At the age of 11, a home-schooled violin prodigy has performed in concerts, won awards and recently placed in a prestigious competition.
On Jan. 3, Alana Saenz, a violin student at the Southeastern Community Music School, won the Philharmonia division of the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition.
As winner of the division, Saenz will perform as a soloist with the orchestra this spring.
According to Jivka Duke, CMS director and Saenz’s violin teacher of five years, the win was no surprise. The fifth grader spent six months preparing her winning piece, “Czardas”, by Italian composer Vittorio Monti.
“I knew how well prepared she was. I also thought that this particular piece really highlighted her talent and exactly the aspects of violin technique that she does well. I also knew that she practiced a lot this past year and grew tremendously in her musical artistry, so I was hoping that the jury would see what I knew to be true. Progress and talent and