Greetings from Estes Park!
Chuck Varilek and the Estes Park Band program would like to welcome their student teacher, Leigh Thielen, to Estes Park.
Ms. Thielen is a senior in music education at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and will be graduating in the spring after completing her student teaching requirement here in Estes Park.
Leigh grew up in Steamboat Springs. While attending school in there, she participated in basketball, softball, band, peer tutoring and was a member of the National Honor Society, graduating in the top 5% of her class. Ms. Thielens’s music education began in the clarinet section in 5th grade. She played in her high school concert band all four years, and joined the jazz band in her senior year. Leigh describes a unique experience as a Steamboat Springs Marching Band member: “I participated in the world’s only “Marching Band on Skis,” a Steamboat Springs traditiion! Every year in the Winter Carnival parade (in mid-February, I might add) the band would march down Lincoln Avenue on skis, playing their instruments.” Brrr.
Ms. Thielen made the decision to be a music education major late in High School. “I chose to attend UNC partly because of its great reputations for both the music school and education school, and partly because of the professors I would get to work with there. I am currently on my last semester at UNC, and will be graduating this May with a Bachelor in Music Education. I hope to end up teaching in a smaller school someday; many small
school band programs get very neglected, and I’d like to put effort into making them stronger,” comments Leigh.
Outside of school, Leigh enjoys spending time outdoors as well as listening to live music. She is an avid snowboarder, hiker, and rock climber. Leigh also volunteers at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. She will be playing with the Village Band and Big Band this semester, too!
Ms. Theilen comments, “I’m very excited to be fulfilling my student teaching requirements in Estes Park for the duration of the semester, and I look forward to working with the Middle and High School band students.”
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