This week’s spotlight is on Keshav Wagle, an active member of both the drama and band programs. In band, Wagle is the principal chair oboe of the Wind Symphony and drum major of the marching band. Along with band, he is a member of the school’s orchestra as well as the Quad Cities Youth Symphony Orchestra. Wagle is also the secretary of Drama Troupe 856. He is the vice president of the math team and co-editor in chief for the Spartan Shield online.

Wagle’s talents influence his musical taste, as his favorite genres range from classical, to jazz to musical theatre. He is frequently around these with his involvement in band, orchestra and drama. The genres, according to Wagle, are underappreciated; he enjoys looking beyond just how the music sounds. Wagle says, “It’s all about the theory, such as why the rhythm is the way it is. Why is it in that key and not another? In classical and jazz music, it’s very apparent that all decisions were made with a specific purpose.” Musical theatre in particular appeals to him because every album tells a story.

Tchaikovsky is Wagle’s favorite orchestral composer, and Count Basie is his favorite jazz composer. Tchaikovsky aimed to impress the members of his audience, while Basie’s goal was to relax his audience. Both composers continue to amaze multiple generations through their music. Wagle’s favorite theatre composers are Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. “I enjoy these composers because they both brought the complexity of classical and opera music to musical theatre,” states Wagle.

Tchaikovsky said, “Music is an incomparably more powerful means and is a subtler language for expressing the thousand different moments of the soul’s moods.” This philosophy is the basis of all these composers’ music, using instruments to impose a specific mood onto the listener.

This type of music intrigues Wagle and is incorporated in his favorite pieces. His favorite classical piece for orchestra is Symphony No.2 Resurrection by Gustav Mahler. “I love Mahler 2 because of the message it portrays. It has shaped the way I think about life and why we’re here on Earth.”

On the piano, he prefers the classical piece Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt, stating, “[It] is very complex and difficult to perform, and it really moves the emotion of the listener, from bringing the somber melody in the beginning to the fun playful attitude of the end.”

Caravan by Duke Ellington is Wagle’s favorite jazz piece, because it is “super versatile in the way it’s performed.”

Wagle’s favorite musical theatre show is In the Heights. “In the Heights connects to me a lot as a descendent of an immigrant and it says a lot about why immigrants struggle and stay true to their roots.”

“Stuff I Listen to in the Shower” is Wagle’s most listened-to playlist. His study playlist is a mix of various songs, from Great Comet of 1812, to Mozart’s pieces to Debussy’s. Wagle uses his wide variety of music to effectively reflect his swaying moods throughout the day.