All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
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When Yaretzi Martinez Prieto was younger, she enjoyed the way music sounded. Her father wanted her to play in the orchestra, but she decided to join the school band instead, playing alto sax when she entered Longs Peak Middle School. But Prieto remained interested in orchestra, and later she began to learn guitar, which led her on the path to mariachi. "Since mariachi is part of my culture," Prieto said, "my parents were very supportive of my interest in it, and they helped me get into the...
Niwot High School seniors Noah Wurth and Noah Hadders have been performing together since elementary school. They have performed duets at the Multiple Piano Festival for several years, and both attended the same piano studio. "We also played together in middle school band," Hadders said. And they both learned new instruments together: Hadders on trumpet and Wurth on saxophone. Throughout high school the two friends continued to play and perform together. Both musicians are members of NHS...
Currently enrolled in Drama 2 at Niwot High School, performing arts student Olivia Cesar Cipriani has an interest in both acting and technical theater, and she speaks thoughtfully about the difference between the two worlds. "As an actor," Cipriani said, "you get to become someone else for a performance, and forget about the real world. Theater techs create a whole new world onstage, and the actors become the people in it." According to NHS drama teacher Amanda Foust, who selected Cipriani as...
Although Niwot High School sophomore Lexi Adams does not yet have any firm plans regarding her future school and work, the one thing she knows for sure about what lies ahead is that she would like to dedicate herself to something artistic. Adams readily admits that art has always been present in her life. "I didn't practice it consistently until about six years ago," she said. "I enjoyed having a hobby that was unique in my family and friend group, and it quickly [changed] from a hobby to an asp...
When the curtain comes up on the Niwot High School spring show "Shrek the Musical" in April, senior Fred Zorgdrager will be front and center in the leading role. "It is a really big honor," Zorgdrager said. "I don't plan to do musical theater professionally but if I were to perform on Broadway 'Shrek' would be my dream role. It is super exciting to get the opportunity to do it now." Based on the 2001 DreamWorks Animation film "Shrek," "Shrek the Musical" is a show with music by Jeanine Tesori...
During his junior year, percussionist Owen Powers played his first homecoming game with the Niwot High School Marching Band, performing alongside the Niwot drumline. "There were hundreds of people lining the football field and all up the hill adjacent to it," Powers recalled. "It was surreal. And on top of that, it was pouring rain, so everyone was getting drenched. Nevertheless, that performance might have been my personal best, and will without a doubt be one that I remember and cherish for...
While Niwot High School students were sweeping the house before the preshow for "Beauty and the Beast," they learned that the show had sold out. For Marik Magginetti, a sophomore technical theater student involved in the production, it was one of his most memorable moments. "I remember actors running up the aisles and backstage to spread the news," Magginetti said. Another unforgettable moment occurred at the Bobby G awards, a state-wide high school musical theater program that recognizes...
Niwot High School Performing Arts student James Miller has a clear vision of his role in the world. "My interest in theater defines who I am as a person," Miller explained. "Most things about my personality come from my experiences and peers in the theater." His commitment to his craft was one reason his teacher, Amanda Foust, selected Miller as Arts Student of the Week. "James is a terrific actor!" Foust said. "He was in the high school's fall production of 'Puffs' and as his first production...
At the beginning of the 2023 school year, Niwot High School freshman Olivia "Liv" Raichart was working on a large landscape painting for a school project. She was in the hallway because the canvas was so big it would not fit in the classroom. Suddenly another young woman came out of the classroom crying, and Raichart wanted to help. So she invited the other student to paint with her, and immediately the tears stopped. "We just painted together," Raichart said. "And it made her feel better. It wa...
Niwot High School senior Drew Moore has many talents, but he is particularly proud of the fact that he once built a guitar with Legos. "I took the fretboard from a real guitar. And all the hardware. And it worked for a moment, but the nut wouldn't stay on the plastic," he said. "Legos are so much fun. You build whatever you want." Moore developed a love for music when he was about three years old, playing piano and xylophone. At the age of seven his parents got him his first guitar. He remembers...
Niwot High School senior Anna Enssle has the rare privilege among young musicians to say that she has performed at Carnegie Hall, twice. During her junior year, Enssle auditioned for and was accepted into an honor choir in New York, where students from across the country met together to rehearse for a few days and then perform in the Hall. "It was such a surreal and wonderful experience," Enssle said. "I got to meet so many talented people who shared a deep love for creating music. I got to...
When Victor Valdez-Aguero was a young boy, his father was a big car enthusiast. "He owned a few dozen cars imported from Japan," Valdez-Aguero said. "A few Ford Mustangs--Shelby GT 500s. He owned muscle cars like Corvettes. C3s from 1981, a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, and a couple of Mitsubishi Lancer Evos." Initially, Valdez-Aguero thought that learning about cars was too complex and he didn't pay much attention to them, but in his early teens he started asking to help his father work on them. At...
When Merrick Blondeau was in elementary school, his sister Ana's friends were percussionists. Blondeau thought they were cool, so in sixth grade he joined the band at Sunset Middle School. Since then, he has simply loved making music and getting lost in music. Blondeau enjoys listening to classical music, "But," he said, "not often enough to be able to pick a favorite." One piece he does appreciate listening to is "The Planets," a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav...
Although jazz guitarist Alex Fick has a busy schedule, with classes and performances in Marching Band, Advanced Jazz Band, Tenor/Bass Choir, and Drama, he still finds time to pursue a wide variety of other interests that engage his attention to detail and his passion to create. At the moment, he is inventing a card game. In addition, he is a volunteer gargoyle for Niwot's Rock & Rails summer concert series, and he recently made his own guitar. Over the summer. Fick built the guitar from...
Niwot High School student Rae Sweeney has been an outstanding leader of the Niwot High School Color Guard for the last two seasons. The Color Guard performs with the marching band at football halftime shows, in parades, and at competitions, using a combination of flags, sabers, mock rifles, and other equipment, as well as dance and other interpretive movements. Its main purpose is to interpret the music that is being played by the band through dance and synchronized movements. Sweeney remembers...
When Niwot High School music students traveled to Europe for two weeks last summer, visiting Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, one of the highlights of the trip for violinist Ian Springsteen was the visit to the Sibelius Academy and the Jean Sibelius house in Finland. Sibelius, who is widely known for his symphonies and tone poems, especially "Finlandia," now ranks among Springsteen's favorite composers. It was an inspirational trip. Springsteen remembers that their group performed in...
When Allison Gundmundson was in elementary school, she learned that Candlelight Dinner Playhouse hosted acting classes that included children. Whenever she could find the time, Gundmundson would join in. Her theater repertoire expanded quickly, with roles in the junior production of "Mary Poppins," and roles in "The Aristocats," and "Beauty and the Beast." She also worked in two junior shows at Longmont's Jesters Dinner Theatre, including "Alice in Wonderland" and "Snow White and the Seven...
According to his teacher Laura Walters, River Osgood has been one of the most dedicated choir students at Niwot High School during his four-year tenure. Currently he is in three of the NHS choirs, and is a lead in the fall play, "Puffs." Theater and music have played a large role in Osgood's life. His parents met during one of their high school performances together. His sister was interested in theater, his older brother experimented with guitar, and his twin brother played the violin for a...
"When I was a freshman at Niwot High School," Sara Hallock said, "it was all online learning because of Covid. We had to learn everything through books and articles. Once we got to in-person learning, I was shown the sound board and almost immediately fell in love with it. As the years went on, I learned more and more about being a sound engineer and how good I was at it." In the intervening years, Hallock has perfected her craft as a sound engineer. Jason Watkins, who selected Hallock as Arts S...
“Music,” Abby White says, “is important to so many aspects of life. It uses so many different parts of your brain in different ways than you would get from academics. And that has really helped me in my academic success. And I think it’s just good for your soul. “Music makes us happier. And it’s something that you can really work hard on. It’s difficult, but it gives you such a sense of accomplishment when you’re able to perform something at a high-level or like get through a hard passage....
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 has been Tenor/Bass choir.” Baldwin, Arts Student of the Week, appreciates the community he has found at the high school. “Despite not being an advanced group,” he said, “the community in that class is amazing and super fun to be around. The community and people in Orchestra and for the most part the band...
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 grade, which put her a year behind her middle school peers. Although she found it very challenging, she took private lessons and had lots of help and support from her director. When Fitches moved to Niwot High School she joined the world of drumline. It was a big learning curve, she said, "But it felt...
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 way to earn money once she becomes an adult, and that will be helpful, she says, given that she is not interested in typically high paying careers. Jackson's art has been shown at the St. Vrain School District Art Show for the last two years, and last year she was also able to show her work from a...
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 admits that it is the thing that gets him out of bed in the morning and the thing he wants to pursue for the rest of his life. "It has introduced me to the best people in my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world," he said. Since the age of nine, Kissinger has been involved in theater with the...
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 mathematics, and playing an instrument is a very mathematical process: press the right buttons, use the right muscles," Sykes said, "and the right sound will come out. However, this is not the magic of music. While making the right sounds is very methodical and important, true music goes beyond playing...
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 hand. From an old, distant memory of my childhood friend Ian. Because he had deer heads on his walls. And I took from that memory, and I tried to make something that made me not only feel that sort of nostalgia, but also bring something new to people looking at a new piece of artwork." Since then, Amsb...
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 brings me this wave of inspiration." And then there is piano player Cyrus Chestnut, who composed "Soul Food" (one of her favorite pieces), and trumpet player Rafael Méndez. "He's a really good Latin trumpet player," she said. "He has a beautiful sound. And Chet Baker. Awesome. He's really great. He's...
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 enjoyed it, so when she got to high school she continued the classes. "Autumn is a very dedicated ceramics student," said her teacher, Beth Collier, who selected Rutherford as Arts Student of the Week. Rutherford has also taken multiple drawing and painting classes and she particularly enjoys...
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 film "Como Caido del Cielo" was released, and that film became his inspiration to perform music. Omar Chaparro stars in the movie as a Mexican singer named Pedro Infante, who is sent back to Earth to earn his place in heaven. The actor became Ibarra-Trujillo's favorite performer. From there, the...
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 the actors and technicians working the show. According to "Safety and Health in the Theater: Keeping Tragedy out of the Comedies...and Musicals...and Dramas," an article published online by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009 (the most current data available) there were 1,190...
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 Chamber Singers and the District Honor Choir, she had a role in the Niwot High School production of "Beauty and the Beast," and she is a valued student in the NHS Music Theater Class. "She is in Chamber Singers as a freshman," said Dunfee's drama teacher Laura Walters, "and has auditioned into our...
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 personality and who I am, and just kind of me." The 16-year-old musician is a junior at Niwot High School. His music teacher, Wade Hendricks, nominated him for Arts Student of the Week. Allison has taken advantage of the many music opportunities the high school has to offer. He has been in the...
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 freshman and actress Micah McGhee. "Afterwards, we had some time for questions. When the microphone was handed to one of the middle schoolers, they said something along the lines of, 'Cheese grater, whoever you are, we love you!'" McGhee, who performed the part, added, "I will honestly never forget that....
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 has gained a wide range of knowledge and skills that she can apply to any situation. She has enjoyed being part of the Niwot High productions, including plays, musicals, and concerts. "It has been a great experience to learn how to work together as a team to create a successful performance," Plath...
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 lot of Porches and Bugattis. So, I drew. They didn't look like anything, but...they looked kind of like cars." That early interest has endured as part of Depestele's studies at Niwot High School, where she has taken both Beginning and Intermediate Drawing. Beth Collier, who teaches art at NHS,...
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 nothing else can," Brackett said. "I also really appreciate the time and effort that someone has to put in to become good. I think it is really fun to work hard towards something so rewarding." "I have been singing for as long as I can remember," Brackett said, "mainly singing along to Disney songs in...
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 lessons--my arms were finally long enough to be able to play it properly--and I have been playing ever since." Williams loves music, she said, "because it is emotion and math blended together into a harmonious whole. I enjoy making music because I will never be able to do it perfectly, because there...
"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 grow by the same nourishment, and at birth they reach together the light of day." Arts Student of the Week, Niwot High School freshman Gwen Ashack, might agree with Hippocrates, but only up to a point. "I have one brother," Ashack said. "I'm a twin. He doesn't enjoy art as much as I do, but we both...
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 really young," Archibold said, "I watched two of my older siblings perform in plays with a small theatre company and later I watched my sister, Mary, star in half the plays she did at Niwot. I'd say she's probably been my biggest motivator when it came to acting." Every time she listens to a new musical...
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 enjoys working with Prismacolor pencils. "I enjoy the slow nature of the medium that calls for lots of layering and blending," Geiling said. "And overall, just really getting to play with color theory." Geiling takes influence from artists in pop culture, especially musical artists such as Melanie...
"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 was selected by NHS' Orchestra Director Keynes Chen as Arts Student of the Week, developed an interest in mariachi while she was still a student at Sunset Middle School. When the school started a mariachi class, Valles immediately signed up. "I thought it would be cool to be in a mariachi class," she...
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 possible." Succeeding in choir, she said, "requires a deep understanding of vocal technique as well as music as a whole. Sight reading and music theory skills play a large part in contributing to a strong choral group." Laura Walters, the Choral Music Director at Niwot High School, selected Stauch as the...
"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 High School student Aiden Sagner agrees with this sentiment completely. "I would describe theater as a really tight-knit community," Sagner acknowledged while describing his experience in theater at NHS. "No matter what show you are working on, everyone there is super close because everyone is...
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 band played on the Learning Stairs, the central staircase at NHS sweeping up from the ground level. "It was really cool," said alto saxophonist Sebastian Aguirre, this week's Arts Student of the Week. "because there were a lot of people. In the auditorium you can't see people because of all 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 she made me breakfast, forcing me to dance with her," Wells recalled. Those early experiences inspired her to become a musician. "It just came very naturally to me," she said. Later, when Wells attended Westview Middle School, she took up violin. "Everyone had to choose an instrument. So I said, 'I...
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 am completely self-taught," Killinger explained, "and it's important to me, because I feel like it's an extension of my art. Other people can see it. I walk around and it's on me. It's a part of me." She has also explored creating prom make-up and face paint art on a few people but, Killinger is...
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 away from that. I have a little bit of stage fright, so I can't really do the onstage thing. But I did a little bit when I was younger." In elementary school she had small roles, singing in the chorus of shows. "I did that for 'The Little Mermaid' when I was in first grade, and then I did the same...
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 find out until you try. It's an intimidating thing to start. But I would encourage people to try it out. You never know." It is a passion he enjoys sharing. According to his art teacher, Beth Collier, "Mark is a very inspiring Advanced Ceramics student. He is so hard working and creative." From a very...
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 take an introductory course in Python programming, switch her foreign language requirement from Spanish to French, and take classes in industrial design at The Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools. It was Joshi's enthusiasm for her studies that led Crystal Hinds, Art Educator at Niwot High Sch...
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 that was what she wanted to do in life. For a few years she convinced herself this dream was impossible, but now she is fully engaged in musical theater at Niwot High School, studying advanced drama and preparing for her role as Tim in the NHS fall production of "Noises Off," a play by Michael Frayn....
