MONTGOMERY
CATHOLIC SENIOR
RICKY TRELOAR
BRINGS TOGETHER
RIVAL BANDS
Some people like to express national pride by wearing a flag lapel pin
or displaying Old Glory from a flagpole in front of the house. If you’re
Ricky Treloar, you listen to a popular patriotic country song, transcribe
it by ear, create an arrangement of it, and hand out sheet music to
your bandmates and members of a rival band to play altogether at
the start of a football game. “I just thought it would be a cool and
meaningful thing to do,” said Ricky, a senior at Montgomery Catholic,
“especially during the week of 9/11 since it was a significant event to
all Americans.” Before the start of the varsity football game against the
Alabama Christian Academy Eagles, the combined marching bands
and color guards from MCPS and ACA took the field and played
Ricky’s arrangement of “God Bless the U.S.A.” by Lee Greenwood. It
was quite a logistic undertaking, and rehearsals were the easy part.
“First he had to listen to the music and write the melody,” explained
Alex Johnson, director of the Montgomery Catholic band program.
“Next, he had to decide on what key it should
be played in. Then there is the instrumentation:
who gets the melody, who gets the harmony,
will there be a counter melody, what will the
percussion be doing during all of this, what
is the most effective way to use each section,
et cetera. Once he had written parts for each
section, he had to transpose all the sheet music
to match the key of each instrument. There
are a lot of moving parts in ensemble music
arrangement that many people don’t realize,
and Ricky is doing something that even some
college music majors cannot do.” Ricky has
played the trumpet since he was in elementary
band at St. Bede and hasn’t looked back since.
Although it is his primary instrument, he has a
deep interest in music theory and composition
and enjoys writing arrangements for the
entire band. He has interpreted some popular
tunes for the band to play in the stands at
athletic events and has arranged pieces for the
beginning band to play. While Ricky said that
he is not sure if he will pursue a music degree
in college, he confirmed that he definitely will
continue to keep music in his life. “I’m kind
of a band nerd,” he added with a shrug and a
smile. “It’s part of who I am.”
TRINITY THIRD GRADERS CREATE
COMMUNITIES USING 3D PRINTERS
Using MacBooks and 3D printers, Trinity third grade students
designed their own communities in the Lower School Media Center.
The finished products are on display outside our STEAM Studio,
along with other creative projects the students have been working on
this school year.
Trinity’s Lower School faculty goes to great measures to present real-
world challenges to our students. This type of instruction engages
students and allows them a hands-on approach to problem solving.
Our classroom teachers work closely with our librarian/media
specialist, Mrs. Osmer, to provide productive educational experiences
for our students. At Trinity, we are preparing our children to enter
a job market with employers who value critical thinking skills and
sustained engagement. Our students acquire these skills through
project-based learning activities and productive struggle. We are
thrilled over the opportunities that are provided to our Lower School
students through our media center and the 3D printers.
L36 |
Winter 2018
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