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A newsmaker you should know: 10-year-old is clear winner singing anthem at Bucs game
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Shane Treloar
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Shane Treloar of North Fayette has been described as the boy with the golden voice.
On Sept. 14, the 10-year-old crooner became the first boy to sing the National Anthem before a Pittsburgh Pirates game.
He delivered a flawless performance before the Pirates played the St. Louis Cardinals in an afternoon game.
"He nailed it," said Kim Treloar, Shane's mother. "He hit every note and he sang the song the right way. He didn't add anything to it. He sang it the way it's supposed to be sung."
Mrs. Treloar said she was nervous viewing Shane's performance from the sidelines and that it is probably a feeling that will never go away, no matter how many performances he gives. Shane said he was a little nervous as well. Fortunately, his excitement overcame his fear as he lived out his longtime dream.
"It was a really big crowd and I really wanted to perform in front of thousands of people," he said.
The invitation to sing at the game came as a surprise to Shane. Unbeknownst to him, his grandmother, Kathy Dugan of Monroeville, had sent in a video of him singing God Bless America in August before a game of the Washington Wild Things, the Frontier League team based in Washington, Pa.
After viewing the video, Christine Serkoch, Pirates marketing director, called Shane and invited him to sing at PNC Park.
"I was like, 'oh my gosh, this is my dream,' " he said. "I was so excited and just amazed."
Shane's performance at the game sparked some media attention that he said has stirred up some mixed feelings.
"I feel kind of weird because I never get this much attention and I was never on the news," he said. "I'm feeling happy and weird at the same time."
After the performance, Shane had the opportunity to meet some of the Pirate players and have his shirt autographed.
"This is something he'll always remember," said Mrs. Treloar.
Shane's musical ability began at a young age. According to Mrs. Treloar, he began singing as soon as he could talk.
"There was music coming out of his mouth constantly," she said.
Shane's talents became evident to his family on Thanksgiving Day when he was 7 years old. He had seen the movie Titanic and become enthralled with the songs, especially "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion.
After dinner, family members persuaded Shane to sing the song for them. Mrs. Treloar said the reaction of the family was unexpected.
"I watched the faces of everyone around the table and some of them were crying and everybody's mouths were open," she said. "I said to my husband that night, 'wow, we have something here.' "
A few months later, he performed the song at his school's talent show and elicited the same reactions from the audience.
His talent caught the attention of Karen Prunzik of Broadway Dance Studio in Robinson and upon her recommendation, Shane was enrolled in singing, dancing, and acting classes. The idea was to make him a "triple threat" by teaching him the three disciplines.
Shane's training involves jazz, ballet, tap and musical theater classes three times a week and weekly voice lessons from Pittsburgh vocalist Etta Cox.
"Even athletes will tell you, if this is something you want to pursue and be good at, you give your time to it," said Mrs. Treloar.
Shane is working toward his next goal of appearing on "America's Got Talent." As for his biggest dream, Shane said he hopes to someday appear on Broadway.
First Published September 22, 2011 5:15 am
