Bayfield High School tuba player Zachary Hollingsworth has earned a spot in the elite all state symphonic band.
It’s a step up from last year, when he was selected in the concert band category for the Colorado All State Band. Concert band is for musicians in 1A-3A schools, while symphonic band is for musicians from any size school, and usually is made up of students from big music departments in 4A and 5A schools.
It’s the first time a BHS student has been selected for the more advanced group, said Derek Smith, the BHS music director.
“We’re crazy proud,” he said, adding that Hollingsworth has joined the list of musicians from BHS who has made all state every year from 2007 onward.
And he’s not satisfied to just make symphonic band, he wants to take the first chair as well.
Hollingsworth and a handful of other BHS students tried out Dec. 1 in Cortez for All State Band. He was the only one selected, although Nic Theobald is an alternate for the clarinet selection. Theobald will learn the music and be ready to attend All State March 30 to April 1 in Greeley if someone can’t attend.
For his tuba audition, Hollingsworth played “Alte Zauberkiste,” a classic German piece that had been assigned to him beforehand. He also played some scales and did sight-reading.
When the results were posted, he looked first at the list of concert band musicians and didn’t see his name, so he thought he hadn’t made it. Then he thought to check the symphonic list.
“Tuba is the foundation of the band,” Smith said. With Hollingsworth and Jarod Lane, the other tuba player at BHS, consistently providing the bass notes for the band, that builds a solid base for the other musicians to build on.
Hollingsworth, the son of Jennifer and Brian Hollingsworth, said he tried different instruments before he joined middle school band, and he liked the deep, vibrato sound of the biggest brass instrument, “even though I don’t get to play the melody,” he said. At least not every often.
He does play some trombone for the BHS jazz band, but other than that, he sticks to his primary instrument.
“He’s a pretty special guy here,” Smith said.
Theobald said he was pleased to be chosen as an alternate, although he was a bit disappointed not to be selected outright.
“I knew I deserved it,” he said. “I tried hard, but I didn’t try as hard as I could.”
Theobald, the son of Colleen and Steve Theobald, said he likes the clarinet because of its unique sound that lends itself to multiple genres.
