Over the past four years the orchestra department has transformed, losing a long-time director but gaining fresh faces and experiences. The newest hire, Nick Barnaby, is a recent college graduate and an extremely talented orchestra teacher. Though this is his first experience as a director, his fellow directors and his students feel that he has done very well so far.

“It’s been a lot of fun to work with all the different groups and students, and I’m excited for the year,” Barnaby said.

The AHS Orchestra program has been extremely successful in many ways, and Barnaby lives up to the standard to teach this program with ease.

“I really liked what I saw on his resume, his credentials, how he feels towards teaching, his approach to teaching, his philosophy to education,” Nathan Keefer, Orchestra Director, said. “I love that he’s a low string player, he’s a bass player, and we always need help in the bass world.”

AHS students have excelled in many things, including fine arts. This school has a very dexterous music department, and it’s great place to be a director.

“I have felt very welcome to the AHS family, it’s a pleasure being here,” Barnaby said.

The music departments at many schools usually have a lot of dedication and soul that go into them. The orchestra directors at AHS are very loyal to this program, and Barnaby is no different.

“I come from this school, I grew up at this school, my mom started this program; so for me, I have a lot of heart into it, but I will tell you that from what I’ve seen from him [Barnaby], I think he understands what it means to be an Arlington Colt,” Keefer said.

It’s not only the directors that are extremely talented at what they do, but the orchestra students are also very skilled at playing and each director helps the students excel and become better players.

“The other directors are really good,” Andres Palomo, sophomore, said, “but Barnaby, he’s been reaching out.”