2005 Young Achievers

European music tour for Illinois kid

(Third in a series)

Fourteen-year-old Christopher Ash of Edwardsville already has participated in a music concert tour in France. Next year, he'll be performing again in a tour in Germany and Austria.

Christopher Ash

The soon-to-be freshman at Edwardsville High School plays the violin in the Southern Illinois University Suzuki Tour Group. He also plays violin and viola in a number of school and church ensembles and finished high in district music competitions.

He was the first violin in the 2004 Illinois Music Educators Assn. concert last fall. The audience of 1,000 was the largest for which Christopher had ever played.

These musical accomplishments, along with outstanding school grades and community service, have earned Christopher a 2005 Gateway Young Achiever award. The award includes a $1,000 savings bond.

This is the 15th year that Young Achiever awards have been given to metro-area kids for outstanding personal accomplishments. Over 370 metro elementary, middle and high school kids were nominated for 2005 competition.

(In May, Young Saint Louis.com published the names of the ten 2005 Young Achiever winners. In June, YSL.com began a series of profiles of elementary and middle school Achievers. This profile of Christopher Ash is the third in the profile series.)

Christopher said his musical training started at age 4. He remembers his first "violin" as a Pop-Tart box with a ruler pasted on it so "I could get the finger positions right." His "violin bow" was a pencil, he said.

Later that same year, he started with real violin lessons. Now, both his violin and viola are full-sized. Also, his range of music is much broader.

Although he plays mostly classical music, he and his brother have been experimenting with rock music.

"My cousins have a rock band and they're recording a CD. My brother, Ryan, and I are playing a cello and violin with the band," he said.

He particularly liked the sound that comes when their instrumental music is layered. "That makes us sound like a big orchestra although it's just two of us playing," he said.

The bands recording "studio" is the home kitchen of one of the cousins.

Of his 2004 concert tour in Europe, Christopher said, "It was my first time out of the country. Everything about it was cool, especially seeing all that history," he said. The group was in France for 10 days.

One thing about the European tours is that the players and their families have to cover their tour expenses.

That means that Christopher is looking for ways to earn money. His music helps in that.

This summer, he has a lawn-mowing business. But, he also hires himself out for musical work at such things as weddings.

About the earnings, he said, "Lawn mowing income is more steady. But, the pay for playing at a wedding is better."

Christopher's Young Achiever award was for music. But, all award winners must have good records in school, extra curricular activities and community service.

He finished 8th grade at Liberty Middle School this spring with all As on his report card. He's in honors classes for math and language arts.

In other activities, he's participated in drama clubs and football and track. He also was a finalist in the Liberty geography bee in 2003.

He's been in the Cub and Boy Scouts since he was 7. He's a Star Boy Scout now and said "I'm going for Eagle Scout." Some of his projects included landscaping, food drives, ditch repair and historic cabin restoration.

Linda Bristol is the orchestra director at Liberty Middle School and Christopher's Suzuki teacher at SIUE. She wrote a letter of recommendation to the Young Achiever judges.

She commented on Christopher's willing to help others. She said she "was very impressed" with Chris's use of his free time to practice with and help other musicians.

She also noted that Christopher volunteered to switch from violin to viola. That was because the viola section needed more players. He earned first chair in the viola section although it was his first year playing that instrument.

Christopher comes from a musical family. His father, Jim, and mother, Terri, met while they were in a band when they were younger.