Picnic Pops features Marine Band guest, Huron alum

By Tara Cavanaugh

This year’s Picnic Pops featured abundant sunshine, carnival games, balloons and – of course – the fun musical selections of the AAPS middle and high school bands.

It also featured an esteemed guest: U.S. Marine Band clarinetist and Huron High School alum Jonathon Troy.

Huron Symphonic Band director Steve Roberts got in touch with Troy earlier this year and asked him to perform with the band for Picnic Pops. Troy not only accepted the invitation, he also spent two days teaching music clinics at Scarlett and Huron, rehearsing with the symphonic band and talking with students about his life as a professional musician.

For Staff Sergeant Troy, who has since earned degrees in music from the University of Michigan and Yale, it is important to give back to the program that helped him establish his musical foundation.

“I just wanted to take this time to let you know the music programs in the Ann Arbor Public School District are extraordinary,” Troy told the audience before he played with the band. “My work has taken me to cities across the country, coast to coast, and you will not find a music program as fine as this. It’s very rare, and I want to thank you for your continued support in keeping up this tradition.”

To see more photos of the Picnic Pops scene, check out the slideshow below.

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