Isaac Price has performed in one or more ensembles nearly every semester of his six years in the WVU School of Music and he’s been hard at work with the rest of the Wind Symphony, preparing for an upcoming concert Feb. 13.
Price received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from the WVU School of Music and, after taking a couple years off to teach, came back to pursue his master’s in Music Education. He currently teaches the brass pedagogy class for Music Ed majors and has been the graduate assistant for the Instrumental Methods class.
At one time or another, the French horn player has performed in the Symphonic Band, Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Horn Ensemble and horn quartets, as well as different chamber groups and the WVU Marching Band. This semester, Price is in the Wind Symphony and the Horn Ensemble.
Price started his musical journey playing the violin in kindergarten, which he continued through sixth grade. When his family moved from Moundsville to Paden City, West Virginia, he cut back on violin lessons and started playing trombone in a beginner band.
“My violin teacher was excellent, but with classical violin, you have to stand and hold your instrument a certain way. I was a fidgety child, so I would get stressed out standing in one place for too long,” he said.
But his years of violin had taught him to play by ear, so the first time Price picked up a trombone, he was not only able to produce sound, but he could also match pitch, and that became his new instrument of choice.
“When I started playing trombone, I realized it fulfilled my need to play music, and I didn’t feel as drawn to the violin anymore,” said Price.
When he was a freshman in high school, the band director—who was also Price’s mother—asked if he would be interested in learning the French horn.
“I borrowed a horn from the school to try, and then just kept on playing from there,” said Price. “It was different and interesting. No one else in the band had one, so that was part of what drew me to it. But it didn’t click in my head until I came to college the amount of beautiful music a French horn can play. That opened my eyes to the role of the horn as this middle voice to give the whole ensemble a deeper sound.”
Each band, symphony and orchestra has its own composition and style: Symphonic Band leans toward younger students who are still adjusting to college and learning the fundamentals, while Wind Symphony tends to cater to a higher level and more experienced musicians, and in Symphony Orchestra, string- and wind-instrument players have to learn to balance their sounds.
The biggest difference according to Price, however, is who’s on the podium. Each conductor has a different approach, and being a member of multiple ensembles has given Price the chance to learn from and adapt to these different styles.
WVU, Price said, is a great representation of what music and the arts contribute to West Virginia.
“It can be hard to find opportunities for music and the arts in this format. What we do at WVU by having these Western, classical style ensembles lets musicians, whether they are Music majors or not, create high-quality, culturally representative performances and gives West Virginians an opportunity to hear this kind of music,” said Price.
It’s especially important for young people, like those who participate in Honor Bands or All-State Band, to see what they can pursue and achieve in the realm of music.
The bands and symphonies at WVU are also important for people like Price who still want to be musicians, even as they balance that with something else, like being a teacher.
Fall 2025 was the only semester Price wasn’t in any of the WVU music groups, because of his heavy academic load, but he missed being on stage, playing his horn.
“Every time I would go to a performance, I’d be like, ‘man, I wish I was up there,’” he said.
“That’s a common story with a lot of people who graduate high school and are convinced that they're never going to play in a band or orchestra again, or they're never going to sing in a choir again,” Price continued. “And that's a sad thing. It doesn’t have to be that way.
“WVU encourages people to keep on making music in some capacity, whether that's joining a community band and playing once a week, or going beyond the band aspect and making music on their own in some other way.”
Of all the ensembles at WVU, Prices’ favorite is Wind Symphony, because the compositions really move him and that’s what music is all about.
“We advertise to students, to people in the community and to people outside the community, because we're putting together music that can hopefully move people,” said Price. “We’re putting emotion in so people can take emotion out of it. Listening becomes a spiritual experience.”
Price performs with the Wind Symphony Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre. This non-ticketed event is free and open to the public.
Other upcoming School of Music performances include:
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Honor Bands Feb. 14 at 1:30 p.m.
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Symphony Orchestra Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
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Symphonic Band Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
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Jazz Ensembles Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
- Choirs Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
For more information about the WVU School of Music and future concerts, visit music.wvu.edu and follow @WVUSchoolofMusic on social media.