PBS Wisconsin Music & Arts

- My name is Ellen Zhou, and I am an 11th grader at Middleton High School.

I'm the Concertmaster of the Wisconsin Youth Orchestra.

I joined when I was in fourth grade.

Delving into the world of people who had the same interests as me, really helped me realize that this is what I wanted to do in the long run.

I've learned to be more sensitive when playing in an orchestra, and it's definitely taught me a lot about playing the violin.

– Almita Vamos: [Vocalizing] - My current teacher is Almita Vamos, and she's just a big bundle of energy.

– Almita Vamos: [Vocalizing] Hold it, da, da, da!

- She's just wonderfully kind and patient, and she carries so much knowledge.

= Almita Vamos: Bravo, very nice!

- I also love to make jewelry.

It just lets my creative ideas run wild.

I like making earrings and necklaces and rings.

I have a brother, and we're very close in age, so he's almost like a twin brother.

And we love hanging out together.

We ski a lot together, as a family.

With skiing, once you get that sort of rhythm, you can just go down the hill without even thinking about it.

I feel like that connects to violin performance or when I have some big concert that I'm getting ready for.

Developing the muscle memory definitely helps me let go and stop overthinking when I'm on stage.

I'm really excited to play douard Lalo's "Symphonie espagnole."

It's a very showy, like, loud piece.

But there's also a lot of sections where the violin sounds like it's almost crying.

I think it's just amazing that I get to be on that stage and solo with the Madison Symphony.

All my life I've been pretty competitive as a person.

I want to see how far I can go.

And I think that really helps me with my music and with skiing because I'm not afraid to push myself in that way.

And that really helps me grow as a person.