Middle school teacher is new conductor for North Sound orchestra

Travis Sipher, 32, teaches orchestra, band and general music at Kulshan Middle School, and plays cello in Whatcom Symphony Orchestra and Bayshore Symphony. He's the new conductor of the North Sound Community Orchestra, which performs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at Kulshan Middle School. Sipher will also perform and conduct a classical and pops concert with Bayshore Symphony at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 15, at Central Lutheran Church.

Question: What brought you to Bellingham?

Answer: I was born in Seattle and grew up in the Wallingford neighborhood and in Lynnwood. I originally came to Bellingham to study music education at Western Washington University. After having taught in Oregon for seven years, a teaching position opened up in the Bellingham School District this past fall, allowing my wife and me to return to one of our favorite towns and be near family and friends.