Wade Hendricks, Jude's teacher at the high school, spoke highly of his...

When Eli Rose was in sixth grade, they remember watching their best friend learn to draw. "I thought it was so cool to be able to make something like that," Eli Rose said. "That's when I really...

Mary Ellen Coates, a Niwot High School Senior, is inspired by music. Asked about how she got her start in choir, Coates said she began in elementary school. While she was a member of the NHS Marching...