The Colorado Mesa University Maverick Stampede was on tour in the Denver area from Friday to Sunday. They attended the Arapahoe Marching Invitational, giving two exhibition performances. According to various members of the band, the trip was a success.

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“The trip was amazing,” Director of Athletic Bands Jonathan Hinkle said. “It was the best trip we’ve taken yet with any athletic band since I’ve started here seven years ago. The response that we got from big crowds was bigger than we’ve ever gotten before.”

“I’m just super proud to be part of the organization that gets to be such huge ambassadors for the school,” Drum Major Noah Graf said. “We’re so visible to everyone over there and the impact we made on the students and everything is just super, super cool.”

The Maverick Stampede had a “sendoff” on Thursday, as they performed after all the high schools at Stocker Stadium to conclude the CBA (Colorado Bandmaster’s Association) Regionals competition.

Apart from the Invitational, the band took their show, “Stampede Rocks!” to four high schools in the Denver area. Hinkle said that one of the highlights of the trip was their stop at Columbine High School.

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“We played at a Columbine High School football game and our students just really changed the dynamic of those students,” Hinkle said. “They had just gotten pretty bad news before we came and a lot of them were feeling pretty down about continuing with band.” According to Hinkle, he was contacted later by the principal of the school, who informed him that the general mood of the Columbine band had been changed.

“[The band was] just positive, they performed with the highest standard, there were no problems on the trip, but we had a blast at the same time,” Hinkle said.

While the marching band tour was the highlight of the 2018 marching band season, the Maverick Stampede still has a few things left to do. They will provide musical entertainment at the CMU Homecoming Bonfire tonight, they’ll participate in the Homecoming parade downtown tomorrow, as well as at the football game in the evening. Next week, they’ll have their last two rehearsals of the season and wrap up with performing at the home football game on Nov. 3.

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