Nolan Stokes talks on his time in orchestra
April 4, 2022
Junior Nolan Stokes plays violin in the philharmonic orchestra. A reporter sat down with him and asked him a few questions about his musical career.
Q: Why did you choose your instrument?
A: “To be completely honest, in fifth grade my dad introduced me to Lindsey Stirling and I was like ‘ooh, I want to do something like that.’ My parents wanted me to play the clarinet because we had a clarinet at home, but I was stuck on violin.”
Q: Have you had any noteworthy events throughout your music career?
A: “This is less noteworthy now because of context, but in freshman year, I was the concertmaster for the Wichita Youth Symphony Chamber Orchestra, so yeah, that’s first year violin.”
Q: What makes you enjoy orchestra the most?
A: “Mainly that it’s both challenging and fun, and that I’m good at it. I’ll enjoy things like if I’m good at it. And it’s fun. I’ll enjoy it since it’s all three of those things.”
Q: What are you most looking forward to in orchestra?
A: “Going forward, mostly just trying to get better at it, because right now I am in the Wichita Youth Symphony which is the highest level orchestra. I want to continue going higher up. Auditions are coming up in May and I’m hoping to try and get to first violin this time, which would be a great accomplishment because first violins are scary and terrifyingly good.”
