Mar 25, 2018 4 min read

Editor’s note: This is the first of an occasional collaboration with Trinity High School students.

The auditorium lights dim and the theater doors close; the packed crowd begins to quiet down and the sound of instruments being tuned slowly dissipates. Each musician calmly awaits the conductor’s signal. The wand is raised and the music begins.

For many high school students, the experience has become second nature.

Over the last few years, several students from Washington County have participated in the Washington Symphony Orchestra (WSO). These participants should not only be thought of as student musicians, but also as people with a passion for music who wish to explore music in many ways, according to Dr. Yugo Ikach, music director of the WSO.

Ikach inherited the position from Dave Owens and has held the position for the last 13 years. He was initially asked to sing with the orchestra as a soloist; later, he was invited back as a guest conductor. In 2005, Ikach was hired as the head conductor by the WSO board.

Ikach has been a musician since high school. He was a member of his high school’s choir, band and musicals. Initially, he went to the University of Pittsburgh to major in computer science and later transferred to Carnegie Mellon University to study music. He received a master’s degree at the Peabody Conservatory and then a doctorate from West Virginia University.

Though he plays trumpet and piano, he considers his main instrument to be his voice. Ikach is currently a professor of music at California University of Pennsylvania.

Ikach’s main hope for Washington Symphony Orchestra concerts is that the music performed will reach a wide range of people. He selects songs that are good representations of classical music that will be entertaining to modern audiences.

Each concert WSO presents has a theme. Past themes include “WSO Rocks,” in which each song was a cover of a famous classic rock song, and “Double Trouble,” which was 2017’s Halloween concert.

One of the concerts next year will have the theme, “Fire and Ice,” based on the first book in the “Game of Thrones” series. Each song will have something to do with fire or ice.

According to Ikach, in an orchestra of around 60 people (consisting of mainly string instruments), between eight and 10 percent of the members will be high school teenagers. Other members are adults who have their own jobs, but still want to explore their musical passions. These members attend rehearsals beginning about six weeks before a concert.

Ikach feels it is important to incorporate teenagers into the productions as they are the musicians of the future.

“One of our missions is to create young people into classical music lovers who appreciate the arts,” said Ikach.

Several Trinity students have been part of the Washington Symphony Orchestra performances. Seniors Brendan Wilson and Carly Croft, sophomore Alison Spadaro and junior Sydney Shook have participated in recent years.

Wilson played the violin for the “Side by Side” concerts beginning in his sophomore year; Croft played cello in the February 2016 “Side by Side” concert and was a percussionist in the December 2016 Christmas concert.

Wilson acknowledges the enjoyment he gets from being part of the WSO’s performances, citing the wonderful experiences he has had as a participant.

“My favorite part is the musicianship between all of us and the nice repertoire that we have,” said Wilson.

Shook has participated in the Concerto Competitions, receiving the grand prize in 2017. Past Trinity alumni Ben Artuso and Anthony D’Orazio have also received the grand prize.

WSO presents concerts each year in February, May, October and December. Most members participate in every concert.

WSO’s next performance is May 5 at Trinity High School. The “Abracadabra” concert will follow a theme of magic and mystery, and will treat the audience to a spellbinding performance. For WSO musicians, it will be an opportunity to further their musical passions and share their talents with the community.

Maria Cimino is a junior at Trinity High School. She is the feature editor of “The Hiller” newspaper.