This article was selected as a top three winner of Lookout’s 2026 Journalism Scholarship challenge, which invited Lane County high school students to profile an unsung hero –– someone positively impacting their community. For placing in the top three, students were awarded a $500 scholarship. Learn more and find all of the winners here.

Eugene-local Christopher Noel has performed in some of the most prestigious music halls, from St Peter’s Basilica in Rome to Orchestra Hall in Chicago, and he’s worked with some of the best musicians in the world.

His favorite performers, however, are kids. He’d watch a fourth and fifth grade concert over the Chicago Symphony any day because “there is something special about seeing kids do something, for the first time, that their parents can’t do.”

Noel, a conductor, works with the nonprofit Eugene Springfield Youth Orchestras (ESYO), helping give kids a chance to shine in the spotlight, show off their musical abilities, and learn and grow with other young musicians.

The group, which just celebrated its 90 year anniversary, is one of the oldest musical organizations in Eugene, originally started in 1934 to train musicians for our very own Eugene Symphony. Today it consists of classes for beginning strings, plus four orchestra levels, culminating in the premier group, Eugene Springfield Youth Symphony.

Like many of the musicians in the group, Noel got his start in music at a young age. He always loved singing and started violin lessons when he was only four years old.

As a kid he had many musical influences in his life, including his mom, an elementary school music teacher. His violin teacher, Linda Wicks, was another important figure in his early life. He has always been an enthusiastic player, and remembers bursting out in song during school.

He began playing in ESYO’s Junior Orchestra in 6th grade and quickly became one of the best players. Noel had a lot of fun in orchestra, but didn’t take it seriously until he went to the Oregon Bach Festival and had the opportunity to work with more advanced players.

He realized being a great player would take serious work. It was at this festival that he met Anton Armstrong, a music legend and one of his icons, for the first time.

In high school Noel joined a musical theatre and played in the South Eugene orchestra, even taking over conducting when his teacher couldn’t. For a long time he had wanted to be a flashy violin soloist, but in high school this began to change. After working with Anton Armstrong at the Oregon Bach Festival, and getting a chance to conduct, he realized he wanted to train to be a musical theater director or a conductor instead.

“I wanted to make the stage, not be the performer on the stage,” says Noel. In other words, he wanted to provide for other musicians the experience that his teachers and directors provided for him.

After high school Noel went to Saint Olaf College, a small musical school in Minnesota, on a violin and choir scholarship. He studied to be a conductor, both for choir and orchestra.

Noel worked odd jobs near the school and conducted a community orchestra. After about a year of this, he went to graduate school at the University of Illinois in Champaign Urbana.

He went on to teach and conduct in El Paso, Texas, for six years. He says this
was a good experience, but began to miss the green of Oregon so moved back.

Once in Oregon he taught community college and conducted at South Salem High School. A few years later, he helped start the Salem Orchestra. After the program got going, Noel wanted a change, so moved to Eugene and began conducting Junior Orchestra with ESYO.

Conducting for young people is different than for a professional orchestra, Noel says. When he’s working with professionals, he focuses on making a concert out of all the individual sections. But when working with young players in Junior Orchestra, he focuses more on each person, helping them come together, learn the music, and make an orchestra.

Noel loves seeing the light bulb go off for students when they hear themselves sounding good.

He remembers when this happened for him at the Oregon Bach Festival, and he hopes many young people will have this moment in Junior Orchestra. He loves helping each musician put their voices together in harmony to create one ensemble.

Noel also wants musicians to discover their own tastes. Let’s say you’ve only played Suzuki, a common way to learn violin. It might “take a while to realize that you might have liked Bad Bunny this whole time,” he says. He encourages everyone to enjoy playing, and to play music they enjoy. But, don’t forget to also work on your études and practice, he says.

The key is to know the difference between playing and practicing, and to do some of both.

He also advises,”It’s not about how long you’re practicing, it’s about how intentionally and how effectively you’re practicing.”

Kim Mullen, the support staff for Junior Orchestra, sees Noel’s positive impact on the Eugene music community. “He is always looking to help all the kids grow together as musicians,” she says.

Christopher Noel helps make Eugene the wonderful place it is today, working behind the scenes to train our future musicians. He is the harmony to our melody, making us all better together.

Arlo Rallen is a student at Churchill High School