She stepped out in front of the audience, gripping her trumpet tightly. The room was loud with people settling in, but somehow she only heard her own breathing. When the conductor raised his hands, she felt the quick rush of relief that comes right before the first note. Senior Zara Kidwai remembers the exact moment the stage lights hit her for the first time. It was with her fourth grade band, her first performance ever. It was one of those moments when everything slows down, and you remind yourself why you even do this in the first place. 

The Band program has been part of the school’s identity for decades. According to band director Brad Kurinsky, It’s known for its busy schedule, early mornings and the tight community that forms between students who spend a lot of time together. The program has grown a lot in the last several years, with more students joining and more opportunities made. For many Band students, this routine has become a comforting, second home. 

For Kidwai, joining Band started long before she ever walked into the high school. She first picked up the clarinet in elementary school, mostly because she wanted to try something new. But it wasn’t until she started performing in front of crowds that she realized how much she liked being part of something adrenaline producing. She said the Band gave her a place to belong and a reason to stay motivated for many other aspects in her life.

She said the hardest part isn’t learning the notes but learning how to show up for the group. 

“You have to know your part because everyone else needs you to,” Kidwai said. “It’s not just about you.”

Her story connects to another student, sophomore Atharva Parmar, who joined Band for the opposite reason. He didn’t grow up around music and he didn’t play an instrument before middle school. When he finally tried percussion out, he picked it up fast. What kept him in the program wasn’t just the music but the challenge behind it and the people around him.

Parmar said Band taught him what hard work actually feels like. 

“I used to think I was trying, but once you’re in Band you see how much time people really put in reflecting your own efforts,” Parmar said.  

Running the same rhythms over and over and learning how to take corrections without getting discouraged was sometimes tough said Parmar. Those habits started influencing other aspects in his life. Band made him more patient and disciplined, and it showed him that high achievement takes more than just simple talent.

When he joined Band, the most surprising aspect was how close everyone gets. At first, he didn’t expect to make any real friendships in the program, but now most of his closest friends are people he met while rehearsing or waiting backstage before a concert. He said he never thought Band could shape him the way it has and now he could never imagine high school without it.

Freshman clarinetist Aadya Boggaram said she also was surprised by the people in Band and expected the older students to be intimidating, but she actually found Band to be one of the easiest places to make friends. She said she remembers showing up nervous for the first day, worried she would fall behind. Instead, people helped her out by directing her to her seat, shared markers for labeling sheet music and showed her warmups she had never practiced before. 

Her personal favorite part of Band is the overall routine. Even when the days feel long, there is something comforting about knowing exactly where she needs to be and what to do. She talked about the way everyone joins together into the Band room in the mornings, half awake, but still motivated to rehearse. She called it chaotic but in a memorable way. There’s laughing about random noise from people testing their instruments and the same conversations about homework or weekend plans all morning long. 

“It’s like a family, but louder,” Boggaram said.

This family has grown year by year in front of Band director Brad Kurinsky’s eyes. He has been teaching music for 23 years, with 18 of those years at Hinsdale Central. He said the biggest change he’s seen is the students’ willingness to take on more from the course including more rehearsals, more performances, more leadership opportunities, and overall a striving effort to improve. He said the students are a major part and shape the majority of the culture of Band. 

“A lot of people think Band is about teaching music, but most of my job is teaching teamwork,” Kurinsky said. He explained that when students rely on each other to perform well, they start building bonds that last beyond the classroom. He recognizes friendships form in the small things, such as helping someone tune their instrument and going over tough sections as a group together.

The Band’s success strongly comes from the students’ commitment. Kurinsky’s view on the early mornings, the resolve it takes to keep working when it’s easier not to, and the way the seniors step up to guide younger members is what ensures the program’s success. 

He said Band teaches lessons that are hard to get anywhere else, which stay with his students. They learn discipline, responsibility, mobility and most importantly to love the art of their int but they also learn how to support each other in the long run in their years after their high school careers.

“Thats totally the payoff, after all the rehearsing, we’re all just there playing together and hanging out with our friends. That’s the fun part.”