Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WSO) announces WSO on the GO Yoga Series to run from January to May 2022. Classes will be held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral Ballroom on the second Saturday of each month at 9 a.m. Each month will feature a different local yoga instructor paired with a WSO musician. Events are free and open to the public; a free-will donation will benefit the charity of the instructor’s choice. All ages and levels of experience are invited to take part. Participants should bring a mat or towel and water.
“We had a very positive response to the two yoga events we held last Fall,” says Betsy Delk, the WSO’s director of institutional advancement. “We thought it would make sense to put together a series with a set date, time and location so that yogis and music lovers can make plans to attend. We had no problem finding yoga instructors and musicians who were willing to participate.”
The series will begin on Saturday, January 8, and will feature yoga instructor Lindsay Schooler and Barbara O’Brien, the WSO’s principal flute.
Local yoga instructor Lindsay Schooler
Inclusion and service are the driving forces behind Lindsay Schooler’s yoga practice and teaching. Since participating in her first yoga class as a student at West Liberty University in 2002, Lindsay went on to study with world-renowned teachers and practitioners across the US, owned and operated Wheeling’s Happy Goat Yoga from 2014-2020, and has been teaching an accredited yoga class at WLU since completing her initial teacher training in 2012. She now has over 500 hours of formal training and two decades of experience in the depths of inclusive, anatomy and trauma-informed yoga.
Schooler says she will offer “a soulful, all levels class aimed at challenging the boundaries and limitations that often hold us back.” Her low-to-moderate physical practice will be “spiced up with laughter, moving meditation, and breathwork that invites harmony to our nervous systems, our energy, our whole selves.”
Barbara O’Brien, the WSO’s principal flute, holds a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree from Duquesne University. She has studied with Bernard Goldberg, Marcel Moyse, In addition to her post with the WSO. Barbara is Principal Flutist with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra, Akron Symphony Orchestra, and Renaissance City Winds as well as second flute/piccolo with the Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra. She has held positions in the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Barbara has performed in the Spoleto Music Festival Dei Due Mondi as well as several other chamber music festivals throughout the United States and Europe. She has performed as a soloist with the Wheeling Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and Heinz Chapel Pittsburgh Artist Series among others. Barbara has an active private flute studio and mentors flute students in two Pittsburgh area school districts.
The complete listing of class dates, musicians and yoga instructors is set forth below:
January 8 – Lindsay Schooler and Barbara O’Brien, Flute
February 12- Dr. Judy Romano and Tom Godfrey, Classical Guitar
March 12 – Kylie Ignace and Jennifer Mangone, Viola
April 9– Rachel Goodman and Eliseo Rael, Marimba
May 14 – Laura Hitchman and Juan Jaramillo, Violin
Because of the generous support of our sponsors and donors, including title sponsor Roxby Labs, all WSO on the GO concerts will be free to the public to entice and encourage new audiences to become long-time supporters. More information is available at wheelingsymphony.com.