Young Waco musician returns to festival that inspired her

By Sandi Horton

Several years ago, when Mia Orosco was a young child, she heard the Central Texas String Academy perform at the Waco Cultural Arts Fest. She was so impressed she asked her parents to let her learn to play the violin.

She studied violin many years in Waco and now is a nationally known fiddle player, winning the Junior Division of the National Old Time Fiddler’s Association contest in Weiser, Idaho.

On Sunday, 18-year-old Mia will have her own performance time at 1 pm on the main stage at the Waco festival that inspired her many years ago. She’ll be playing solo fiddle music with two backup guitar players from Dallas. Her 8 year old brother, who also plays fiddle, may join her for a song on Sunday.

Mia is a fiddler who also plays classical violin. Her classical accomplishments include six years in the Regional Orchestra and three years in the Texas All-State orchestra. In May of 2010, she won the Waco Youth Symphony Concerto Contest and performed that concerto with the Waco Youth Symphony the following year.

In 2009, she was chosen to perform on From the Top, the NPR showcase of young classical musicians. She played in the Central Texas String Academy for several years, and also in the Prelude Gloria ensemble. Both of these youth orchestras will be performing Saturday at the Waco Cultural Arts Fest on the Indian Spring Park Amphitheater stage.

The CTSA, led by Julia Hardie, will perform at 11 am. Maybe more children in the audience will grow up to be great musicians due to the inspiration of the talented string players and teachers they see at the arts fest.

The string academy has been inspiring young musicians for over 25 years. I actually remember taking my preschool daughter to a Suzuki concert led by Julia Hardie at Roxy Grove Hall over 25 years ago. I was amazed at the level of musicianship the children (ages 3 and up) exhibited and the smiles on their faces from the sheer joy of making music. The Suzuki students feed into the academy and are nationally recognized.

The Prelude Gloria Chamber Group will make its debut arts fest appearance this year, performing immediately after the CTSA. The Prelude Gloria musicians are led by Katie James as an independent program of Mission Waco. They have performed chamber music for three years at nursing homes, childcare centers, and for the homeless.

A third youth orchestra representing Central Texas — the Waco Symphony Youth Orchestra, led by Michael Alexander — will take the stage at noon Saturday with 35 musicians. This is also the first year for the WSYO to perform for the festival.

More information about the WCAF can be found at www.wacoartsfest.org/artists.html.

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