GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — Sometimes a group of people assemble at the right place, at the right time, to create something extraordinary.

The timing for the Glenwood Springs High School Percussion Ensemble is just right, for a group of kids with a common passion for music, to come together and create a lasting impression.

“It’s important that when we crescendo, we all crescendo together,” percussion coach Aaron Lundblad told the ensemble as they huddled in the GSHS music room Tuesday.

Lundblad discussed their performance evaluation from the Rocky Mountain
Percussion Association meet at Legacy High School in Broomfield this past
weekend. The evaluation detailed the strengths and weaknesses of the group’s
first-place performance at the preliminary competition to the state championships.

“It was really exciting,” said section leader Lauren Atkinson. “I didn’t expect to finish
first, but I knew we would make the finals.”

No small feat. After all, it’s the first time for a team from the Western Slope taking first
place at this level of competition. All the more impressive is the fact that this is only
the second year of competition for GSHS. The group is composed mainly of freshmen
and sophomores with only two seniors and four middle school students. Lundblad
accepts all who are interested.

“There aren’t any other groups at this moment on the Western Slope,” Lundblad said.
“We were hoping to grow the interest out here, but one drawback is you always have
to go to Denver to compete.”

That didn’t stop this group of kids from competing with schools like Gateway in
Aurora, which Lundblad attended, that have had competitive percussion ensembles
for decades. Lundblad is a big reason for the group’s birth in the valley, and another
reason for the success, according to Lauren’s mother Karen Atkinson.

“The fact that they accomplished this in their second year of existence, competing
against schools that have had programs for 30 to 40 years, is evidence of their hard
work and dedication. Not to mention the dedication and vision of Lundblad,” Karen
wrote in an e-mail to the Post Independent. “Aaron has donated countless hours of
his time and actually rearranged his work schedule to have more time to work with
the kids.”

But Aaron humbly lays credit for the ensemble’s accomplishment on the kids.

“I’m ecstatic at how well the kids have done,” Lundblad said. “They have spent
countless hours of their own time practicing.”

Even more impressive, the group was stuck in traffic for five hours west of Frisco the day before the competition, turning the trip to Denver into a nine-hour adventure in a school bus. The kids only had about four hours of sleep the night before the competition. But it was nothing they couldn’t handle.

“It was pretty daunting,” Lundblad said. “But when they got there and got in
competition mode, they really stepped it up. Hopefully state will go a little smoother.”

The ensemble is currently ranked first going into the state competition on April 12, at
the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland. And their nerves are beginning to present
themselves.

“I’m nervous,” said freshmen Cami Marcon, wearing a shirt that reads, “Will drum for
food.”

“I think we’ll be able to pull it off,” Cami said. “We’ve been practicing hard and we’ve
got a lot of heart and determination when it comes to our music.”

All the little wooden and plastic mallets strike the bars of the marimbas, xylophones
and vibraphones repeatedly. Like a loud machine working from side to side, the kids
beat on their instruments, releasing the sound from within.

The group is in tune, in sync, to crescendo at the state tournament just three weeks
away.

“It’s important that when we crescendo,” Lundblad told the kids. “We all crescendo
together.”

Contact John Gardner: 384-9114jgardner@postindependent.com


Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO