Girl and her violin both grow up

When Holly Carrell was four years old, she got her first violin for Christmas. "It was about 1/16th the size of a regular violin," she said.

But, 10 years later, the 9th grader at Crossroads School has grown as a musician and her violin has grown in size. The full-sized violin she now has is a 200-year-old instrument made in Germany.

She's going to put it to good use on Saturday, Nov. 17. She will be one of the soloists at the Young Heroes in Music concert. The live concert will be at 10 a.m. at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It also will be broadcast live on KFUO, Classic 99 radio (FM99.1).

The Young Heroes in Music concerts are held twice a year to showcase talents of young African-American classical musicians. Holly is the youngest of the musicians on the Nov. 17 program.

"This is the biggest concert I've ever done," the 14-year-old said. She expects to be a little nervous before she plays. "But, I'm not nervous while I'm playing," she said.

She's already picked the pieces she'll play. They are "Praeludium and Allegro" by Fritz Kreisler and "La Folia" by Vivaldi. She considers the Vivaldi piece her favorite.

"It's pretty long but I like it. There are crescendos all through the piece. It's really fun," Holly said.

Her first introduction to music came when her parents took her to a Suzuki demonstration.

"I didn't know if I was going to like music or not. But, after I got my first violin and played it, I liked it alot," Holly said.

She's been taking lessons for 10 years. Her teacher since the beginning is Twinda Murry.

She even likes to practice. Well, most of the time anyway.

Holly said, "I can practice for 2 1/2 or 3 hours and the time flies if I'm playing well." Other times, it can seem much longer and harder, she said.

When she practices, she knows she should stop when she makes a mistake. Then, she's supposed to go back and practice that part until she gets it right, she said. "Sometimes, I have to force myself to stop and go back," she added.

She has lessons once a week and then tries to practice at least 1 1/2 hours every day.

She said her best experience so far in music came last summer. She had the opportunity to go to the famed Interlochen Summer Music Camp in Michigan. That was four weeks of intense musical training and includes concerts every Sunday.

"There were a lot of people there who were really good," she said.

Asked about her worst experience, she said it came during an audition for an orchestra position. "I messed up all my scales. That was pretty bad. But, I still got into the orchestra," she said.

Holly has played with a number of musical groups and orchestras in St. Louis. She said she liked to play with smaller groups better than full orchestras.

"With quartets and small ensembles, you feel like you're doing something with the music," she said. "With orchestras, there are so many musicians, sometimes you feel like it doesn't matter whether you're there or not," she added.

Asked about any favorite musicians, she said she likes Itzhak Perlman, the violinist. But, she added, "I like certain types of music but I don't really have favorite musicians."

Although music is a big part of her life now, Holly said she doesn't want to be a professional musician. "I like playing but I'd want it to be a sideline," she said.

Her career goal is to become an archeologist. She wants to go to Oakwood College in Alabama for your undergraduate degree. That is a Seventh Day Adventist school and she and her family belong to that denomination.

"Then, I want to go to the New York School of Archeology for graduate studies," she said.

Holly is the daughter of Lee and LaKetia Carrell. Both had some musical background and introduced their daughter to it at a young age.

For information on the KFUO music programs, you can check the station's website at www.classic99.com. Or you can call Tricia Oates, the station's director of educational initiatives at (314) 505-7814.