Senior Jonathan York didn’t always love to sing. In fact, the discovery of his passion for vocal music happened completely by accident when he got placed in the wrong class in middle school.
“They messed up my schedule. I got placed into the chorus class and I was like ‘You know what, I’m not even going to bother [trying to switch]’…I’ve been doing chorus ever since,” York said
Most recently, York has been known for his performance as Conrad Birdie in West’s spring musical, “Bye Bye, Birdie,” but theatre has only been one of his main focuses since his junior year.
“It was near the beginning of last year, and Nick Paugh came up to me and he was like, ‘Hey Jon, do you want to audition for “Legally Blonde?”’…And I was like, ‘What? West has a theatre department?’” York said.
Since then, York has done a total of five musical productions over the past two years. He still thinks back fondly on “Legally Blonde” though, saying that it’s the reason he “fell in love” with the theatre arts.
“I didn’t know what [being on stage for the first time] would feel like,” York said. “But I had a little part in a song, and it was just… I don’t even know how to describe it.You’re practicing it over and over again everywhere else and finally, you have an audience, and it just feels like all the eyes are on you. I remember, I was so nervous, but after I got past that first part where I went on stage, I was like ‘They’re not laughing at me. This is fun. This is what I’ve been doing. It’s time to just be myself.’”
York’s success in chorus is not to be underestimated either. He was the only student from West to be accepted into this year’s North Carolina High School Honors Chorus and one of only seven students overall from the WS/FCS district to be invited to the prestigious event.
“I’m so glad I had the opportunity to represent West Forsyth,” York said “It just means a lot for me as a person. It shows how much I’ve grown and it also shows how far I still need to grow. I met so many amazing people, so many great singers that were better than me, and it just inspired me. It made me realize that I could be a part of something like this in the future and I can keep on improving. I’ve already gotten this far. Why stop now?”
As York moves on to his current plan of attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall, where he hopes to continue singing in any way he can, he leaves behind one last piece of advice for future Titans that he learned from his time at West.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it’s never too late to start something,” York said. “If you want to do something, just do it. You don’t have to be a child prodigy at music or sports or theater; you just have to try. It’s okay if you’re not good at first. It’s just important that you love it enough.”

Fun Facts
Dream roles: Jack Kelly in “Newsies” and J.D. in “Heathers” (“if [he] was a tenor”), Sweeney Todd in “Sweeney Todd” and Squidward in “Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical”
Favorite music: Depends on the mood, but a lot of ‘80s music and musicals
Favorite colors: Turquoise and lavender
Favorite teacher at West: Mr. Cook