Sophomore and violinist Amelia Zheng was recently admitted to the Illinois All-State Orchestra sponsored by the Illinois Music Education Association.
The ILMEA is an organization that accepts the best orchestra musicians from the state, and allows them to perform at a higher level. Amelia’s skills would have qualified her last year, but the group only accepts students in grades 10 and above.
“This is one of my best achievements so far,” Amelia said.
Amelia, who has played the violin since third grade, said she “would try to practice 2-3 hours, maybe more” each day while preparing for the Illinois All-State Orchestra application.
Already an accomplished violinist, Amelia is involved in the Lab Chamber Collective and has been a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra since sixth grade.
This year’s auditions were submitted through YouTube, instead of the orchestra’s traditional blind auditions. The new format made the audition more challenging due to the level of precision required for a video submission, as the judges were able to review a performance multiple times.
Rozalyn Torto, the Lab orchestra director, said Amelia “really held command of the stage” during her performances at Lab.
Amelia is both proud of her accomplishments and focused on even more in the years to come.