SEASON 69 GRADUATING SENIORS
As we close out season 69 we would like to spotlight our graduating seniors. Congratulations and thank you for creating fabulous music with SYS!
SYS senior graduates can submit photos and special memories using the online SYS 2024 Graduate form.
Tyler Cleveland – Horn
Years participated in SYS: 4
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: South Salem High School
Future Plans: To get my Bachelors of Music in Music Education from U of O, as well as my Masters in Conducting. I hope to one day be a future artistic director of SYS, or Conductor of Philharmonia, and a Band Director in Salem-Keizer.
Special Memory: I enjoyed being able to Play Summon the Heroes at the Winter Concert my Junior year. Summon the Heroes is my most memorable piece I have played while in SYS.
Alex Dillon – Percussion
Years participated in SYS: 2
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: South Salem High School
Future Plans: I am going to OSU to major in mechanical engineering and minor in percussion.
Special Memory: Playing Jupiter during the spring concert in the 2022-2023 season. It sounded so amazing from back in percussion, especially the large walls of brass.
Maisy Fisher – Violin
Years participated in SYS: 2
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: South Salem High School
Future Plans: I will be attending Bard College and Conservatory to pursue a double degree (BA/BM)
Special Memory: Playing ultimate frisbee on the beach in Newport
Emma Harris-Clippinger – Violin
Years participated in SYS: 7
Orchestras: Amadeus Players, Philharmonia, and Youth Symphony
School: South Salem High School
Future Plans: I plan to go to college for nursing!
Special Memory: I have had the honor and privilege of sharing the stage with my dad since I was 5 years old. I will never forget the countless smiles that we have shared in each orchestra he has conducted that I have participated in. I have gotten to be the second violin section leader since my sophomore year and I remember helping listen to music for the set for my junior year. I have always dreamed of hearing Fanfare for the Common man and Jupiter live, but never did I imagine I would be able to experience them on stage. The melody of Jupiter is one of my favorite in classic music and I will never forget the smile my dad and I shared while we played that. Dad, thank you for 13 years of memories, dedication and teaching me through my love of music. The experience we got to share is like no other and I am eternally grateful. And to all of the other Salem Youth Symphony members with whom I’ve gotten to share the stage with, thank you for change my life and giving me the gift of music.
Dougie Howard – Viola
Years participated in SYS: 8
Orchestras: Mozart Players, Amadeus Players, Philharmonia, and Youth Symphony
School: McNary High School
Future Plans: I am going to Vanderbilt University
Special Memory: One of my favorite SYS memories is the ULTIMATE Ultimate Frisbee game during the Newport trip last year. Mr. Harris-Clippinger might’ve kicked all of our butts, but it was still a really fun bonding experience for all of us.
Ian Huskie – Horn
Years participated in SYS: 3
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: Sprague High School
Future Plans: I am going to college in the fall to study Forestry at Oregon State.
Special Memory: Walking to Arctic Circle with the rest of the brass section during the Newport Trip during my second year.
Reese Johnston – Bassoon
Years participated in SYS: 2
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: McNary High School
Future Plans: I plan to attend either University of Oregon or Colorado State University to study music education and multi woodwind performance.
Special Memory: It’s so special to meet other people who have a passion for music that inspire me to be better every week. It isn’t a room of competition, it’s a room of people ready to play and make music which is so inspiring. Even just within the low reeds section, I have a blast playing high level music and still being able to sit back and have fun with them every week.
Ian King – Trumpet
Years participated in SYS: 3
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: Sprague High School
Future Plans: College
Special Memory: The ending of Shostakovich 5 movement 4 at the 2023 spring concert.
Jarrod Kohler – Viola
Years participated in SYS: 5
Orchestras: Amadeus Players, Philharmonia, and Youth Symphony
School: McNary High School
Future Plans: I am going to Oregon State University in the fall to study Chemical Engineering
Special Memory:One of my favorite memories with SYS is attending the Amadeus summer camp with Atticus
Atticus Lush – Double Bass
Years participated in SYS: 5
Orchestras: Amadeus Players & Youth Symphony
School: McNary High School
Future Plans: College
Special Memory: Ultimate frisbee on the beach was pretty cool.
Charlotte Medina – Violin
Years participated in SYS: 4
Orchestras: Philharmonia and Youth Symphony
School: Homeschool
Future Plans: I plan to study Accounting
Special Memory: I have many funny memories of flying batons
Piper Martin – Flute/Piccolo
Years participated in SYS: 1
Orchestras: Youth Symphony
School: McKay High School
Future Plans: I’d like to go to college and then go to medical school so I can become a doctor!
Special Memory: The children’s concert was so much fun and it is always a joy to perform.
Ryan Radford – Cello
Years participated in SYS: 2
Orchestras: Youth Symphony
School: West Salem High School
Future Plans: I will attend University of Oregon as a Cello Performance Major
Special Memory: I think one of my favorite memories is when My friend Jackson and I both over slept and missed the bus for the Children’s concert at Newport (we both had alarms set, but we managed to not wake up) We panicked to get ready, and since we missed it, Mr. Harris-Clippinger had someone’s mom drive us to Newport, we apologized like crazy, and to top it off people throughout the day were teasing us about it because we’re like the two people who wouldn’t be late to things at all, we’d always be early, its honestly really funny haha, it was overall a really fun day and experience, and the concerts were amazing!
A 2nd memory would be playing the cello solos to Scheherazade (during the concert) for some reason I’d always get nervous during rehearsals because my peers were watching but for the concert it wasn’t the same, of course I was nervous, but i just felt how everyone was just there to make music, and I wanted to do the same, so I just relaxed and felt the music, it was really the first time I’ve just apricated the music during a solo performance, and because of that day I feel like I’ve grew a lot as a musician.
Overall being in the Salem Youth Symphony was probably the best thing for me, I got to play professional level repertoire with amazing musicians. And with an even more amazing Conductor!!! Also the work that Kami does to keep things running is Amazing and I feel like not enough people recognize it, so Thank you Kami!!!
Maiken Schmidt Van Acker – Bass Clarinet
Years participated in SYS: 1
Orchestras: Youth Symphony
School: West Salem High School
Future Plans: I am going to U of O to study music.
Special Memory: My special SYS memory was probably the Newport trip. Performing for all of the little ones was special to me, just playing music and hearing them all laugh or gasp at the music that they know, and each of the individual instruments shown to them (Especially when I held up the contra and they all went crazy).
Sage Taloyo – Violin
Years participated in SYS: 2
Orchestras: Amadeus Players and Youth Symphony
School: Sprague High School
Future Plans: I will be moving to southern California to study at the California State University of Long Beach. I am double majoring in Music Performance at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music and Psychology
Special Memory: I am so glad that I decided to join Youth Symphony for the spring season my senior year with the encouragement of my friends. Though I don’t have as many memories from my short time here in youth symphony, it has truly been a great experience to play with my good friends from all the different schools and be surrounded by the best musicians in Salem.
Nick Telford – Trumpet
Years participated in SYS: 4
Orchestras: Philharmonia & Youth Symphony
School: West Salem High School
Future Plans: I am planning on going to Central Washington University in the Fall of 2024.
Special Memory: At the time we were unable to meet as a group (during the pandemic), we were able to virtually meet with amazing educators, which I will always remember.
Brianna Wrightson – Bassoon
Years participated in SYS: 2
Orchestras: Youth Symphony
School: West Albany High School
Future Plans: I will be going to College at Liberty University and getting a bachelors degree in music education.
Special Memory: It has been really fun getting to know other good bassoon players. We’re all from different schools, but we tend to hang out during breaks.