SILER CITY, N.C. — Coming off wide acclaim for Jordan-Matthews High School’s recent North Carolina high school premiere of “Frozen: The Broadway Musical,” Dr. Zachary D. Wills will return to lead the pit orchestra for the school’s upcoming production of “Matilda: The Musical.”

Now the band director at Chatham Central High School in Bear Creek, Wills conducted a 20-member pit orchestra for “Frozen” last spring that blended student and professional musicians from throughout the area, almost all with ties to Chatham County Schools. They included student musicians from Jordan-Matthews, Northwood and Seaforth high schools.

About a dozen musicians will perform this spring in the pit orchestra for “Matilda.” Most seats have already been filled, though two trumpet players and one drummer will be selected later this fall during auditions open to all Chatham County Schools high school students.

Audition details will be announced on JMArts social media as soon as dates are final. Anyone interested is invited to contact Wills now at zwills@chatham.k12.nc.us.

“The music for ‘Matilda’ is quirky and eclectic, both of which I enjoy tremendously,” said Wills. “It is a stark contrast to ‘Frozen,’ so the pit will be smaller and will require advanced performance skills in numerous styles.”

A strong proponent of artistic collaboration, Wills works regularly with other area music directors — including Jordan-Matthews band director Aaron Partin, who serves as technical director for “Matilda.”

He has served in the Marine Corps bands as an instrumentalist and small ensemble leader, and has taught music for more than two decades to students from kindergarten through graduate school. He received the Ph.D. in music education last spring from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and received JMArts’ 2024 Community Hero Award for contributing significantly to the success of the arts at Jordan-Matthews

“Matilda” performances are March 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and March 16 at 3 p.m. at the Jordan-Matthews High School Auditorium. Tickets will available in a presale to JMArts members in late fall and then in a public sale early in the new year.

More about “Matilda” and other JMArts projects to create opportunity for Jordan-Matthews artists is available at jmarts.org and through social media @JMHSArts on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

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