Modern Band is one of many instrumental classes at Trinity that offers an incredible experience for up-and-coming musicians. Players who have experience—or even advanced players who have not yet had the opportunity to play in a group—should seriously consider joining this class. They would have the opportunity to join the current band of 26 players and learn how to collaborate with others when performing. Scott Ross, the Modern Band instructor, highly encourages those interested to come, saying, “We would welcome everyone.”

Ross enjoys teaching the class, though he admits it can be “challenging” to get all the various instruments to blend together. “As a teacher, it definitely keeps me on my toes because I need to learn a little bit about each of those instruments in order to help the students. And then I’m also just, you know, really proud of how I see each student improve throughout the semester.”

The actual players, while keeping Ross on his toes, enjoy the class as well. Patrick Mellinger, a junior piano player of four years and a keyboardist for Band, says, “It’s been a fun environment where I can learn new songs and play different genres of music with other people.” Jude Turner, a senior guitarist, pianist, and mainly keyboardist for Band, has had a blast with the class. “It’s really, really fun. The

A big part of why Modern Band is so enjoyable for the players is that they get to choose much of the music they work on. The musicians are sectioned into different groups based on their instruments and then vote on songs they want to practice and perform. They work together, in groups from across all grade levels, to find music they enjoy. They are not restricted to just modern music, either—they have the opportunity to try jazz, hip hop, classic country, and even reggae. The class is what the students make of it. Ross says, “I’m very open-minded. I base a lot of it on student input. If they bring me a song that’s in a different genre and I think it’s a good song for the group, then we’ll do it.”

Of course, there is some music the students are required to play, especially for concerts. Modern Band performs two end-of-semester concerts, a Christmas concert, and some performances around Mother’s Day. The players practice Christmas music before the Christmas concert and required music for their other performances. Modern Band also performs cafeteria concerts once a year, though Ross plans to expand the number of performances.

Modern Band does a lot for the musicians at Trinity High School. Ross recommends that players have at least six months of experience on their instruments before joining. However, for those seeking a welcoming group of fellow musicians to play and learn with, Modern Band is the place to be.