Houma man conducts US Army Band at Final Four

This year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Final was one for the ages as powerhouses Duke and Wisconsin battled one another tooth and nail in a closely-knit contest that wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

But what most folks locally probably don’t realize is that it was one of our own who officially set the tone for all of the action on that historical night of hoops – just another feather in the decorated cap that is his musical career.

Terrebonne Parish native and U.S. Army Maj. Treg Ancelet conducted both the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets and 100 other college students in a rousing rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” which fell seconds before tip-off in the big game.

Ancelet was raised in Houma, but has since been relocated to several different spots around the country. He touts that no matter where he lives, the folks in Terrebonne Parish are “his people” and our area is his home.

The active director of the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets and the U.S. Army Ceremonial Band, Ancelet said the appearance at the NCAA Tournament Championship Game was a thrill he’ll never forget.

Ancelet was shown on television several times during the performance. Intense focus and concentration poured through his eyes as he conducted the musicians.

“At first, the producers weren’t sure which Final Four game we’d perform,” Ancelet said. “But finally we were told that we would definitely be playing at the championship game and that they wanted to add an additional 100 trumpet players from local universities – Purdue, Ball State and the University of Indiana.

“I was fairly nervous because I was conducting not only my group, but those 100 musicians I’d never seen before. The anthem that was written for us had different time signatures in it that made it a little tricky to conduct. I didn’t realize how intense I was until I saw my face on the TV screen.”

This well-known conductor is actually a self-described ol’ Houma boy who walked the same neighborhood streets and schoolyard halls as many in our community.

Ancelet said he was born in Sulphur, but was raised in Houma after his family relocated here when he was 1.

“I grew up in the Lisa Park subdivision,” he remembered with a laugh. “And my mom lives in the same home that I was raised in.”

Music was always rich in Ancelet’s genes. He attended and graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, earning a bachelors degree in music education along the way.

From there, Ancelet continued his education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where he obtained a masters degree in conducting.

Because George Mason is practically a rock’s toss from Washington, D.C., Ancelet said he saw a lot of military bands in the area, which gave him the idea to attempt to join the Army as a band officer.

After a two-day audition, Ancelet was selected. He’s been in the Army for 15-plus years, having been stationed at several locations around the country.

But for all of the amazing homes Ancelet has had as a serviceman, none of those stops add up to Houma, according to Ancelet, who said he missed the people in the area.

“I have been assigned to places like West Point, New York; the Army School of Music and Ft. Monroe, which are both in Virginia Beach, Virginia; Ft. McPherson, Atlanta; Ft. Bragg, North Carolina; Ft. Myer in Arlington, Virginia and even Kuwait,” Ancelet said. “And although I have had an amazing career with amazing opportunities, I have always missed south Louisiana and ‘my people’.”

The opportunity to perform at the Final Four isn’t the first time Ancelet and his bandmates have had the eyes of the world focused on their music.

The local has conducted the national anthem at several NASCAR events in his career, as well as NFL games and also MLB playoff games.

The NCAA Tournament performance was before more than 70,000 people live and was broadcast into the homes of several million folks around the world.

The crowd burst into applause after the anthem was played – the sign of a job well done for Ancelet.

The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets perform the National Anthem at the NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship Game. The band was conducted by Houma native and U.S. Army Maj. Treg Ancelet, who said the event was a thrill.

COURTESY PHOTO