Senior Ryan Vest, who has been performing in John Carroll’s musicals since his freshman year, has taken his love for musicals and incorporated it into his Senior Project.

For his project, Ryan will be writing a series of musical compositions for either piano, concert band, or orchestra.
“What I’m going to do with these compositions, I’m not quite sure yet,” said Ryan.
Ryan said he had chosen to write music for his project because of his time as a musician at John Carroll.
“I spend a lot of my time performing music, and I wanted to explore the infinite horizons of writing music myself. I love the idea of creating an entire sound that is completely me. While I am looking forward to studying more music theory to create a pleasing composition, I am most looking forward to experimenting with the idea of sound. We, as everyday listeners of Western Music, are so used to certain combinations of musical ideas, expressions, and rules. I find it fascinating to explore the boundaries of these ideas and to bend them or break them,” said Ryan.
Ryan is “still in the extremely early stages of the project and still brainstorming concepts, ideas, and ways to write and perform music.”
He is going to have to “set aside some time from the busy life of a senior to write music, of course. I am also going to think outside the box on how to brainstorm on how to present this music with the restrictions of COVID.”
He is not the only one to deal with COVID-19 and his Senior Project. That is a huge issue for any Senior Project this year.
Numbers across the country have begun to rise, forcing schools and businesses to close down once again, putting a damper on reopening the country.
“Like I’ve previously said, with rising infection rates and COVID restrictions, it will be difficult to do a lot of things I want to do. However, a virtual aspect to music adds a whole different element that isn’t necessarily bad. There are many possibilities with the aid of technology that should be explored,” Ryan commented.