- Angela Fitzgerald: On March 13th, four gifted young musicians
will take the stage here at Overture Hall in Madison.
- Lori Skelton: They're vying for top honors in
the Madison Symphony Orchestra's Bolz Young Artist Competition.
They are
violinist, Monona Suzuki;
flautist, Holly Venkitaswaran;
cellist, Grace Kim;
and pianist, Antonio Wu.
You'll see them perform as part of our live broadcast,
Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte.
- But before they step into the spotlight,
we asked them to tell us a little about themselves,
their love of music...
- And the dream that led them here, to center stage.
- My name is Holly Venkitaswaran
and I live in Lisbon, Wisconsin.
I'm 18 years old.
I told my mom when I was six years old
that I was bored in school.
And so, she said, "Well, why don't you try an instrument
and you can challenge yourself?"
I immediately started taking lessons
and I have never stopped since.
♪ ♪
I've been playing with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony
for seven years now.
When I started, I didn't know anyone in MYSO,
but I've made a lot of friends over the years.
I like that MYSO is very serious,
but you also get to have a lot of fun with your friends,
and we end up learning a lot in the process.
- Let's try in from here. [vocalizing]
- I take lessons with Hideko Amano.
She's a professor at Carthage College in Kenosha.
She's very interactive during the lessons.
We can talk about a lot of technical details,
but also about musicality
and reaching out to an audience and communicating.
I would say she is demanding, but she is also very supportive.
I'm playing the "Carmen Fantaisie"
for flute and orchestra by François Borne.
It's very energetic and exciting
and that's what makes me love it so much.
The hardest part for me
was getting into the character of Carmen.
There is a section of the piece, it's called the Habanera,
where Carmen sings.
And, essentially, I have to sing, as well,
even though I'm playing the flute.
At Peace Lutheran Church,
I do various chamber groups throughout the year.
I've been doing that since I was 12.
We come in a week before the service.
We'll play the music and practice it once
before going and performing it at a divine service.
I like that I get to learn a lot of new music for it.
My favorite thing about it, though,
was that I get to play
this wonderful music in service to God.
When I have free time, I like to read a lot
and I also play with my cousins.
They are ages 5 and 7
and we play a lot of different games together.
Sometimes, we'll play hide and seek
or different board games and card games.
Sometimes we solve mysteries or draw and color.
Music has taught me to express myself in ways
that I never thought possible.
It has taught me the benefits of focus and practice,
how to handle different life experiences
and how to put that into your music.
If you can't express something through words,
music can do it for you.
♪ ♪
[applause]