Two Naga violinists, Sophia Mozhui and Yanzo Kikon has been selected to part of an orchestra that will be performing at the prestigious Musikverein or more commonly called, ‘The Golden Hall’ in Vienna, Austria on June 14 and 15.
Sophia (17) and Yanzo (25) will be representing the whole country to be part of an orchestra which comprises of 100 musicians and 400 singers from Austria, Italy, Germany, India and some other countries.
They will be performing the ‘Carmina Burana’, a scenic cantata based on 24 poems from the medieval collection by the same namesake composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936.
The two violin prodigies, both students of Hope Centre for Excellence (HCE), Kuda Village, Dimapur, have cleared their grade 8 violin exams from Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and have been training under one of the pioneer violinists in the state Khrielie Kevichüsa recently.
They are also part of the Indian National Youth Orchestra (INYO) from its inception under conductor Vijay Upadhyaya, a professor of music at Vienna University of Music. Upadhyaya currently directs the orchestra and choir of the Vienna University, the Vienna Schubert Orchestra and the Vienna Festival Chorus.
During a recent concert in Bangalore on April 17, the two violinists were part of an orchestra that performed the ‘Symphony No. 9’ in D minor, also known as “the Choral”, which is regarded as Ludwig van Beethoven’s final complete symphony completed in 1824 and is one of the best-known works in classical music universally considered by critics to be one of Beethoven’s greatest works, while many consider it one of the greatest compositions in the western musical canon.
Sophia and Yanzo’s dedication and hard work in their chosen field have proven itself as they have been handpicked among thousands of renowned violinists in the country to part of a contingent of 10 musicians selected from India to part of the famous orchestra.
Heralding the remarkable news, Hope Centre for Excellence, director-Zubeno Mozhui said, “Not anyone can perform in the Musikverein, you have to exceptionally talented and fully acquainted with your instrument to be chosen to play there.” Citing the prestigious respect people have for the Golden Hall due to its highly regarded acoustics and is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with Berlin’s Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Boston’s Symphony Hall.
In an interview with Nagaland Post, Sophia and Yanzo said most of their trainings were done at HCE but their initial violin tutoring started with Joey Woch.
Talking about the concert, the two violinists said it was a wonderful opportunity and that they were really excited to have been chosen from among so many talented violinists, for which they said they feel “so blessed”.
They said the selection to be a part of the orchestra was done basing on skill, dedication and commitment.
Sophia has just cleared her 10th standard exams from Maple Trees School, Dimapur while Yanzo is a graduate with English honours from Unity College, Dimapur, and he has also been teaching music as a part time job.
Expressing their love for music, they both exuded their desire to keep up their “passionate hobby”, even if they have to pursue other professional areas, which, they said, was the beauty of being a musician as you can be part of it even if it has to be part time.
Describing their journey thus far as a fruit of their personal commitment and investment, a gradual and lengthy process, and not an overnight success, they said, the bottom-line was how much a person was willing to dedicate themselves in their chosen field in order to rise above the average and get noticed for your hard work.
The two will be leaving for the concert on June 9 and will be returning on June 16. They will be hosted by the Indian embassy in Vienna during their stay.
(Aneila Seyie Keretsü)
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