Fall Strings Festival | Photo by Julia Kirk | Edited by Rose Taylor | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University hosted high school students from across the Dayton area to attend 3 days of coaching and practices before performing with WSU students on Oct. 5.
Event set-up
On Thursday, Oct. 3, WSU commenced their fifth annual Fall Strings Festival. The event spans three days and serves as an opportunity for high school students to see what it is like to be a part of the Creative Arts Center.
There is a lot of coordination and planning that goes into a multi-day event such as this.
Jackson Y. Leung, the Coordinator of the Chamber Orchestra, is a returning staff member helping to put on the event. He conducted the students for the first two years of the festival before deciding to bring in a guest conductor.
Leung continues to work with the students while letting other staff run the event.
“Professor Bill Jobert is the ‘mastermind’ of the festival from inviting the guest conductor to all the details about scheduling,” Leung said.
Bill Jobert is the Coordinator of Music Education at WSU. He reached out to orchestra high school teachers in the area to invite them to the festival.
Over the past few years, they decided the students would get more experience with a guest conductor, so he reached out to other successful orchestra members.
“Some of these students have participated in the festival in past years. We want them to have a new experience every time they come, so we get guest conductors who can teach them something new,” Jobert said.
The students spend time practicing their pieces and going through coaching in preparation for their final performance.
Students from WSU helped volunteer to run the event, including helping with check-in, walking the high school students around campus and working with them on their musical piece.
The performance
Following in the footsteps of previous years, a guest conductor was invited to come lead the students through their rehearsals and performances. This year they invited Chris Lape.
Chris Lape is the director of orchestras at Upper Arlington High School. He has been teaching music for over 10 years, continues to play professionally and has won multiple awards for his talent.
WSU briefly talks about him on its School of Fine and Performing Arts page.
“He was a recipient of the Upper Arlington Civic Association’s Golden Apple Award in 2022 and recognized as the 2020 Ohio String Teacher of the Year by the Ohio String Teachers Association,” the website reads.
The high school students sat interspersed with WSU students during the performance. They had the opportunity to see what it is like to perform on a college campus. It was also beneficial to be surrounded by more experienced performers who could offer help if needed.
Purpose of the event
Of course, the Fall Strings Festival is a great way for interested high school students to see what it would be like in the WSU music program.
However, the event is also a learning experience for current students. They learned how to perform with others, and accepted some responsibilities along the way.
“Most students in the orchestra are music education majors, so this is great practice for them. My favorite thing each year is watching them collaborate with students and step into leadership positions,” Jobert said.
In addition to the students, the festival also provided learning opportunities for the staff that accompanied them. While the students rehearsed, eight-string conductors hosted a String Teacher Professional Development Day.
This included a teacher discussion panel with Lape and other guest conductors. It gave faculty the opportunity to also learn new information with colleagues, most of whom are WSU alumni.
The Fall Strings Festival is a huge learning event each year for both students and staff. Be sure to catch their performance next Fall.
