SEASON 95 GRADUATING SENIORS

Posted on June 14, 2019

Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors!

Thanks to all of you for your commitment to PYP. We wish you the best on all of your adventures ahead, and hope you will keep in touch with us!

Special thanks to the seniors who shared their plans for next year.

Sydney Thomas, viola in PYP’s Conservatory Orchestra

Sydney will attend Portland State University to study Environmental Sciences.

She played in competitive soccer for 12 years, in addition to her work with the orchestra.

“PYP has shown me new avenues in life through music and helped me make new friends outside of school.”

Derek Lund, PYP bassoon

Derek will be attending the Butler School of Music @ UT Austin and majoring in Bassoon Performance.

He came in first in bassoon at the State Solo Competition, and is involved in climate justice activism.

“PYP has taught me how to prepare music and how to utilize my time. It has introduced me to some of the greatest music ever written and some of the greatest people too.”

Brian Lee, PYP viola

Brian will be attesting the New England Conservatory of Music, with a major in Viola performance.

He also played in PYP’s Conservatory Orchestra. Brian is very passionate about Civil conversation, “because it is scarce in modern times to see people our age freely express their opinions on anything. Rather too many people feel anxious to project their views because society has recently been deeming free speech as an anathema especially for younger people for too many invalid reasons.”

“PYP has made me learn immensely about how society and music relate. Just like playing an instrument, the goal may be to look as effortless as possible when playing it, but underneath that calmness is a constant unrest of passion and personal connection. I learned that similarly, our society is not as easy as it seems, and that our instruments are a perfect example of our social structure.”

Jamie Diep, oboe in PYP’s Conservatory Orchestra

Jamie will attend the University of Oregon, majoring in music performance and anthropology.

She received the John Phillip Sousa award at her high school. She is named after James the train from Thomas the Tank Engine.

“PYP gave me a space to work on my music skills in an unfamiliar environment and allowed me to grow as a musician.”

Zoe Beyler, PYP and Camerata PYP percussion

Zoe will be attending USC Thornton School of Music to study percussion performance.

In addition to percussion and piano, she has also played taiko (Japanese Drumming) for 11 years. She will also be graduating from the PPS K-12 Japanese Immersion Program with the Oregon Seal of Biliteracy.

“I have made so many amazing friends in PYP and gotten to play so much amazing music. Having a space where there’s other musicians my age that I can play with at a high level has been very important to me, since I haven’t had that opportunity in other activities in my life. It has helped shape what I want to try and do with my life as well.”

Sundari Arunarasu, clarinet in PYP’s Wind Ensemble

Sundari will be a freshman at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and is currently undecided on a major.

She enjoys doing hand lettering and calligraphy in her free time.

“Being in PYP for many years has helped me gain confidence as a musician, and encouraged me to work harder.”

Vegas Harmon, PYP and Camerata PYP double bass

After graduating early, Vegas will be attending New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, where he will study music and liberal arts. He hopes to go to a major music university like Rice, BU, or Indiana at some point in the near future.

He recently got 3rd in the OSAA state solo championships playing Giovanni Bottesini’s Concerto No.2, and also performed at state with a bass quartet playing Bernhard Alt’s Suite for Four Basses. Although he is not super public about it, he enjoys composing and arranging and plans to study it more rigorously in the future. Mathematics is another one of Vegas’s passions. He’s exhausted almost every math class that his high school and local community college have to offer.

“PYP is actually the reason I started playing the bass. I originally played violin, but for financial reasons had to stop. My parents saw that PYP was offering a free bass class and figured that it would be cheaper to rent an instrument and do that than to try to find another violin teacher. Later on, I went to see one of their Fall concerts, I remember they were playing a piece called “Warehouse Medicine” that had some electronic components to it. I was captivated by the performance, and I made it my goal to perform with the orchestra. I’ve made a lot of progress since then, and the experience I’ve had is something that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”

Jasmine White, PYP bassoon

Jasmine plans on attending the University of Kansas to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance.

She is a recipient of the Bott Family/Win Romanchak Memorial Music Scholarship.

“When I first joined PYP, I had no idea how powerful of an impact it would have on my life. Three years later, I look back and realize that because of my experience in PYP, I am now more resilient, fierce, and confident when facing challenges and striving to achieve my goals. Becoming close friends with and playing alongside other self-driven musicians has pushed me to grow in ways I never thought possible, understand the significance of hard work and determination, and develop a fearless passion for artistically expressing myself.”

Congrats to all of our graduating seniors! We hope you will join the 2019 PYP Alumni Orchestra at our Season 96 Concert-at-Christmas.