THE GAZETTE
Page A-14
Wednesday, December 11, 2013 p
SCHOOL LIFE Students score high with game music Magruder musicians play the soundtracks of games they play n
BY
PEGGY MCEWAN STAFF WRITER
There are no crashes, explosions or other sounds of destruction in the video game music at Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville. The music, performed by students of the Gamer Symphony Orchestra, is soft, though growing in intensity, for sure. It’s a serious work by the group preparing to take part in the school’s annual winter concert Thursday. “It’s like soundtrack music,” said Mark Eisenhower, chairman of the school’s music department and the orchestra’s sponsor. “Characters have themes.” The orchestra is completely student run, Eisenhower said, although he is willing to support the members. The musicians even do their own arrangements. Junior Macen Molina arranged the
piece the group was working on at a rehearsal Friday, a selection adapted from “Kingdom Hearts,” a role-playing game in which the main character searches for his friends. “I’ve always loved music and to be able to connect video games and music is great,” he said. Molina, who plays the bassoon in the GSO, said “Kingdom Hearts” is dramatic: The player is the key master, trying to destroy people who are. It was a natural choice for him to see if he could capture the music. Roughly 25 to 30 students play in the group, Eisenhower said. They incorporate mostly brass instruments, but also woodwinds, strings, an electric guitar and percussion. The group is led by its president, Brian Berden, a senior and saxophone player, and senior vice president Shiloh Parrish, who is the GSO conductor. Both students are active in other music groups at Magruder and members of the school’s instrumental leadership council. Berden arranged the second piece
the group plans to perform at the concert. “It’s called ‘Fight,’ a medley of a lot of battle themes,” he said. “Themes from ‘Street Fighter,’ ‘Final Fantasy VII’ and ‘Pokemon Black and White.’” The piece is a quartet for four saxophones, so he had to use pieces that could be broken down to four voices, he said. Magruder’s GSO started, the best anyone can remember, about six years ago with just a handful of members. A band member who was interested in gaming heard that the University of Maryland had a gaming orchestra, heard it play and brought the idea back to the school. “We are the first [in the county] and there is one at Quince Orchard [High School in Gaithersburg] and one at Damascus [High School],” Brian said. The students said video games are a big part of their lives. “Video games have always been a big part of my life. They’ve helped me bond with friends and get through hard times,” Brian said.
GREG DOHLER/THE GAZETTE
Members of the Gamer Symphony Orchestra, including (front, from left) clarinetists Stephanie Brown, 17, and Calvin Ho, 17, and flutist Timothy Ho, 17, rehearse Friday at Col. Zadok Magruder High School in Rockville. Macen said he hopes they always will be part of his life. “I’d like to go into the industry, be a graphical engineer,” he said. “Take
what artists draw and bring it to life.” And still play the music.
email info@glorystar.org.
choral concert. For more information, call 301-610-8000
pmcewan@gazette.net
EDUCATION NOTEBOOK Eighth-graders flex math muscles in annual contest Six eighth-graders from St. Elizabeth School in Rockville took first place in the 40th annual Our Lady of Good Counsel Math Competition on Nov. 21.
Maggie Hansen, Patrick Howley, Matthew Musselman, Thomas Penny, Kerry Pullano and Connor Starkey repre-
133552G
sented the school in the competition, which included teams from 15 schools. The Olney Catholic high school invites Catholic grade schools in the area to send sixstudent teams to the annual fall competition, where they take a 45-minute, multiple-choice test written by the school’s math faculty, according to Patricia Lavin Riely, chairwoman of Good Counsel’s math department. Each team’s score is the sum of their top four individual scores. St. Elizabeth was first with 92 points, followed by St. Martin of Tours in Gaithersburg with 90 and Trinity School in Howard County with 83. Matthew Musselman of the St. Elizabeth team earned a perfect score. The top 10 students were awarded certificates and the top three teams received trophies. “Everyone celebrates with pizza and beverages at the end,” Riely wrote in an email. Good Counsel has a partnership with its Catholic feeder schools and the math competition is a way to encourage them with their math programs, she wrote, adding it is a nice way to get eighth-grade students “excited about coming to Our Lady of Good Counsel for high school.”
KAREN SYMON/ST. ELIZABETH SCHOOL
(Back row, from left) Thomas Penny, Patrick Howley, Connor Starkey and Matthew Musselman, and (front row, from left) Margaret Hansen and Kerry Pullano, members of the math team at St. Elizabeth School in Rockville, show off the first-place trophy they won Nov. 21 in the Our Lady of Good Counsel Math Competition.
Students sell refurbished cars and computers The Montgomery County Students Automotive Trades and Information Technology foundations will hold a sale of reconditioned vehicles and computers from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Damascus High School, 25921 Ridge Road. Three times a year, students from the programs hold public sales where refurbished vehicles and computers are offered at competitive prices. These sales provide the students with the opportunity to practice their sales skills, earn student service learning hours and develop an appreciation for community involvement. Test drives for the auto-
mobiles will be held from 9-11 a.m., with the sale at 11 a.m. The snow date is Jan. 4. For more information contact Kelly Johnson, 301929-2197 or Kelly_R_Johnson@ mcpsms.org. More information on the sales, including lists of cars and computers, is available at www. atfcareers.org for autos and www. itfcareers.org for computers.
Preschoolers collect food for those in need Young students at the
Goddard School at King Farm
in Rockville learned the importance of helping families in need around the holidays and collected more than 1,500 pounds of food during a three-
week food drive in November. The food drive gave teachers the opportunity to discuss social responsibility and healthful eating habits with their students. “While we observe the upcoming holidays that are centered on families and feasts, there are those whom will have neither,” teacher Charles Prather said in a statement. “We wanted to make a point to educate the children on how important it is to help those less fortunate than us.” All of the school’s 200-plus children and their families were invited to participate. “It is amazing how children so young can be excited about something so much larger than themselves,” said Nicole Schwartz, the private preschool’s academic director. The items were donated to Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg.
Glorystar Children’s Chorus plans concert The Glorystar Children’s Chorus will present its annual winter concert at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Chinese Bible Church of Maryland, 4414 Muncaster Mill Road, Rockville. Four choirs — beginner, training, concert and chamber — will perform holiday music for all ages. The program includes choral music from around the world, from baroque to contemporary and living composers, and in eight languages including Chinese, English, German, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Zulu and Hebrew. The audience is invited to join in a sing-along. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $5 for students and seniors; children 12 and younger are free. For reservations and information, call 240-277-7629 or
Rocky Hill blood and toy drive honors Sam Moore The public is invited to honor the life of Sam Moore, a former Rocky Hill Middle School student, by participating in the second Rocky Hill Community Blood and Toy Drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the school, 22401 Brick Haven Way, Clarksburg. Sam was a student at Rocky Hill when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He died in 2012 at age 15. To reserve a spot, call Cheryl Kemp at 301-502-2876 or visit www.donatebloodmedstar.org, select the donate blood tab and enter sponsor code 55119. For help with online scheduling call 301-931-4416. Toy donations will be delivered to Children’s National Medical Center. Donors should meet the following criteria: • Be at least 17, or 16 with parental consent; website has permission form. • Be in general good health. • Have no high-risk factors for HIV or hepatitis. • Be cold- or flu-symptom free for a week. • Have photo identification.
Sounds of music at Montgomery High The music department of Richard Montgomery High School will present two free concerts this month in the school auditorium, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, there will be a winter band concert and at 7 p.m. Dec. 19, student singers will present a winter
Book festival launches short story contest High school students from across the Washington metropolitan area are invited to submit short stories to the Gaithersburg Book Festival Short Story Contest. Stories must be no longer than 1,000 words and must start with one of the following three lines provided by Jon Methven, author of “This Is Your Captain Speaking”: • I’ve seen some odd things delivering food for Ned’s Pizza, but nothing beat the lady that ordered a half-mushroom, half fish-eyeball pie, then hit me with this request at the door … • The trouble began since my cell number is one digit off from Madam O’Wiggy’s, the psychic, which is how I came to be answering questions about the future to begin with … • The main thing to know, if pirates commandeer the cruise ship you’re on during family vacation, is that they do much less dancing and singing than in movies … Authors must be public, private or homeschooled students in grades nine through 12 at the time of entry and must live in Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. They may submit only one entry. The submission deadline is midnight Feb. 21. Submissions must include the author’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address, school, grade, and English or writing teacher’s name. The top three stories will be announced at the festival May 17. More information is at gaithersburgbookfestival.org.