Music director Hector Zavala stands behind the 11 students from the Fellowship Bible Church Youth Orchestra who were selected to participate in the 2024 West Virginia All-Star Orchestra. Courtesy photo

CHARLESTON — On March 6, six local seniors, along with six other high school students and 15 middle school students from the Fellowship Bible Church Youth Orchestra in Shenandoah Junction, arrived at the state’s capital to start rehearsals for the West Virginia All-State Orchestra.

The orchestra was founded and is currently directed by Fellowship Bible Church Music Director Hector Zavala.

This trip to Charleston kicked off an intense weekend of learning, from the arrival until the concert on March 8. The rehearsal room in Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center was where the students spent their days and poured energy into their music. The weekend gave students the opportunity to be challenged and “fine tune” their skills, as they were introduced to new styles of music and were given the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best high school musicians in the state.

Several of the high school seniors from the Fellowship Bible Church Youth Orchestra have participated in the West Virginia All-State Orchestra for multiple years in-a-row, and have procured distinguished placements in the orchestra. Alex York achieved principal cello in the West Virginia All-State Orchestra as a high school sophomore — the first year he auditioned — and again this year. Diego Zavala, who plays the violin, earned the position of concertmaster as a sophomore.

Eve McKelvey was named first violin in the West Virginia All-State Orchestra this year. Along with York, Zavala and McKelvey, three other seniors participated in the orchestra: Abbi Beall on violin, Isabel Kirkland on viola and Caleb Goff on viola.

The six high school seniors from the Fellowship Bible Church Youth Orchestra who were participated in the 2024 West Virginia All-Star Orchestra are, from right to left: Caleb Goff, Diego Zavala, Abbi Beall, Eve McKelvey, Isabel Kirkland, fellow senior Greta Gans who was not in the orchestra and Alex York. Courtesy photo

After a successful concert on March 8, the seniors looked back with a bittersweet feeling, as they closed one more chapter in their high school careers.

But they were also looking forward to a new chapter in the future, which these experienced had helped prepare them for.