By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

When the Oakland Youth Orchestras presents its spring concert on April 27 from the Oxford Performing Arts Center, the concert will feature Clarkston High School student Ethan McMurray’s orchestra piece “Dream Theme and Variations.”
The event will also serve as a farewell to OYO Executive Director Joanne Walle.
McMurray’s “Dream Theme and Variations” has a whimsical, exciting sound. His composition was influenced by Stephen Sondheim, Alan Menken, and James Newton Howard, who are some of his favorite modern composers.
“It was fun to write this piece because I felt like I was telling a story,” said McMurray. “Each section has a different feel, or color, that represents the different stage of the adventure. I hope that when people hear it, their imagination takes them on a journey.”
McMurray, a CHS senior, participates in choir, orchestra and musical theater. He has performed in “The Music Man,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Newsies,” and most recently in “Oklahoma” as Will Parker.
He has been playing violin since he was four and hopes to pursue a career in music composition/education.
A farewell afterglow honoring Walle will follow the concert, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Walle is retiring after 20 years with the organization.
Walle has been instrumental in the long-term success of OYO. She has secured grants, funding for need-based scholarships to the underprivileged, added a fourth orchestra, Studio Strings, and created an outreach program to senior living centers in addition to running the day-to-day operations, auditions and competitions.
The four orchestras that comprise OYO will also be performing works from Joseph Haydn, Carl Orff, John Williams, and William Grant Still.
The concert is held at the Oxford Performing Arts Center, 745 N. Oxford Road, Oxford.
Tickets will be available at the door and are $10 for adults and $5 for children and students.

PHOTO: Ethan McMurray is a Clarkston High School senior and has enjoyed a high school career in the fine arts realm. Photo: Lisa Kaul