Our Conductors
Mr. Elijah G. Wirth is the Artistic Director of the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra
where he is the conductor the FRYO Philharmonic. During his time as the Artistic
Director of FRYO, the organization has experienced immense growth, adding the Wind
Ensemble and Concert Strings, as well as three new conducting positions. The
group has received praise for its adventurous programming, including four world
premiere performances. Mr. Wirth made his international conducting debut in the summer of 2009, directing
the Acarigua-Araure Youth Orchestra in Venezuela. The orchestra is part of the
internationally acclaimed music education system of Venezuela. He is in demand as
a conductor and adjudicator around Maryland, conducting All-County orchestras in
Carroll and Frederick counties and judging orchestra and band festivals throughout
the state. As the Music Director of Carroll Community College, Mr. Wirth built the first
music degree in the school’s history. He is the director of Carroll’s Opera
Theater program, which began in 2008 with the goal of exposing Carroll County to
the great operatic literature. Mr. Wirth also conducted the debut performance of
the Westminster Symphony Orchestra in 2005, a community orchestra built to give
amateur and student musicians in Carroll County an opportunity to perform. He is
also the professor of tuba at McDaniel College. Mr. Wirth received a Bachelor of Music degree in Tuba Performance from the Peabody
Conservatory, studying with David Fedderly. He continued his studies at Peabody,
earning Masters Degrees in both Wind Conducting and Music Education under the
direction of Harlan Parker. Mr. Wirth currently heads the Music Theory
department in Peabody’s Preparatory division, where he has worked in developing
the "Tuned-In" program, an inner-city Baltimore community engagement program,
modeled after "El Sistema." He directs the Peabody Preparatory Wind Orchestra,
which primarily consists of students from the “Tuned-In” program. Mr. Wirth also
works with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s “ORCHKids” program as the groups
Ensemble Director. Additionally Mr. Wirth is an accomplished bass guitarist,
currently performing with the Baltimore-based alternative rock band, "Table Top
Poets."
Mr. Tom Mitchell is the Conductor for the Symphonia and Concert Strings, is currently a string teacher for Frederick County at Urbana Middle School and gives private cello lessons. He is principal cellist with The Frederick Symphony Orchestra and the Fredericktowne String Quartet, and has composed several pieces for string orchestra that have been performed locally. Mr. Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Education from Indiana University, where he studied cello with Helga Winold, and a Master of Arts degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. He is currently working on a Master of Music Education at Shepherd University. He and his wife Cathy reside in Ijamsville with their children.
Mr. Nicholas Marini is the founding conductor of the FRYO Wind Ensemble and is currently Co-Conductor of the Symphonia. Mr. Marini holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from Towson University as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied Trombone and Euphonium performance and Music Education. While attending the Peabody Conservatory, Mr. Marini was a member of the Peabody Community Outreach Program which was designed to present and advocate classical music and all other musical arts to underprivileged children. In June of 2009, Mr. Marini, along with FRYO music director Mr. Eli Wirth, traveled to Venezuela to study and work with "El Sistema," the internationally acclaimed youth orchestra system known for using music as a vehicle for social change. Currently Mr. Marini is the Assistant Director of Instrumental Music at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, Maryland where he teaches Concert and Jazz Band, Chamber Music, Music Theory, and Guitar Basics.
Ms. Sharon Zearfoss conducts the FRYO Wind Ensemble and is thrilled to work with these hard-working, dedicated students. Sharon is a band and theatre teacher for Frederick County Public Schools at Ballenger Creek Middle School. Locally, she teaches private lessons at the Mount Airy Performing Arts Center, teaches percussion at Governor Thomas Johnson High School and previously taught for the Advanced Music Studies program in the Advanced Communications Academy for Frederick County. She received her BS in Music Education at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania with a concentration in voice and percussion and is working toward finishing her BA in Music Performance for percussion. She has a diverse performance background including touring with the Lebanon Valley College Concert Choir, 8 years of touring with the Reading Buccanners Drum & Bugle Corps and the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps, 2 seasons with the Penn State Indoor Drumline as well as playing with multiple ensembles on saxophone, bassoon, cello and euphonium.
Mr. Petr Skopek conducts the FRYO Concert Strings and is thrilled to work with these talented and highly dedicated young students. Mr. Skopek was born in Prague, Czech Republic, where he began his musical studies at the National School of Music at the age of six. At the age of twelve, he moved to the United States with his family, and settled in Frederick County, Maryland. In High School, Mr. Skopek attended the Visual and Performing Arts magnet program at Thomas Johnson High School (currently the Advanced Music Studies magnet program). He attended the University of North Texas College of Music where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance. Mr. Skopek moved back to Maryland in 2002, and received his Maryland State Professional Teaching certificate in 2006. As a music educator, Mr. Skopek has worked as a private lesson instructor for the Texas independent school districts of Plano, Richardson, and Lewisville. In Maryland, Mr. Skopek is currently an Orchestra Director in the Frederick County (MD) Public Schools system. In conjunction with his public school duties, Mr. Skopek also devotes his time to serving as a conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and a coach, as well as working with many area youth orchestras, including The Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra, the Academy of St. Cecilia, and the Shepherd University Preparatory Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Skopek is a member of the faculty of FCC as a violin and viola instructor. As a violinist, Mr. Skopek is currently a member of two professional orchestras – The Maryland Symphony Orchestra and The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra. Over the past several years, Mr. Skopek has performed with many professional orchestras and choral ensembles in Texas, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, including the East Texas Symphony, Richardson Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Concert Artists of Baltimore, National Philharmonic.
