String specialist, Dr. Yarbrough, has been teaching music, a passion of his, to students at Eleanor Roosevelt High School for 11 years now and previously taught in the Baltimore City Public School System. Recently, Dr. Yarbrough became Philharmonic’s first black concertmaster.

People often find it hard to tell the difference between a Philharmonic and a symphony orchestra. According to Dr. David Yarbrough, a philharmonic is a “large orchestra from 80-100 people and is a type of European art form.” Yarbrough adds that a philharmonic and a symphony orchestra are interchangeable words.

Dr. Yarbrough mentions that there are a lot of black performers in the orchestra but very few concertmasters around the world.

“There are also not as many philharmonics here, whereas in Europe there is one in every small city” said Dr. Yarbrough.

Last spring, Dr. Yarbrough was “invited to audition.” He had his first performance as concertmaster last Saturday at the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts.

Dr. Yarbrough’s role as a concertmaster is to “be responsible in making changes and suggestions in the string section.”

Many of Dr. Yarbrough’s students, including former students, are proud that he has received this acknowledgement.

Sophomore, John Li admires Dr.Yarbrough’s teaching saying “Dr. Yarbrough is one of those teachers who puts their heart and effort into teaching and his class is very fun.”

Junior and former student, Abiola Adesina is pleased that Dr. Yarbrough has received this recognition stating that “he has spent so much time in music, he’s really patient, and knows what he is talking about.”

“It is a really important part of education for students to understand the value of different art forms” said Dr. Yarbrough, who also said he strongly encourages students to come out to the performances, mentioning that “admission for high school students is free.”