Shae Wirth

2013-14 Winter Concert, French Horn

Shae Wirth is a senior at Sehome High. He has played in the North Sound Youth Symphony since the 7th grade. He started playing music in 5th grade with Kirstin Doud in the before-school strings program on viola. He changed directions in middle school and joined band, playing Euphonium. By the start of high school he was playing all the Brass instruments that started with the letter T along with Euphonium. Starting freshman year he took up the French horn and this has been his primary instrument ever since. Shae plays in a variety of groups around Bellingham including the Sehome Concert and Jazz bands and the Low Brass Ensemble at Western under the direction of Carla Rutschman. This year he has also reconnected with Kirstin Doud and is playing string bass in Sehome’s advanced orchestra.

In his free time, Shae enjoys playing soccer, watching football, mobbing with the homies and listening to hipster music in the most pretentious way. He has played Sehome soccer all four years and participated in cross country this year. He is a yearly participant in the regional Solo and Ensemble competition and is going to the state competitions on his Mozart horn solo along with a cello and Euphonium duet with fellow NSYS musician Shannon Davies. Shae has also played in the All-state Symphony and Wind Ensemble the past two years. He plans to attend the University of Oregon next year in hopes of becoming a band director and eventually, a music professor.

Shae would like to thank everyone who has helped and impacted his music career thus far. His loving family Leigh, Kate, and Hannah. All of his band and orchestra teachers including Craig Snyder, Kirstin Doud, Grant Donnellan, Carla Rutschman, and Morgan Schwab. He would like to thank his private lessons teacher Jack, his inspiration as a musician. Most of all he would like to thank all of his friends, particularly the ones in the back row that he has met through music. They are some of the best human beings he has had the pleasure to become friends with and they have truly made his musical experience a great one. Last, but not least, he would like to dedicate this performance to his mother Leigh because, “She has been my biggest supporter in music and she is the best horn player I know”.