Director’s Notes… of Gratitude

WOW! What else can be said about what the band did this past weekend? I know you are all as proud of what the students accomplished at NAU as the staff is, but to recap exactly what they accomplished and why it is such a big deal:

The Cienega Band finished in 10th place at the 2026 Bands of America Arizona Regional with a score of 64.2. This year’s regional brought some of the best bands from across Arizona, Nevada, California, New Mexico, and Oklahoma to NAU.

In our school’s history, Cienega has attended three BOA regionals and made it to finals for the first time this past weekend. While BOA made the decision to send all 13 competing bands to finals, Cienega’s finish within the top 12 secures our place as BOA Regional Finalists by right, not by default. Additionally, finishing 10th in finals secures a comfortable finals placement, which is rare for a band making finals the first time.

This weekend, the Copper Thunder Marching Band became only the second-ever southern Arizona band to make BOA regional finals and the only band south of Tucson to do so. High school band programs sometimes spend decades attempting to break into finals. Many high schools never get to perform in finals. This is a major milestone for Cienega and accomplishment for the students.

Thank You to the parents and boosters that made this trip happen. To everyone that served as bus chaperones, hotel chaperones, loading and driving equipment trucks, pushing equipment on and off the field (and up that huge hill), cooked for and fed our kids, and kept them all hydrated and safe… Thank you! Success at this level takes an army. You are all a crucial part in what it takes to run this program. I also want to give a special shout-out to Colette Campbell for her tireless work and dedication to helping organize this trip and handling all the details around the performance. Thank you for all you do for us, Colette!

Game on Friday, Oct. 2

We have a home game this Friday. If your student is in town, they need to attend. We plan on this game being a low-pressure performance opportunity: No half-time show due to the amount of students that will be missing and the lack of rehearsal before the game. Other details as follows:

Call Time: 5:30 pm

Attire: 2026 CTMB show shirt and jeans

Extra Request: I plan to spend the afternoon before the game building the front sideline screen props so we can use them after fall break. Students are welcome to come help if they are available. It’s a simple process but having more hands will make the process go faster.