When most other county students are returning to school in January after their winter break, Nicholas Keller will be in San Antonio.
The Howard High School student will be performing at the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, an annual showcase for high school football stars — and musicians.
Every year, high school students from across the country are selected to be part of the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, which performs at halftime at the bowl. This year, Keller, a trumpet player, was selected for the honor, marking the first time a Howard High School student was picked.
A county school system spokeswoman said she was not sure if any other county students had ever been selected for the band.
Keller, 17, of Ellicott City, auditioned for the band by video. He has been heavily involved in the drum and bugle corps at Howard High School in his three and a half years at the school, he said.
"Marching band is the one thing I really like to do," Keller said. "There's something about the performance and discipline of it."
The All-American Bowl features 90 of the nation's top high school football players. The All-American Marching Band comprises 125 of the top high school marching band musicians and color guard members in the country, selected for their talent and leadership ability. They will all meet for the first time in the week leading up to the Jan. 7 game.
"There's a lot of things that only happen once like that, and that's what makes them special," Keller said. "It just happens."
Keller said he felt no trepidation about flying across the country, meeting new people, and performing with them after only a few days together. Rather, he said, it reminded him of a weekend band camp experience, in which he knew nobody when he arrived on a Friday but by Sunday afternoon had made several good friends.
"You share common interests," Keller said. "Friendship builds really quickly."
Lt. Col. Montrose Robinson, ROTC recruiter at Bowie State University and the U.S. Army representative at an assembly honoring Keller Monday, Nov. 28, said the things Keller admired about the marching band were the same things considered important in the Army.
"Marching band, like the Army, prepares young Americans with training, discipline and experiences that make them mentally, emotionally and physically strong," Robinson said. "It takes a special person to be a soldier, just as it takes a special musician to be selected as an All-American."
In front of a group of marching band students, JROTC members, and representatives from the Army and the county government, Keller was presented with the jacket and hat worn by All-American band members.
"Howard County is lauded for excellence, and that excellence often focuses on education in the arts," County Council Chairman Calvin Ball said. "But what makes us great is not our programs, but our people … It's an honor to have Nicholas here, representing us well with excellence, scholarship and artistic ability."
Chris Campbell, Keller's marching band director, said Keller not only had musical talent, but also leadership, noting that the senior has developed "an incredible rapport" with other band members.
"This is fantastic, too, for the band, that (Keller) can perform with students on a national platform," Campbell added. "It helps demonstrate the high-level performance of Howard County's music programs."
Keller said he is hoping to attend Georgia Tech University next year, and expects to major in computer science.