Imagine being so committed to band that you spend over five hours per day playing the saxophone. You consistently attend and audition for music festivals and honor bands across the state, while maintaining a job and schoolwork. Welcome to the life of junior Steffani Nodla.

Nolda has received multiple opportunities through music, including performing at the Winter Festival of Bands in Lincoln, NE and the Greeley Jazz Intensive. She said the hardest part about preparing for these contests is the mental game. “I prepared for over eight months on my solo for the Winter Festival, and the biggest part is just getting yourself out there and practicing as much as you can,” she said. Nolda said the thing she struggles with is psyching herself out and losing focus. “You just have to trust that you memorized your music well and just stay calm, and if you mess up, you have to keep going,” said Nolda.
She first started playing the saxophone the summer before she entered middle school.

“My grandpa had a saxophone and he just told me to try it out and it stuck,” said Nolda. She said that playing came really naturally to her, and it has always been a part of her.
“I wasn’t really into music at the beginning, I was a dancer, and I thought that was going to be my life,” she said. Nolda said that all changed when they got a new band instructor at the middle school. “She really got me to further saxophone more than I would’ve myself and inspired me to be the best I can be,” she said. There were other reasons that Nolda quit dance to pursue band. “[During dance], I’d catch myself not dancing, instead I’d be counting the music and analyzing it, saying that the saxophone played at this part, instead of what step I was supposed to do,” said Nolda. That was what ultimately pushed her to the side of music.

Nolda said that band has shaped her into the person she is today. “I used to be very shy and wouldn’t talk to anybody, and through band I’ve come out of my shell,” she said. Nolda said before that, the only time she ever expressed herself was on the stage at dance. “I have a big personality now, and I’ve made so many friends and formed so many relationships, and I’ve really gotten my name out there,” said Nolda.

She said that music has taught her to never give up on anything. “I’ve been rejected for so many honor choirs and bands and this year it finally clicked,” said Nolda.