Moffat County School District believes music is part of a great education. That’s part of why we invest time and money in opportunities like the one our Bulldogs Concert Band took part in last month.

At the end of March, the Moffat County High School Concert Band traveled to Greeley to participate in the Colorado Bandmasters Association Small Schools Band Festival. At that prestigious event, our Bulldogs garnered what is believed to be the school’s first “Superior” score from the event’s judges.

Performing pieces like “Snarl,” “Come Thou Fount” and “Jungle Dance,” these musical MCHS students totally impressed their judges. These complex, multi-instrumental pieces were taught and led by MCHS and Craig Middle School music teacher Lia Arnold.

“Every single member of the band worked extremely hard to achieve this level of performance, and I am so proud of them,” Arnold said.

The pieces were warmly rendered, full-toned and beautifully performed. The musicians managed to capture the swelling grandeur of the traditional spiritual, “Come Thou Fount,” as well as the bouncy, playful nature of “Jungle Dance.”

“Snarl” is a well-named, sharp-tongued piece of brass-heavy, occasionally discordant, highly rhythmically challenging aggression. The piece is punctuated between the horns’ barks and growls with too-gentle, almost creeping pitched percussion. Powerful snare and cymbal percussion brings the piece dramatically back to life, as if the hunter has caught its prey and pounced.

The Bulldogs rise and fall with emotion and character in each piece, beautifully and skillfully bringing the work of each piece’s composer to audible resonance.

If their musical skills weren’t enough, these Moffat County students also demonstrated phenomenal professionalism in their behavior at the event.

“The students received numerous compliments on their behavior, manners, and overall respect for everyone they encountered. I am incredibly proud of how they conducted themselves and how well they represented our school,” Arnold said.

If you know any MCHS Concert Band musicians, congratulate them on their incredible work in Greeley. Superior describes more than their performance.

It describes our students in general, and this time, it’s been applied to this excellent group of musical Bulldogs. Congratulations to them and their great teacher.