By Jessica Easthope
Christopher LeDoux has played on stages around the world with the most talented musicians in elite youth orchestras, but this might be the last note he ever plays on the stage where he feels most at home: Xaverian High School’s auditorium.
“Balancing music and academics has taught me invaluable life lessons. Going to weekly rehearsals is a seven-hour endeavor every weekend, and with assignments and tests throughout the four years, time management is imperative,” LeDoux said.
This summer, the Class of 2024’s valedictorian is going on tour in Latin America with Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra and to Greece as a member of the Grammy-winning New York Youth Symphony.
“I always like to play up, and I think that playing with older musicians helped me have a more comprehensive view of music in general and life lessons such as musicianship and punctuality,” LeDoux said.
He has earned many opportunities to share his gift. He has a natural ability but has never allowed himself to get too comfortable.
“I think complacency is mediocrity,” LeDoux said. “Striving for excellence and seeing others around me perform at high levels definitely inspires me.”
Joseph Loposky, Xaverian’s Director of Music, has known LeDoux since he was 10 years old—first as a private music teacher, and today as a mentor and friend. He knows exactly how to challenge a student who has already achieved so much.
“I tried to show him the way that he’d be the best person he could be, based on what I went through,” Loposky said “Also as a trumpet player, as a young trumpet player, and coming through and doing what I did professionally before I came to Xaverian.”
LeDoux is hoping to use his fingers in his future career not in a music theater but an operating theater. He has been accepted into Hofstra University’s 4+4 Program that fast tracks him into medical school right after college.
“I like neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery,” LeDoux said. “They’re very competitive and ambitious fields. So we’ll see where life takes me. The goal is to have classical music in the O.R. while I’m operating. That would be ideal,” he said.
LeDoux wants to leave the world a better place, and he’s already done that at Xaverian.
“Xaverian is a very service-oriented school,” LeDoux said. “I’ve had a plethora of opportunities to exercise my faith, practice my faith, and share it with others. There should be some sort of foundation, a moral compass that should guide you. For me, that’s Catholicism. That’s my faith,” LeDoux said.
High-level academics, high-level performing arts, his Catholic identity—Xaverian wants more Chris LeDouxs in the future.