V i g o r o u s ly A c a d e m i c B e a u t i f u l ly D i v e r s e T h o r o u g h ly C h r i s t i a n
The RCHS Band won a much coveted 1st place at the NM State Tournament against stiff competition.
The Band's spring tour this year saw them perform in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska.
fter months of prepa-
ration and fundrais-
ing efforts, the RCHS
Concert Band departed on
April 5 for an eight-day mid-
west tour that brought them
to Milwaukee, WI; Chicago,
IL; Hudsonville, MI; Taylor
University (Upland, IN);
DeMotte, IN; Pella, IA; and
the Winnebago Reservation
just north of Omaha, NE.
Students bonded on the
long coach bus rides and
shared their selection of
songs during scripted, nar-
rated concerts at a variety of
churches and schools in these
cities. It’s no small task to
transport music stands, large
percussion pieces, and all of
the other band instruments
to each location, so a team of
chaperones plays a valuable
role in supporting the logis-
tics of packing, unpacking,
and setting up the various
venues.
Band tour allows students
to visit parts of the country
many of them have never
seen, and director, Kevin
Zwiers, makes sure that they
get to know people at each
stop. “My favorite part of ev-
ery concert is during the in-
termission when we have the
kids go out into the audience
and talk to people. No matter
whether it’s a church full of
adults or a school gym full
of students, you just see the
walls come down when we
do that.” In addition to these
get-to-know-you conversa-
tions at the concerts, students
also stayed with host families
in several of the stops.
“We got to play ping pong
and go out for ice cream
with our host family. They
made us feel really welcome
and at home,” said fresh-
man Cayden Kenny. Similar
experiences were echoed by
many of the band members,
and it’s a reminder that these
tours are a terrific learning
opportunity, both for our
students and for people in
communities that support
Rehoboth. The evening con-
cert in Hudsonville, MI, was
a particular highlight as many
former Rehoboth staff and
students were able to attend
and reconnect with friends.
Upon returning home,
the band geared up for the
state competition one week
later at the massive perform-
ing arts center of Cleveland
High School in Rio Rancho.
Rehoboth is grouped with all
of the New Mexico schools in
classes A-3A, and bands need
to earn their way into the
state competition by achiev-
ing the highest rating of 1 at
their regional performances.
This means that at the state
level, we’re going against the
best of the best.
Having played their three
songs as part of each tour
concert, our students were
well-prepared. After perform-
ing first of all the groups,
the band members stayed in
the auditorium to listen to
the competition. In the end,
the judges awarded the Lynx
with the first place trophy,
and we are excited to hang
another state championship
banner in the gym. One of
the concert attendees at the
tour stop in DeMotte, IN,
was not surprised at our
result. “You are the best high
school band I’ve ever heard,”
he remarked to the chaper-
ones. These experiences drive
us to continue the excellent
tradition of music at Reho-
both for years to come.
RCHS Band Wins
Tours Midwest and Wins State Championship
by Dan Meester