After graduating from Southern Lehigh in 2016, Luke Simons has dabbled in different areas of the performing arts, working as a private music teacher, concert musician, and professional actor. His desire to get involved with new projects first started when he was a Spartan roaming these same hallways. Whether Luke was qualifying for PMEA district orchestra or being recognized for his acting talents at the Freddy Awards, his roots at SLHS helped to establish him as an artist.
“He has a lot of natural talent, but also works super hard. I didn’t have to necessarily help him stay involved. He wanted to,” music teacher Mr. Matthew Wehr said, “ He was very good at juggling it all he really was. He was very on top of his game.
After leaving Southern Lehigh, Simons attended Temple University where he double-majored in Musical Theater and Musical Performance with a concentration in clarinet. Recently, Simons has been featured in stage-acting roles such as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet in the Classic Theatre of Maryland. He explained that the extracurriculars he participated in during high school helped expose him to the vulnerability of his career.
“Performing in front of people, whether it was on stage or in a band, that was really helpful,” said Simons, “because even to this day, I still get nervous about performing, but now I try to use it as good energy.”
Luke’s interests in high school also gave him experience with musical collaboration. He is grateful for the opportunity to have been able to work alongside many different musicians as drum major of the high school marching band. These skills have helped Simons while working on his latest project, performing in the pit orchestra of the show “Swing” at Hunterdon Hills Playhouse.
“So you get to build connections. And even if, on top of just building connections, it’s just, it’s cool, because you get to work with people that do the same thing you love,” said Simons. “And that’s where it starts to really feel like it’s paying off.”
While working on the musical “Swing,” Luke has worked with many different people: actors, orchestra musicians, and even acrobats. The musical captures the swing era of jazz, including songs from artists like Duke Ellington. The show opened on April 1st and will run until May 15th, putting on 5-6 shows a week.
In addition to his talents in acting and instrumentals, Luke is also a singer-songwriter. Although he has been preoccupied with other parts of his career, Simons aims to release and record some of his original songs on Spotify in the near future. So far, he has written at least 10-15 unreleased songs. As a songwriter, Luke feels most at home in the indie pop genre and often utilizes his talents on the piano when messing around with a new tune.
One of his favorite pieces he has ever written was called “Wedding Day,” a romantic dedication to his wife. Although he has not released it yet, Simons performed the piece for his wife during their wedding ceremony.
Luke’s music career has also come to a full-circle moment as he is a private music teacher to many students in the area. The majority of his students are from Southern Lehigh and surrounding area high schools. Simons explains that it is a rewarding experience to set his students up for success.
“I had my first student to ever qualify for all-state band, which is something that is really exciting!” he said.
Above all else, Luke wishes to instill in future musicians the courage to pursue their passion.
“If you really put in the time and effort and are inspired and really love what you’re doing, whether it’s in the arts or humanities, you’ll make it happen. There’s always a way,” said Simons. “And if you really want to follow your dream and you know what you want to do, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.”
If you want to learn more about Luke Simons, check out his website, www.lukesimons.com, or one of his upcoming performances.
