We interviewed Kim Hines, University of Nevada, Reno color guard caption head. Since 2017, the UNR winter guard began competing in the Independent A class of WGI and has achieved multiple regional championships over the years. She's married to GPG Music customer relations manager Aaron Hines.
Tell us about your love of music and why you pursued a career in music
I have always enjoyed music but after a short stint of playing the violin, I knew that playing was not for me. With three siblings who all played wind instruments, I went to many band concerts, parades and marching band competitions. Finding color guard in high school and being able to visually represent music has been a lifelong journey that I adore.
Describe the challenges of being a woman in the Performing Arts field
People automatically assume I am not the one in charge. At unit check-ins or sound checks, the person will address my male assistant and not me. I love my assistant and we have worked together for many years but so many times, people will look at him and address him first. He will look at me or then ask for direction, allowing me to answer but it happens a lot. As a student, I didn't have a male instructor until I participated in an independent winter guard. Prior to that I had so many great women instructors/role models to look up to while I was a student.
What are some changes you see in students because of the pandemic?
At the university, we have had the best retention rate during the last two years than we ever had before. Even if rehearsals were socially distanced and masked, we got to have them in person. I think for some of my freshmen in 2020, marching band/color guard was their only in-person class. They wanted that slight glimmer of normal and to still see their friends and do something they enjoy doing. They are so dedicated to the program and each other, which I have always thought, but it truly shows when rehearsals and performances were so different.
Share some of your best experiences in your field
I've been teaching for almost 20 years and there are so many different moments for being proud and just being in awe of what the students are able to accomplish, from one of the first winter guard shows I designed at Spanish Springs High School to helping at camps during the summer with eNVision Arts. When I first interviewed at the university, the band director had asked me where I wanted the winter guard program to go. They had been doing local shows in exhibitions. I told him, with all the confidence, I want them to compete in WGI. It took a few years, but they got there. The university recently won first again at the Union City Regional for WGI and I could not be more proud of how far the UNR program has come.