Debuting with the Traverse Symphony, violinist Alan Tilley takes another leap toward his dream of a career in professional music.
Tilley will play Max Bruch's Violin Concerto in G Minor, 1st movement during a Saturday evening and a Sunday afternoon performance at the Corson Auditorium. The Interlochen Arts Academy sophomore will play the romantic, emotional piece as part of the Traverse Symphony Orchestra's debut concert for the season, Vienna Variété.
The Bruch is same piece he presented during the Young Artists Competition last April, where his impassioned and technically astute presentation won him this honor. He beat out two other finalists, each presenting their pieces live for judges and an audience at the City Opera House.
"I've been working on it on and off for more than a year," said Tilley, who in 2005 won the Traverse City Music Booster and Grand Traverse Musicale Scholarships. "I really do want to move on, but I have less than a week left."
Tilley worked with Kevin Rhodes, music director of the symphony, one-on-one a few weeks ago to finalize his presentation, one of multiple pieces in the program. Tilley also rehearsed with the full orchestra Sunday evening, terming the 20-minute experience "fun."
"He gave me some interpretive guidance and he's very confident, I definitely admire him," said Tilley of Rhodes and their earlier session. "This piece is very simple, it's really very emotional; not intellectual, your heart's on your sleeve."
A veteran performer, Tilley is an emotional performer who throws himself full body and soul into his playing. His analysis of audience dynamics helps focus on the playing task ahead, instead of getting nervous.
"Performing is about understanding that everybody in the audience wants to hear you and they want to love you," said Tilley, who is a day student at Interlochen Arts Academy.
Tilley's longtime teacher Paul Sonner, with whom he has studied for more than seven years, said the opportunity is an important step in his student's artistic development.
"Working with maestro Rhodes is a wonderful opportunity for anybody and I know it will help him grow as an artist," said the Interlochen Arts Academy instructor and the symphony's concertmaster. "He's is very talented, very hard working and he won it on his own merits; I'm very happy for him."
Growing up surrounded by music, Tilley took up the violin and has classically trained with the instrument since elementary school. He has three class hours of violin a day at the academy, including an hour of chamber music study he added this year to pursue a growing interest. He is also contemplating branching out in musical styles.
"My friend has a band and I want to get together with them"¦," he said, wryly acknowledging that violins and rock 'n' roll rarely mix.
Tilley's playing received a boost six months ago when his family purchased him a Emil Menesson violin they found in a small music shop while on vacation in Chicago. The obscure location proved to be a treasure trove of violins, but he and his parents both knew they had struck gold when he picked up the Menesson.
"I sounded really different, like the difference between sounding like a student and sounding like a professional," he said of his rapport with the 120-year-old, French-made instrument. "It's really a beautiful instrument, it's served me well."
Attending the prestigious Northwestern University's National High School Music Institute for five weeks this summer also propelled Tilley's playing to new levels.
"They've got a really good faculty, I studied with Hal Grossman, who is the other violin instructor at Interlochen," he said.