Zachary Himes is this school’s newest orchestra teacher, but he isn't new to the school. About six years ago, he left Warren Central High School, and many were very sad at that news, but now students are thrilled to have him back on the Warren bandwagon, or ‘orchestrawagon’, in this case.
“The moment he came back, me and my family celebrated because we knew what the changes were going to happen to lift the orchestra back to the standard that it should be,” said senior Corbin McDougal, a past orchestra student.
The first time Himes was hired was in 2015 when the performing arts department chair Ed Meckes needed a percussionist and strings teacher, and he was told about Himes, who fit the description well.
“In 2014, I had just graduated from Ball State, majoring in music education,” Himes said. “Meckes emailed me because someone told him I knew percussion and strings.”
In 2022, though loving the job, he quit. He has worked a lot of jobs since then, like repairing instruments, programming computers, and waiting tables. He was also a substitute for orchestra classes. Sophomore Eliza Geddes, currently a symphony student, had firsthand experience with Himes as a sub in middle school, which prepared her to have him as her full-time teacher now.
“It is very nice to already know how he directs,” Geddes said. “He wants us to succeed, and he knows that it takes time. He nurtures us by helping us play our pieces.”
Himes couldn’t stay away from Warren Central for long, though. After almost six years, he's ready to be back.
“I love the energy you guys have here because it's easy to hype up the orchestra students,” he said. “I missed working with younger kids that can understand and make more meaning out of music in a way that I think the older generation can’t.”
Elora Booher, a current junior and philharmonic bassist, has already had some great experiences with Himes.
“He knows when to lecture us, but it's not from a hateful place,” they said. “It comes from a genuine place because he wants us to improve, not just as musicians but as people in general.”
To many students, one of the best traits that a teacher could have is the compassion to want to help and understand students. According to Booher, Himes understands that students are still growing as people, and he is doing a great job on nurturing both the newest and oldest students.
“He wants the upperclassmen to help the lowerclassmen,” they said. “For example, I, as an upperclassman bassist, am helping the lowerclassmen bassists on bow techniques and fingerings.”
Students in orchestra have had an unusual few years with new teachers coming and going, but students like junior Stephen Paschke, a current symphonic orchestra cellist, say that this year is starting off great. Paschke has been in orchestra for six years with many teacher changes, and he is very happy about this new change.
“He’s phenomenal,” Paschke said of Himes. “I thought he was a really strict guy, but he’s genuinely chill. He actively teaches the class and gives us clear expectations to succeed!”
Even new orchestra students like sophomore beginner violinist, Alfredo Torres, say they already feel comfortable and happy in Himes’ class even after just a few weeks.
“He has a student that can’t speak English, but he ordered a book in Spanish just for her so she isn't left out,” Torres said, “Even I feel very welcomed. I was always interested in orchestra, and I finally was able to join.”
When Himes was a child, one would think that he started his music career in a string instrument like violin or cello, but surprisingly that is not true.
"It's kind of funny, because if you talk to most choir teachers, they will tell you, ‘Well I sing,’” he said. “If you talk to band directors, they play usually wind or brass, and you would assume that as an orchestra director, my first instrument would have been a string, but really, it's fair to say that I sang before I did anything else. I sang in a lot of choirs growing up, like with my church. I sang all throughout middle school and high school. I was in band as a percussionist, but I didn’t come to string playing until I was in college, and we had a string tech class.”
Himes may be an orchestra teacher now, but when he started in 2015, he was also a percussion teacher, since that role did not exist by itself for the band program.
“I kind of made it my goal to try to grow the percussion program and the orchestra program, you know, in hopes of day day having that be a role that could be split,” Himes said.
He believes that this goal has been met, since the percussion group has many subgroups and chances to show off now.
“We started the [Winter Winds] winter percussion ensemble back in 2016, started Cadet percussion in 2018 or 2019, and Miss Kelly has done a phenomenal job continuing to grow both of those programs,” he said. “Frankly, she’s doing a better job with it than I ever did, and [I’m] just really happy to get to watch it be successful, and I get to devote all of my energy and attention to supporting the string players.”
Senior Isaiah Clay, another symphonic student, said “he appreciates having a teacher to hold me and my classmates accountable.” He believes Himes will take the orchestra program to new heights this year.
“The amount of appreciation and hope that I have for this orchestra program is truly unimaginable,” Clay said, “I see this program becoming something amazing, and I'm proud that we have a teacher that seems to lead us back in the right direction.”