Do You Know About Tech Prep’s Marching Band?

Story by FNN Reporters Jerell King, Jadon Miller and Dionel Grice. Photo by Sean Beach.

October 21, 2016. Have you ever wanted to know who represents the Tech Prep name? Well you should look no further, because it’s Friendship Tech Prep’s very own Marching Titans, directed by none other than Dr. Keith Kilgo. The Marching Titans perform at many different places including Georgetown University, Anacostia Park and the Friendship Tech Prep campus. The band has many sections such as percussion, which include snare drums, bass drums, quads and cymbals. The brass section includes the trombone and the trumpet. The woodwind section includes the alto saxophone. Our band is always ready to work and we always have fun together as a team.

Our band always works hard to prepare for our performances. We practice on many catchy songs and cadences, such as ESPN, Get Up, and also Eye Of The Tiger. Plus we work on new songs everyday. Our band instructor, Dr.Kilgo motivates us to do better each and every day we come to practice. Dr.Killgo is a very experienced musician and he sees a lot of potential in all of us. That’s why we take so much pride in representing our school. Now we’d like to introduce ourselves and tell you about our roles in the band.

My name is Jerell King and I play the trombone. I chose to play the trombone because I really love the potential of the instrument. The trombone is a brass instrument that specializes in playing lower notes for the back beats of songs. I really love band because of the many fun performances we get to do and how much work we have to put in to complete our tasks. I am always ready to put in the work and I love to participate in band.¨

¨My name is Jadon Miller and I play in the percussion section of the Tech Prep band. I play the snare drum. At first I played the cymbals because all the snare drums were taken and I was not good enough. But my talent was somehow recognized and Dr. Killgo said that I was ready for it. I choose the snare drum because playing that instrument is an honor. Now, it's a part of me and now I’m going to use my talent to inspire others and make myself known in the world of music.¨

¨My name is Dionel Grice and I am the section leader of the percussion section. I like playing the snare drum because rhythm has always been in my blood. I’ve been in the band since the start of last year. So far I have very good experience inside of the band and hope to learn more about music.

Our band instructor, Dr. Kilgo, is a very experienced musician. He has a rich history with music. Dr. Killgo has even played in the band, “The Blackbyrds” and had his own band called “Second Stage”. Dr. Kilgo majored in music theory, which is the study of the history of music and how music is created.

Our band is really starting to grow. We continue to get new volunteers everyday. Band is a really fun opportunity for us. Were all proud to be members of the “Tech Prep Marching Titans”!

Jerell King is a 9th grade scholar, Jadon MIller,  Dionel Grice, and Sean Beach are 8th grade scholars from Friendship Tech Prep Academy.