For the first time Xia Violin Studio students are getting ready for a public recital.
Guio Hua Xia, violin instructor, said normally his students perform for parents and relatives, but at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, in Northern Light United Church, they’ll put on a free show, and everyone is invited.
“I’m excited it’s directed toward community members more than parents,” said Lisa Eldridge, 16, a student at Juneau-Douglas High School who has been playing violin since she was 4.
Eldridge said she’s excited to play “Beethoven’s Spring Sonata” with piano accompaniment from Kyle Farley-Robinson, 17, also a JDHS student, who called the piece “lighthearted.”
Xia said public recitals tend to be more challenging and serious than recitals for crowds composed of family members.
Plus, he’s hopeful a public recital provides encouragement for young musicians to continue to study, practice and play.
“I like performing,” said Elizabeth Djajalie, 12. “It gives me a chance to play with the piano. It just feels good.”
Other students universally agreed it’s an exciting opportunity to perform.
“It’s a good chance to work on performing skills,” said Jin Yue Trousil, 14, a Thunder Mountain High School student. “I haven’t done a lot of recitals though.”
Trousil will play Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major.”
Mozart will be a well-represented composer at the recital with several students choosing to perform his pieces.
Olivia Gardner, 15, a part-time JDHS student and part-time home-schooled student, will play his “Concerto No.4 D in Major”
“I like how bright it sounds,” Gardner said. “I like the Mozart style.”
Most of the students, like 15-year-old Lila Quigley, who will be playing “Concerto No. 9” by Deberiot, are high-schoolers or older middle school students who play violin.
But there are some who buck that trend.
Maya Breedlove, an 8-year-old violinist, is the youngest person slated to perform, and she said she’s excited to play a concerto composed by Oskar Rieding.
“It’s just fun to move my fingers like that,” she said.
Noatak Post, 17, a TMHS student, also defies the trend and plays viola.
Post said he started playing viola because Xia needed someone to play the larger, heavier string instrument, but it’s since become his main instrument.
He’ll be playing the “Stamitz Concerto in D Major.” Post said he picked something that will pose a challenge.
“There isn’t a whole lot of viola repertoire out there,” Post said. “That was one of the harder ones I could find, I thought it’d be fun to perform.
“I think (Sunday’s recital) will be fun. Usually, it’s a parent recital. It’ll be a bit more of a performance. It will be a bigger scale.”
Know & Go
What: Xia’s Violin Studio student public recital
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29.
Where: Northern Light United Church, 400 W. 11th St.
Admission: Free
• Contact arts and culture reporter Ben Hohenstatt at 523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @capweekly.
