It was a night to flaunt Columbus High School talent, and senior Trenton Brown, already a showman at age 17, couldn’t hide his grin, as he stepped behind the drums to pound out a duet with his older brother, CHS Band Instructor Sammy Brown Jr., during the second annual Falcon Showcase Thursday.
Trenton Brown’s sticks flashed brilliant white against his black shirt and pants and his infectious smile won over the crowd of local leaders, school officials and corporate sponsors.
Like many of the students who strutted their arts prowess during the program, Brown’s skills have already earned acclaim outside the classroom. He has been a member of the Winter Guard International Sport of the Arts percussion line since he was 15, and he recently received a music scholarship to Northeast Mississippi Community College, where he will play first chair in the honors band.
He was a natural from the day he was born, said Sammy Brown Jr.
“We’ve got videos of Trenton sitting on the floor, keeping time, before he could even walk,” he noted.
The annual showcase is important, he added, because it gives the community an opportunity to see the positive things happening behind the scenes.
It’s also an important fundraiser for CHS, with attendees paying $50 per person. The idea was the brainchild of Advanced Placement Coordinator Gayle Fortenberry, who saw a similar school program in Starkville, which raised nearly $10,000.
Last year’s Falcon Showcase netted $4,000, said Rosalyn Hodge, president of the Parent-Teacher Organization at CHS.
But the impact is deeper than just pecuniary, she said. Budget concerns and bomb threats have too often taken top billing in the Columbus Municipal School District over the past year, overshadowing the gifted students CHS produces.
As guests dined on a meal prepared and served by the school’s McKellar Culinary Arts students, members of the CHS Jazz Band, third-year Spanish students and others offered music, drama skits, poetry and other entertainment.
“I love events like this,” said senior Jessika Hayes, student body president. “It shows we have students who value their education and want to grow.”
After the presentation, Century 21 Realtor Andy Kalinowski and his wife, Jane, said they enjoyed the event.
“This is a great program,” Andy Kalinowski said. “We hear so many things about what’s wrong with the youth of America, but this is what’s right with the students. The city and county are going to have great leaders.”
Today, the Jazz Band is headed to Birmingham, Ala. to perform in a festival at the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Many of the 40-50 students who participated in Thursday night’s event are staring down the final weeks of their high school experience, bound for colleges near and far.
Trenton Brown is helping his brother teach the school’s next star percussionist.
And Falcon Showcase organizers are already thinking about how to make next year’s event better.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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