ASHLAND — Kayla Selan knows how to keep a secret.
The 20-year-old never flinched while anxiously waiting for her recently filmed segment on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to air Thursday afternoon — despite being surrounded by family, friends and supporters.
A 2024 graduate of Ashland High School, Selan invited the public to a watch party Thursday in the Lower Chapel on the campus of Ashland University. The episode she was recently featured on aired live on NBC at 3 p.m.
Selan, who recently completed her sophomore year at Cleveland State University, is pursuing a conducting career.
An on-air surprise from Clarkson — who is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and the inaugural winner of “American Idol” — has given Selan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Clarkson asked Selan whose career she would follow if she had a choice. The Ashland alum responded with world-renowned conductor Marin Alsop — not knowing Alsop was about to take a seat next to her on the set’s sofa.
Better yet, Alsop delivered a personal invitation for Selan to join and shadow her Friday evening at Carnegie Hall in New York during the rehearsal and performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Wynton Marsalis’ Symphony No. 4., she said.
Selan turned the tables during Thursday’s watch party, keeping what was previously a surprise to her a secret to those in attendance — aside from a few people. But the aspiring conductor provided a full debrief after the segment concluded, muting the volume pumping from the speakers.
“I am absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to shadow Marin Alsop at Carnegie Hall,” Selan said. “She is my biggest inspiration and getting to see her conduct in person is so exciting.
“Conducting is the only thing I want to do. It’s my passion. Marin Alsop has paved the way for so many women to conduct and I am grateful that she is showing me the way,” she said.
Below is a video clip from “The Kelly Clarkson Show” showing Alsop’s interview with Clarkson, Selan’s interview and the moment when the 20-year-old received the surprise of a lifetime. The story continues below.
Chasing a passion
Selan said the process leading up to her appearence on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” started near the middle of March.
Michael Repper, music director of the Ashland Symphony Orchestra, has mentored Selan since she was a junior at Ashland, she said. She connected with Repper through Marty Kral, Ashland High School director of bands and music department chair.
A music agency Repper works with — 8VA Music Consultancy — was the piece that linked Selan with the opportunity to travel to the NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to film with Clarkson.
Only a week had passed from the end of her sophomore year at CSU to when she traveled to New York, Selan said. She filmed on a Tuesday morning and was back in Ohio later that night.
“It has been a crazy whirlwind,” she said.
Selan said everything was put in motion when she approached Kral in high school after a concert and expressed her desire to become a conductor.
“It was a Rodney Marsalis concert at E.J. Thomas Hall and it was on Dec. 13, 2022. I remember that,” she said. “I went up to him (Kral) afterwards and said, ‘I think I want to be a conductor,’ and he said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.'”
She thanked Kral for the connections he’s been able to create for her, setting her up on a pathway that will help her succeed, Selan said.
“It’s all Mr. Kral and all Michael (Repper). Both of them. I’m so grateful to have both of them in my life and to have both of them believe in me and my conducting journey,” she said.
A very small portion of professional conductors globally are women, Selan said. Advocating for everyone to have opportunities in the profession is something she values, along with the importance of music and the arts in public education.
“That’s where I started and that’s where I found my love. It was through the arts in public schools and I think it is really crucial that we keep that alive,” she said.
