While many people at NHS were easing themselves back into the flow of school, the NHS band department was continuously prepping for almost two months to compete at solo and ensemble, and now the students and teachers have finally had their time to shine. 

On the chilly Saturday of January 29th, students from more than 15 schools gathered in Noblesville High School to compete for medals, gold, silver, and bronze. Junior Taylor Thompson has played flute for over six years and on this January day, she showcased her hard work.

“I practiced very hard in class and also outside of class at home. I picked a solo that I ended up loving after all of this work,” Thompson said. 

While Thompson was performing on one end of the school, junior Mikaela Westlund is also performing with her alto saxophone at another end. Westlund describes the many feelings that come with a completion such as this. 

“I’m always nervous, I try to prepare as much as I can with help from my director and lessons teacher but the nerves are always there,” Westlund said. 

As students perform throughout the day and throughout the building, assistant band director Jacob Crossley speaks on the reward he gets from this competition.

“[The most rewarding part] is watching the growth of my students and seeing how they’ve improved throughout the year,” Crossly said. 

Overall music filled the halls and classrooms at NHS as students from surrounding schools took home many awards, the months of practice and countless hours of hard work have paid off. As the sunsets on the competition here at NHS, many Noblesville students will showcase their skills once again at the state competition later this year.