16-05-2025
Berks' Best 2025 performing arts winner: Ariel Metzger aims to make waves with music
Ariel Metzger wants his music to resonate.
The Conrad Weiser senior and 2025 Berks' Best winner for performing arts said he sees music not just as an outlet for self-expression, but a way to make an impact.
'In the music activities I participate in, I often find myself in a leadership role,' Metzger said. 'I strive to take this role seriously.'
Whether it's by lending advice or simply leading by example, Metzger said he enjoys spreading the passion for music that has driven him to take up multiple instruments.
'The positive feelings and connections I've made with others through (music) have been a big factor (in my success),' Metzger said.
Metzger has excelled in his area of focus — percussion — and is also a gifted pianist and singer, said Brent Behrenshausen, Metzger's private music teacher.
A combination of natural talent and initiative have enabled Metzger, 17, to accumulate a resume of accolades that underscore his commitment to his craft.
In addition to being accepted for the past two years into the West Chester University High School Honors Percussion Ensemble, Metzger has served as primary percussionist for the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra, substitute percussionist for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and was recently accepted into the All-Eastern Orchestra, where he will perform in Hartford, Conn., this year.
Metzger also won the Reading Music Foundation's high school music competition and was awarded the Willis M. Rapp Percussion Fund Scholarship.
His skill as a pianist has also earned Metzger success — for the past few years he's auditioned and been selected as piano accompanist for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association's county, district and regional choir.
Beyond the band rooms and orchestra halls, Metzger says his role as a leader in the local music community has enabled him to become what he calls 'a cross-clique ambassador.'
By making friends across the spectrum of high school ingroups, Metzger said he hopes to shatter any lingering negative stereotypes about 'band kids.'
'In high school there are many different sects of people,' Metzger said. 'I have found myself a member of many of these sects through the friendships I have. I am fortunate to be in this position and try to use it to show others what a person from a different group is like. Hopefully this makes people more willing to spend time around people different from them.'
In the long term, Metzger said he wants to continue imparting his passion for all types of music by becoming a college instructor and performing in orchestras and ensembles.
'I would love to be able to perform in a wide variety of settings and genres, rather than being confined to an ultraspecific field of music,' Metzger said.
He said he's been accepted into multiple collegiate music programs, including those at Temple University, Indiana University Bloomington, New England Conservatory of Music, and Manhattan School of Music, but hasn't yet made a final decision.
