Have you ever walked through Arts Wing? The forgotten, hidden gem on the first floor plastered in golden paint? And with every step you take, you feel the pulse of the drumbeat, you smell the crispness of the brass and the vibrations [or symphony] of flute, clarinet and saxophone swim to your ears. Magic. That’s what ETHS Band is… magic. However, there is not nearly enough acknowledgement to the Wildkits who are in Band all year long, who make our school the instrumental wonderland that it is.

Perhaps not known by a lot of people, Band requires a very big time commitment. Many start playing their instrument as young children, then there are at least two hours of rehearsals—both in personal time and ensemble—then summer programs, marching band choreography and more. For junior flutist and piccolo player Ariyana Martinez, her instruments have been a part of her life for seven years, and this is her third year in Band at ETHS. She is so incredibly skilled that the first thing that comes to mind when hearing her play on Friday morning is “Wow, she makes it look so easy,” but she has an instrument for a limb, and so do so many other Band Kids. They practice and practice, working tirelessly to entertain. And in addition to Band, school also plays a big part in Martinez’s Band life. Many musicians at ETHS take Band as an elective course, adding to their already heavy timetable. Although, for Martinez, the class is an opportunity to do something she loves and helps her “not get stressed out” by the rest of her schedule. She is determined, and according to Dr. Victoria Williamson from Music Psychology, her being a musician means she can multitask better than us! Being so amazing at what she does does not come without its pressure, however, she is lucky enough to have support from other Band Kids.

“I love seeing my friends [at rehearsal].” One of the main reasons for Martinez’s year-long commitment is the people who she can share this commitment with. For the students who participate in Band through the entire year, they get pretty used to each other. In Martinez’s band, the musicians are required to take at least one year of Band and after that they often choose to continue. Band is such a wonderful experience for Martinez and her friends that they took part in Band-related extracurricular activities and got to know each other throughout their high school experience. Having a ‘small circle’ is also the talk of Band Kids’ families; Martinez’s mother, Vanessa, wishes her daughter would “branch out more” but is still so very happy that she is doing something she is passionate about and with people who share that same passion. “You’re with the same people throughout the ENTIRE year!” explains Martinez. While you may be thinking that being around the same people all four years of high school is tedious, I assure you that—as a thespian myself—the best of friendships and the strongest of bonds are commonly formed by spending the majority of your school year in one another’s company, doing what you all love to do.

“[If I could speak to my freshman-self, I would tell her to do] Band all year but [don’t make it your] life,” says Martinez. In her high school journey, Martinez believes that she has found her true personality, no longer allowing Band to be her personality. Thanks to stereotypical movies about teenagehood, the preconceived notion that ‘we are what we do’ stomps through the hall uninvited. “The jocks are tough,” “the cheerleaders are ditzy,” “the Band Kids are geeks” and so many more falsehoods play a part in people struggling with their identities in high school. People are not simple; we are nuanced, strange, and complicated. Jocks do musical theatre, cheerleaders are future physicists and Band Kids are so much more than the instrument they play. As a 365-day Band Kid, Martinez understands that Band does not get as much recognition by other students as much as activities like football or Pomkits. However, she also feels that the love and acknowledgement needs to be spread to more Wildkits who are kept in the shadows because of what they do as an extracurricular activity. So don’t overlook the Colour Guard, or the Filmmakers, or even Dungeons and Dragons masters, as you don’t know the depth of what someone does and who someone is.

So the next time you stroll through Arts Wing, stop and think about the person behind the astonishment that you hear. Remember the hours of rehearsal that go into those magical notes, remember the fellowship that has formed between these insanely talented musicians, remember the lives behind the brass. And remember, just because they are in Band during the whole school-year, it doesn’t mean that they are Band. Our fantastic Band Kids are fantastic not just because they have the willpower and musical strength, but because they are who they are and they deserve a round of applause simply for being the awesome Wildkits we know them to be.