Eureka High School has a very wide variety of musical programs ranging from orchestra to band. Many students at Eureka High School are involved in the band or orchestra program and even small classes such as guitar or marching band. Most students have been involved in music for years and will continue until they are adults. One high school could affect so many lives musically and invite them to potentially find their career and their future.

Senior Trenton Edgar plays a variety of instruments, including the viola, for 9 years, guitar, ukulele and singing.

“I do all these instruments because I love music and I am constantly listening to music and I think getting to play what I love and express my thoughts and feelings in my own way is awesome,” Edgar said.

Edgar loves playing the guitar over every instrument.

“I love playing the guitar over everything else I do because it’s kind of a peaceful place to go and it’s very fun to do especially when I write my own songs,” Edgar said.

Edgar really enjoys the guitar and enjoys teaching others how to play it. He likes showing other people how to do the thing he loves so that way he can enjoy it even more.

“I feel like when I show someone how to do a fun hobby of mine, I connect with them on a deeper level and make a closer bond with that person, and not only do I make a friend out of it, I also get to do something I love with a person I care about and I love the happiness that brings me,” Edgar said.

Sophomore Trevor Hall plays guitar in and outside of school. Hall plays in the school’s guitar program and enjoys being able to play an instrument at such a skilled level.

“I chose the guitar because I wanted to play a musical instrument and heard that guitar was an instrument to express your thinking and feelings which is true,” Hall said. “I wanted to have something to do rather than just sitting at home doing nothing.”

Hall agrees that playing the guitar helps you put what’s in your head into a beautiful musical piece and enjoys that he is in the guitar class he is in, to help improve his playing ability.

“It is sort of an escape from real life and it’s really nice to be able to express the musical aspect of what I am thinking,” Hall said.

Hall thinks the guitar is pretty challenging to learn and probably won’t continue it that far into his future but doesn’t regret the memories and progress he has made from playing the guitar.

Mary White is a teacher at Eureka High School who teaches 5 orchestra classes including instruments such as violin, viola, cello and bass in each class.

“I have been teaching music for 27 years,” White said. “I was in Rockwood school in fourth grade and a strings class was offered. My family happened to own a violin, so I signed up for the class and that’s how I got started,” White said.

Mrs. White seemed to enjoy that class a lot and had been playing violin all the way up through high school where she got to study privately.

“My family couldn’t afford private lessons so thanks to the generosity of a teacher in my high school, he took time out of his day to help me learn the violin,” White said.

Freshman Parker Begley plays the Alto Saxophone. He has been playing this instrument since sixth grade.

“I started playing this because my dad played it and I will probably play it until I graduate,” Begley said.

Begley enjoys the Marching Band at Eureka and thinks it would be pretty fun to do in college.

“My best memory, playing the Alto Saxophone, was when we went to Park Hills for a Marching Band competition and although we only got 10th place it was still really fun,” Begley said.

Senior Jordan Jackson plays the clarinet and has been since sixth grade after he saw someone play it and signed up for lessons where they taught him the fundamentals of playing the clarinet and enjoyed it so much.

“I started playing the clarinet because I saw someone playing it and it looked really interesting and I noticed how it’s a little bit different from all the other instruments which I loved and really wanted to get involved in,” Jackson said.

Jackson wanted to continue to play the clarinet until he graduated high school and all the way through college.

“I want to go to college and play in competitions like in other states,” Jackson said.

Jackson loves to challenge himself when he plays the clarinet because it makes him feel like he’s a very skilled player and good at doing it.

“My favorite part about it is playing the hard stuff and practicing over and over until I finally get it perfectly,” Jackson said.

It is easy to see music has a huge impact on students at Eureka. Whether they participate in the band or orchestra classes provided at school or if they do it on their own time, music is all around these students’ lives and is shaping a bright future for them.