The Spirit of Cerritos: Meet Cerritos High's Nathaniel Watson

Editor's Note: Cerritos-Artesia Patch will be posting musician profiles of the  during the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

It all started back in freshman year, when I joined symphonic band. I joined the percussion section of band, because I had previous experience by having drum kit lessons in 6th grade. I joined symphonic band, because I was shy at the time to join marching band. I thought of it kind of like a prerequisite, although it wasn’t. I also thought it would be intimidating to go straight to a top tier band.

The summer of freshman year I joined drumline, not knowing that it would be the best decision of my life. I went through the first couple of days just going through the motions of receiving lessons on how to hold the stick correctly, and proper technique. We worked hard on different exercises.

After a summer of practice, my first day performing on the field for a home game, I was completely nervous and utterly scared. Right when the count off started, my body went into complete autopilot. I was grooving with the beat of the song and I marched hard to  become fluid and graceful like all the seniors.  I felt the rush and adrenaline of marching band!

A season of marching band has taught me many things. It’s full of life lessons and moral values. I’ve learned patience through marching drills and diligence through repetitive exercises. As soon as I think I have it down, I learn about the prestigious Wind Symphony. Finding this out made me want to become a better musician by practicing harder. I auditioned to get in and I got in!

Saying that, brings me here, with the opportunity to perform at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, probably the best event that I’ve been involved in my whole life.

I am Nathaniel Watson, and I am the spirit of Cerritos.

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Click here for complete coverage on the CHS Wind Symphony's once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the city of Cerritos and the country on the world's biggest stage.

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