(Rashaan Davis/CHSAANow.com)
Over the past few weeks, marching bands from across the state have returned. Whether they are on the football field or in the school parking lot, bands are back.
Today, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the band at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch. The band is directed by Mr. Dan Delaup, an energetic director who is excited to get back to work. Today is the final day of their two-week camp and Dan was kind enough to talk with me as the band was warming up.
Dan and I talked about the good and the bad of the pandemic. He said that his band is down about 20 students and that he can see where it might take a few years for his program to recover. He pointed out that this is not an isolated issue, as he knows that his feeder middle school, Mountain Ridge, will also be down. This is a problem that many directors will face, with the expected turnaround to take a couple of years. I laughed, however, as Dan talked about the only complaints he’s been hearing from the kids have been about the heat.
As we steered the conversation away from some of the negative aspects of the pandemic, Dan talked about how excited the kids are to be back together and that being together over the past couple of weeks has almost made the kids forget what it felt like to be away from each other.
I was excited to spend some time talking with MVHS senior and snare drummer, Ryan Day. This young leader represents the very best of Mountain Vista High School. He shared with me how awesome it feels to be back and that performing in front of his peers with as a member of the band was a big part of his first two years at Mountain Vista. I asked Ryan to share words of encouragement for incoming band members.
“Stick with it,” he said. “It’s hard, especially during camp. It’s all worth it, especially when you get to the performances. There is nothing like performing for people.”
Well said.
The band will end their camp today with a celebration at Main Event Entertainment, a chance for the kids to play games and continue connecting outside of the rigors of camp.
Mountain Vista will be joining other programs for their first competition on Sept. 25 at the Friendship Cup hosted by Fountain-Fort Carson.
If you would like for CHSAA to share the story of your activities program, send me an email (rdavis@chsaa.org) or call the CHSAA office.