Siskiyou Violins are headed to Vienna for an international music festival

MEDFORD, Ore — The James M. Collier Siskiyou Violins are packing up their instruments and taking a trip to the classical music capital of the world for the 16th annual Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival. Under the direction of Ms. Faina Podolnaya, members of Siskiyou Violins have been working diligently for four years to prepare for this trip. The group currently consists of musicians aged 10 through 26. Board member Kelly Pastrano and her violinist son Rowan joined Marcus Veal on Sunrise this morning to talk all about the group and the overseas trip.

This isn’t the first time Siskiyou Violins have represented the Rogue Valley outside of the area. Since 2005, they’ve performed several times at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and also at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Rowan tells us he’s excited to travel outside of the country for the first time, but specifically to Vienna due to the musical history of the city. Many famous composers have visited or lived there, more so than any other city in the world. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms, and countless others have relied on the inspiration of the atmosphere in Vienna to write and perform beautiful music. Siskiyou Violins join over 1,000 other young musicians in Vienna for this festival in hopes of sharing in that inspiration.

For more information about the Siskiyou Violins and their upcoming journey, you can visit their website at siskiyouviolins.org.