Arts Student of the Week: Lily Sykes

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 notes – music tells stories, expresses emotions, and explores ideas. This collaboration of mathematical processes and emotional expression is what draws me to music."

Wade Hendricks, who selected Sykes as Arts Student of the Week, said, "Lily is a senior drum major for the marching band this year. She has had a big role, already, in the semester, putting together a band leadership academy for the band leadership team (BLT) in which important leadership skills were taught. This has given the BLT a big step forward."

Sykes came to Niwot High School in her freshman year. Based on advice from her brother, she joined the marching band. "He had participated in marching band when he was in high school, and he loved it," Sykes said. "I always wanted to have that experience, and he inspired me to go for it."

The next year, Sykes was the trumpet section leader, and this year she ran for drum major. "A common misconception is that drum majors play the drums, but we actually don't," she said. "Our job is to conduct, lead, and teach the band."

Like the experience of many students the last few years, that first year at NHS was difficult for Sykes because of the Covid pandemic. But in her sophomore year the marching band was able to perform again. At first, Sykes wasn't sure she was going to continue. "It was really difficult," she admitted. "The trumpet section only had new members, and the entire band was rebuilding from Covid. However, all of my hesitations vanished the night of the first football game. Performing under the lights, making music in the stadium, and getting to be a part of something so much bigger than myself was life-changing."

Throughout high school, Sykes has been given the opportunity to try new instruments, and she has dabbled in the ukulele, guitar, and trombone, as well as playing the trumpet with Niwot's Symphonic Orchestra and continuing to study the piano. This spring semester, Sykes will be playing trombone in Advanced Symphonic Band.

As part of her training to become a drum major, Sykes attended Drum Major Academy along with her junior drum major counterpart Mark Rokhlenko. There, the two NHS students learned all about conducting, leading, and teaching, and the experience deepened their musical understanding. After completing the Academy, they worked together to organize an experience to teach the rest of the band leaders about what they had learned.

Because both students had been section leaders the previous year, they understood that most of the Band Leadership Team had very little guidance, and they wanted to change that. Together Sykes and Rokhlenko organized a two-day Band Leadership Academy (BLA) experience, creating a curriculum that detailed how to run sectionals, how to be a leader of the band, how to call commands and check form, how to resolve conflict, and how to facilitate an environment for growth and success. They even went to Drum Corps International's Drums Along the Rockies as a team, which they described as an amazing experience. "Overall, it was very successful, and the BLT is continuing to crush it," Sykes said.

According to Hendricks, the two students "planned an outstanding band camp week, planning every minute of our marching rehearsals, music rehearsals, and including some get-to-know-you time with the entire band. Under her (Sykes') direction the band is poised to have a great season."

Since Sykes began her musical journey, she has performed in piano recitals and competitions, played the ukulele in talent shows, played the trumpet in pep games, football games, and concerts with the Symphonic Band and Symphonic Orchestra, and played the trombone in Symphonic Band. All of these experiences have exposed her to different styles and genres of music, which have tremendously strengthened her skills and abilities as a musician.

Sykes remembers fondly playing a piece called "Havana Nights," by Randall D. Standridge, in Symphonic Band during her junior year. It was the first time she played the trombone in an ensemble. "That piece was so much fun!" Sykes said. She also plays piano, and her favorite composer she says, "is probably Clementi. From a more pop-culture perspective, I love the 'How To Train Your Dragon' soundtrack, written by John Powell."

Attending Niwot High School has allowed Sykes to pursue the International Baccalaureate Program, which has given her the opportunity to challenge herself academically. She has been able to take rigorous classes that allow her to learn more about a wide range of subjects, prepare herself for college, and collaborate with other motivated peers.

Outside of school, Sykes serves as the Hardware Design Lead on the 1619 Up-A-Creek Robotics Team. She is responsible for teaching new members how to design mechanisms and ensuring the robot design progresses. She also fences sabre at the Fencing Academy of Denver and she is in NHS's Book Club and Math Club. Outside of those activities, she is also an amateur astronomer and chess player, and she loves to knit, crochet, solve puzzles, read, practice her instruments, and make duct tape wallets with her friends.

Sykes hopes to study abroad in college, particularly, she would like to study mathematics in the United Kingdom. She feels she will definitely continue to make music in college. What that looks like will be determined by where she goes to school, but she is committed to continuing her musical development.