WHS Musicians Perform with Walla Walla Youth Symphony Orchestra

WAITSBURG – Three Waitsburg High School musicians will play with the Walla Walla Symphony Youth Orchestra at their Winter Concert on Dec. 14. Tuba players Jacob Elder and Scott Leamy, and clarinetist Leena Baker, are looking forward to their first symphony performance.

"I am delighted! What a special bunch of students," said WHS band director Brad Green, who plans to show support by taking a van-load of WHS band students to attend the concert.

Seventeen-year-old Jacob Elder was the first to join the symphony. He moved to Waitsburg from Hermiston, Ore. last summer and quickly began looking for musical opportunities.

"In Hermiston I was able to play in marching band, wind ensembles, and jazz band. When I realized there was only one program in Waitsburg, I began looking to see where I could branch out," Elder said.

Elder found the WWYSO website and was immediately interested. There was only one problem – and it was a big one. He didn't have an instrument.

Elder began playing the trumpet in sixth grade, moved to the euphonium, and finally fell in love with the deep, rich sound of the tuba. Elder said tubas range in price from $3,000 - $15,000 and he was fortunate that his old school district had one. Waitsburg does not.

Not one to give up easily, Elder called Whitman College, where the WWYSO rehearses and asked if they had an instrument he could borrow for an audition. After auditioning, and being accepted by the orchestra, the college was generous enough to let him borrow the instrument he currently plays.

Elder then convinced fellow tuba player and WHS junior Scott Leamy to audition. Leamy, who borrows an instrument from the Prescott School District, was also accepted. Elder said this is the first time the WWYSO has had tuba players in many years.

Fellow band member, sophomore clarinetist Leena Baker, said she watched the boys and thought, "I think I could do this!" By the end of September, all three were part of the orchestra.

All three agree that the sound of the orchestra is "amazingly beautiful."

"It's great to play with people that care about the music and are willing to put the time in to make it really good. We're playing with musicians that really care about their musical education and want to be better," Elder said.

"I really like playing with people who are willing to put in the time to be skilled at what they do," Leamy said in agreement.

Baker said she enjoys the complexity of the pieces the orchestra tackles. Band pieces are rated in difficulty from one to five, with the typical high school piece receiving a two to three rating. The orchestra pieces range from three to five in level of difficulty, she said.

"That's where the tuba goes from playing 'boom, boom, boom' to playing beautiful whole notes that sing and can create beautiful chords," Elder said.

Elder says he hopes to make a future in music. He has applied to Brigham Young University and plans to major in music. Leamy said he would welcome the opportunity to play in a college or a military band.

"For me, music is more of a hobby. But if the opportunity for something professional presents itself, I'm all over it!" Baker said.

The WWYSO is open to students in grades 8 through 12 and is directed by Dr. Paul Luongo, who is also the director of the Whitman College Orchestra. Winter Concert performance pieces include: Wizards in Winter, Christmas Eve/Sarajevo, In the Steppes of Central Asia, and Sleigh Ride.

The concert will be Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Walla Walla High School Auditorium. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $2 per person or $5 per family.