By Callum Ludwig
A 15-year-old violinist from Yarra Junction is making waves in the music world, becoming one of the youngest, if not the youngest, violinist to feature as part of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual production of ‘Handel’s Messiah’.
Arielle has previously played in the Maroondah Symphony Orchestra, Percy Grainger Orchestra and Melbourne Youth Chamber Strings Orchestra before recently being accepted into the Flagship Melbourne Youth Orchestra, a goal of hers over the last three years.
Arielle said when she was little in her home, her family listened to diverse music styles from ABBA to metal to classical, though of course, ‘Let the Laundry Hit the Floor’ by Sock Puppet Theatre remains a firm favourite.
“But it was hearing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto for the first time that crystallised the concept of music for me, it is the earliest piece I can remember hearing and one of my earliest memories in general, listening to it playing on the radio when I was three years old, later at five years old, I was introduced to Abba, further cementing my interest in music,” she said.
“On impulse one day, I turned to my mother and asked if I could learn the violin. I was six years old when she arranged for lessons to be provided through my school. At the end-of-year concert, she watched in horror and loss for all the money and time we both had wasted and promptly found a suitably Russian-sounding private school for me to attend,”
“However, after several years we belatedly discovered that that also was not giving me the technique and opportunities and repertoire that young people need if they want to study or perform at higher levels.
After some Zoom classes during and after Covid that she was not fond of, Arielle prepared for her Grade Seven violin exam mostly alone, the first official exam she’d been able to do since she was at Grade Four level, in a ‘tearing hurry’ with a view to applying for orchestras as soon as she could.
Arielle auditioned and was accepted by the Melbourne Youth Chamber Strings (MYO) and was invited to play with the Maroondah Symphony Orchestra (MaSO) by age 13 and said it was finally the start of the world she wanted to be part of.
“Age is of no consequence in Orchestra and orchestras tend to be very nurturing and friendly environments, certainly the MYO and MaSO are extreme examples of that,” she said.
“Orchestra creates entire worlds out of a room containing only some people and some instruments, its vibrations make your blood literally sing, and tell stories that resonate with your soul, it allows the expression of the rawest emotions untethered by the restraints of a spoken language,”
“The pure overwhelming sound is the first thing that strikes you, it’s beyond words to describe being in the very centre of all that glorious music, all those instruments, all those notes.”
A great friend and mentor of Areille’s is a member of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra and presented her CV to the Conductor, Andrew Wailes.
Arielle said to her great fortune, he was short a violinist and she received the phone call at 7pm the night before the first rehearsal the next morning.
“I’d never seen the music and I had a quartet concert scheduled for that very afternoon so it was incredibly stressful trying to work everything out, it was a mixture of disbelief, joy, pure excitement and stress,” she said.
“Orchestra gives the opportunities to enter hallowed, special places where magic happens, just a week prior I had performed at Hamer Hall with MYO, orchestra is such a wonderful life and I hope to be a part of many more productions in future,”
“Music is a magic unlike anything else in this world. It unifies and draws people together. It evokes feelings and atmospheres and creates entire worlds from nothing to tell a story in a way that resonates with the soul.”
The production of Handel’s Messiah was held on 8 December 2024 in Melbourne Town Hall and was the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra’s world record 245th time performing it since 1853.
Arielle said being a part of Handel’s Messiah was a unique gift, unlike anything she could’ve ever imagined.
“It opened a portal into an entirely different realm of purity and majesty, being in the midst of that music was being in the midst of a vortex of vibrations, emotions and pure energy, like entering into a temple of the gods, it was an ephemeral spell that put me in a trance of comfort and wonder,” he said.
“Being in a professional Orchestra for the first time was a lot of pressure and starting out I definitely felt that, however, the great thing about orchestra is that it’s such a supportive environment; at the end of the day we were all there for the same purpose, to do what we love and tell a story, to inspire others,”
“During the concert, I felt nothing but what the music wanted me to feel, a complete sense of comfort and joy, this was our Messiah, and I am so honoured to have been a part of it.”
Arielle will begin rehearsals with the Flagship Melbourne Youth Orchestra in February and is particularly excited to be playing music such as Rachmaninoff’s 5th Symphony, Saint-Saens ‘organ’ second symphony and Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony which are in the pipeline, as well as a couple of Soloist performances she has planned, including the beautiful Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
