Flags twirl, the band marches, and Friday night football games are about to begin. The marching band season has started, and this year they have a new director. As of the 2018-19 school year, HR received a new band director. Christopher Rigolini took over the position and has enjoyed his experience working at Ranch so far. “I’m looking forward to seeing how far the students go,” he said.
In high school, Rigolini participated in marching band. He was a part of percussion and drum line and he really enjoyed it. He lived in Florida for many years before moving to Colorado. In eighth grade, Rigolini first started doing band. Ever since then he has had a passion for band.
The search for getting a band director was a long process, and Rigolini grabbed the position as soon as he heard they were searching. “A friend of mine saw the message early on in December, and from then on, I started doing some research,” he said. Rigolini mentioned how Ranch has been great so far and the faculty members at the school are friendly. Rigolini talked about how “from what I’ve noticed so far, the band has been working really hard and band camp was a success.”
So far this season, Rigolini has helped the band kids prepare for this year’s show, and he talked about the theme and all the planning that has gone into it so far. “The theme for this year’s show is trapped in time,” he said. Rigolini talked about the idea for the theme being that there’s a big clock in the middle, and at the end of the show, the clock breaks apart. “The clock breaking apart could be a metaphor for a lot of different things,” he said. The band and Rigolini are ecstatic for the first game of the season, and Rigolini mentions how he feels that high school games are always really exciting and an overall fun atmosphere.
Peri Hennigar, junior band member, has some information to share about Rigolini and how she feels about the overall experience with having a new director. “It’s been awesome. I have gained a new insight and a new perspective of how things run,” she said.
Hennigar also feels that Rigolini pushes the band kids to their full potential. So far in this year’s band season, Hennigar feels like Rigolini has kept the band organized and everything is put together well.
Maya Guessas, junior, and a member of color guard, has worked with the band and has gotten to know more about Rigolini. Guessas mentioned how she really enjoys the theme and she likes how their show is completed, so now they can just keep practicing what they know for the shows.“Mr. Rigolini is fun, and I feel like he’s had a good time working at Ranch so far this year,” she said.
Hannah McKinney, Staff reporter
