Group brings home a second place win from the 2024 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Musical Festival in Vienna, Austria

Ashland.news staff report

This summer, the James M. Collier Siskiyou Violins, a group of 29 young violinists from Southern Oregon, performed in some of Vienna’s finest music halls. Where Mozart composed and Beethoven performed symphonies, the ensemble competed in the prestigious 2024 Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival.

The festival, an invitation-only event, brings together talented and well-rehearsed youth ensembles, symphonies, and orchestras from around the world. Siskiyou Violins secured second place in the category of Summa Ensembles.

Among the tour’s many highlights was an evening concert in a historic village church outside Vienna. The church was filled to the last chair, and after several standing ovations, the audience requested encores of multiple pieces. The group and their families were invited to join the congregation for a feast of local food and wine, rounding out a beautiful summer evening in the heart of Europe.

Siskiyou Violins, under the leadership of acclaimed director Faina Podolnaya, is no stranger to international success. Ms. Podolnaya’s protégés have previously earned prestigious awards at Carnegie Hall in New York City — taking home three gold medals and a Carnegie Medal, and at an international youth music festival in Los Angeles where they achieved a perfect score of 100 out of 100, the first in the festival’s history.

The violinists who traveled to Vienna hailed from across the Rogue Valley, with a few coming from as far as Redding and Santa Cruz, California, to rehearse with the group in Ashland before embarking on their European journey.

Following a brief break after Vienna, Siskiyou Violins are now preparing for several holiday season performances. The group continues to rehearse every other Thursday at the First Presbyterian Church in Ashland.

For more information about Siskiyou Violins, their upcoming performances, and ways to support these young musicians, please visit siskiyouviolins.org.

Source: Siskiyou Violins news release. Email Ashland.news at [email protected].