Bringing Classical Music to a New Generation

Bringing Classical Music to a New Generation

By Diogo Faust '25 and Michael Weber '25 for the Arlington Catholic Herald

At Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, where most students’ playlists are filled with the latest pop hits, the Symphony Club is taking a different approach.

This student-led organization is all about celebrating classical music and connecting it to the school’s Catholic values. With teacher-mentor Nathan Giguere to guide it, the club — created to share the beauty of classical music and its deeper connections to faith and culture — has grown into one of the school’s most popular extracurricular activities.

The club organizes trips to top-notch performances in the Washington area, including the Kennedy Center and Strathmore Hall, to give students a chance to experience these powerful works firsthand. Giguere, who also teaches physics, linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and computer science at the school, sees classical music as a way to nurture values like patience, wonder, and reflection, as well as share his love for the genre, which he realized at a very young age.

“Seeing my AP Physics students smile and silently gesture to me at the opening of Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 has become one of my most memorable concert experiences,” Giguere said. “They immediately recognized the bucolic opening horn solo as the intro music I use for my physics lecture videos.”

This academic year, the Symphony Club has attended some incredible performances. At Strathmore Hall, they heard Béla Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra,” a piece that blends folk traditions with rich orchestral sounds. The group also enjoyed Maurice Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G Major,” with its lively jazz influences and emotional slow movement. Another highlight was a tuba concerto, which showcased the often-overlooked instrument in a whole new light. Next on the agenda is Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” a dramatic orchestral suite that brings each planet to life with bold imagery and sound.

“I decided to join the Symphony Club as I wanted to see Sibelius’ 5th Symphony performed live,” said O’Connell junior Roshan James. “Honestly, before this school year, I was never really into classical music, and I was more drawn toward other genres.”

What started as an idea of a small group of seniors has grown into an active club with many members, and more importantly, it has gained the love and support of the larger O’Connell community. One of the club’s goals is to make classical music more accessible to students, particularly to those who have little or no background in classical music. By offering discounted tickets and arranging carpools, they’ve removed many of the barriers that might keep teens from attending live performances.

Pictured below: Members of the Symphony Club gather in the lobby of the Music Center at Strathmore holding up scores to Béla Bartók’s “Concerto for Orchestra" and Maurice Ravel’s “Piano Concerto in G,” after seeing the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra perform both pieces last fall.

Members of the symphony club post at a recent concert.