Home»Community»Education»Bishop Noll Band Immersed in Music, Culture in Liberty Bowl Trip

Bishop Noll Band Immersed in Music, Culture in Liberty Bowl Trip

Bishop-Noll-Band-Liberty-Bowl-Trip-Collage-2017Students in the Bishop Noll Institute band set the stage for 2017 with new experiences, motivation and accolades from their performance at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn.

In a field of 13 bands from around the country, Bishop Noll received a third-place award for its field competition show, “Band Wars,” based on the “Star Wars” movie series. The band also was recognized for its parade, concert band and jazz band performances.

Results were “beyond our expectations,” BNI band director Rocco Carioto said of the first bowl game appearance for a BNI band.

In addition, BNI senior saxophonist Daniel Cuevas, of Hammond, won the festival’s MVP Award, chosen from more than 500 participating high school band members.

The award is given to a student who best embodies the attributes of determination, character and sacrifice while displaying commitment to excellence, said Anya Rose, event coordinator with WorldStrides OnStage.

“We had so many nominations this year at the Liberty Bowl for the MVP Award,” she said. “It’s truly inspiring reading how everyone is invested in their communities, as well as their performing discipline. It’s always so hard to choose … but my staff and I chose Daniel because of his commitment to his band, his family, and his school.”

Of winning the award, Cuevas said, “I was so shocked and overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. It was definitely an unexpected highlight of my high school career.”

During the band’s final performance of the trip, students played in the Dec. 30 Liberty Bowl halftime show with other school bands and Grammy-winning R&B and funk group The Commodores.

BNI band members were able to meet, greet and get a photo with the group.

Noll French horn and mellophone player Tajé Wilson, of East Chicago, said seeing The Commodores walk into the stadium for rehearsal was her best memory from the trip.

“I was in awe,” she said. “It was surreal to be able to play alongside a group as legendary as The Commodores with my band mates and the other bands. It was at the rehearsal that I realized how many people I was blessed to be able to share this experience with.”

During their stay in Memphis, known as the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, band members visited many cultural sites including Graceland, Sun Studios and the National Civil Rights Museum.

Wilson said while at the museum, the students saw many documents and artifacts but one they all remember is a Civil Rights era school song with a racial slur in the title.

“With Bishop Noll being as diverse as it is today, I think it was hard for us to wrap our minds around the cruelty directed toward the nine African Americans being talked about in the song,” Wilson said. “Looking at that made me have a higher level of appreciation for my education and diversity because I don’t have to come to school and worry about racial slurs being yelled at me, unlike my ancestors.”

Carioto said his favorite part of the trip was seeing the impact the Civil Rights Museum had on the students, noticing “the questions they were asking, the conversations that took place and the extreme sorrow and empowerment they felt for their fellow human beings.”

“We came to Memphis as a group of young high school teenagers of great character,” Carioto said. “We left Memphis as a group of young men and women who will make a difference in our world.”

Cuevas echoed this sentiment.

“During this trip, I sparked new friendships with the newcomers in the band and rekindled older friendships,” he said. “I believe more than ever that this band isn’t just a band; it’s a family. Despite the rough patches, this group can stick it through and be stronger than ever.”