Suzuki Program Students Place 1st and 2nd in State Competition

Congratulations to Riley Chin, who was selected as winner of the Junior String Division of the New Hampshire MTNA Competition, and to Oliver Andrews who was selected as alternate.

Chin will go on to compete as a Division Finalist in the Eastern Division. The winner of the division competition will compete in the National Finals during the MTNA National Conference in Spokane, Washington, in March.

“It was fun to share the results of hours of practice,” said Chin.

Chin is a ninth grader at Hanover High School. He has been playing the violin for 9 years; ever since he was 5. His favorite part about playing the violin is that he can use the instrument as his voice. Chin is a member of the Advanced Performance String Ensemble at Upper Valley Music Center. He has performed in master classes for Elizabeth Chang and Johnny Gandelsman, and performed in concert with the string trio Infinitus.

Andrews, an eighth grader at Andover Elementary-Middle School, began studying the violin at the Upper Valley Music Center when he was three years old. Some of his favorite pieces of music include Bach’s Concerto in A Minor, Willem Ten Have’s “Allegro Brillante,” and Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony. During summers, he has taken part in the Green Mountain Suzuki Institute and the Kinhaven Junior Session. When not playing violin, Oliver enjoys hiking, Nordic skiing, and cycling as well as performing with the Andover Players, where he is currently playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. He also enjoys caring for his his dogs, Rigel and Gretel, and his hamster, Felix Mendelham.

Chin and Andrews are students of Benjamin Van Vliet in the Suzuki Program at Upper Valley Music Center.