EATON, Colo. — On the second stop of our “Hearts of Champions” tour, we visit Eaton High School in northern Colorado.
The marching band of 51 students in under the direction of Benjamin Corneliusen for the past three years.
The 2A school has a pipeline of music students from Eaton Middle School and a handful are selected to participate in the high school’s marching band.
“This year we have nine 8th graders which is fantastic so almost one fifth of the band,” Corneliusen said. “One of the biggest things that I love about marching band is the family aspect of it… we live together, we die together, we are in it until the end.”
Part of that bonding experience took place during their summer band camp. A two-week camp of students learning how to march, play instruments and spin flags for their competitive season. Corneliusen believes it’s a great way for underclassmen to create relationships with the upperclassmen.
“It’s really cool that we have middle school performing with the high school, “Corneliusen said. “It forms that relationship earlier on; it forms that musicianship earlier on and it helps to grow our band program and their band program.”
Catherine Montague is a senior and one of the drum majors for the band. She also started marching in the high school marching band when she was in the 8th grade with her older brother.
This year, her younger sister is one of the 8th graders marching and Montague said her final year marching will be special.
“I have my little sister, she’s an 8th grader also how I started marching,” Montague said. “It’s my last year performing but it’s her first year performing and so it kind of feels like the torch is being passed on.”
Clayton Heid is a senior bass clarinet player and has been playing music since the 6th grade. He believes marching and playing with a group for eight hours a day during the two-week camp creates a lifetime of friendships.
“Some of my greatest friends have come from marching band,” Heid said. “We’re not just friends during marching band, we’re friends in and out of season.”
Last year, the marching band placed third in the Colorado Bandmaster’s Association 2A state championship finals in Pueblo. This year, these students said their third-place finish is their motivation through band camp.
“I don’t think a lot of us were expecting to make it to state,” Montague said. “I’m excited about what we can do this year. I’ve never had this great of a start to a new season and so I’m excited to see what’s going to go.”
It’s a feeling this marching band hopes will bring them closer together regardless of the outcome in the fall.
“There’s a lot more to it than just the score,” Corneliusen said. “We’re just trying to improve ourselves to become better humans, to become better listeners, better musicians and if we get a trophy, great, if not we know that we put everything out there, we didn’t have anything to hold back.”
Editor's note: This story is part of 9NEWS' "Hearts of Champions: Marching across Colorado" series, where we highlighted marching bands across the state.
Share your photos and memories with us using #Bandon9.