Personnel

Meet Our Conductor

 

Luke Zyla was appointed music director and conductor of the Parkersburg Choral Society in 1997.  He previously appeared as guest conductor with the group in 1994 and 1995 for concerts presented at the Smoot Theater and was also a member of the tenor section.

 

Mr. Zyla is very active as an instrumental performer.  He performed with the West Virginia Symphony as second french horn beginning in 1980 until his retirement in 2024.  He has also performed with the River Cities Orchestra and the Ohio Valley Symphony in Gallipolis, Ohio.  He has performed in solo recitals at Marshall University, West Virginia University, Ohio Valley University, Marietta College, and Glenville State University.  In June 2011, he presented the world premier performance of a piece he commissioned entitled "Zylamander" for horn and computer by Russell Pinkston at the International Horn Society Symposium at San Francisco State University.  As a clinician, he made presentations at Fairmont State University, West Virginia University, Marshall University, Shepherd University, Marietta College, and the West Virginia Music Educators Convention.

 

Luke Zyla holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music from West Virginia University where he studied conducting with Donald Wilcox, Reginald Goecke, and Joseph Golz.  He has attended choral workshops at Cleveland State University and Concordia College with Rene Clausen and studied at the Rene Clausen Choral School.

 

Mr. Zyla retired from public school teaching after 33 years, most recently as director of bands at Parkersburg South High School.  He was honored as WV Bandmaster of the Year in 1994 and was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster Fraternity in 1997.

Meet Our Accompanist

 

Aiden Shreves is a student at Ohio University, where he studies Piano and Music Production.  He is currently a student of Dr. Emely Phelps, co-chair of the OU keyboard division, and has studied with Marie Mallory and Jan Smith in the past.

 

Mr. Shreves has achieved various accolades over the years such as the World Strides Maestro Award for Piano in 2022 and has performed at the WV Solo & Ensemble Honors Recital at the WVMEA conference in 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2023.  He served as the accompanist for the WV Music Educators Association All-State Chior and the WV American Choral Directors Association All-State Chorus in 2023.  He also had the honor of performing at the WV National Teacher's Ceremony in 2021.

 

Aiden is very active in the Parkersburg/Athens area as a substitute pianist and organist at numerous churches and has played for several weddings, funerals, and restaurants.  He has also accompanied 3 full-length PSHS musical theater productions: Beauty and the Beast, Footloose, and Back to the 80's.  He enjoys many collaborative experiences and is very excited to be part of the Parkersburg Choral Society!