Post by Admin on Jul 26, 2014 19:05:43 GMT -4
WALTERS... everyone has high expectations of me (PHOTO: GARFIELD ROBINSON)
AT 18, violinist Gabriel Walters is the only Jamaican in the 90-member Orchestra of the Americas currently visiting the island.
The orchestra, along with the National Youth Orchestra of Jamaica, was scheduled to stage three concerts: a free recital inside Emancipation Park on Wednesday evening; followed by the concert at Church on the Rock in St Andrew last evening, and the final event at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James tomorrow.
Walters, a former Excelsior High student who has been playing the violin for the past 10 years, said the experience has been great.
"It's good. I'm learning about new cultures and meeting new people," he told Splash.
While he's happy to be home, the violinist said that he was a little anxious ahead of the performances.
"I feel a bit pressured playing for my home country. Everyone has high expectations of me, but still, I feel that I can do it," he said.
Walters hopes the audience will take away something from watching him play with the rest of the orchestra.
"I hope it inspires people to want to go into playing classical music, even if it's not the violin, as well, but one of the many other classical instruments," he said.
He also wished to give a few words of advice to other aspiring musicians.
"Keep on working at anything you try to play. Even if it's hard, don't give up, and one day you'll get to the promised land," he said.
The Orchestra of the Americas comprises musicians, 18 to 30, representing more than 25 countries in the Western Hemisphere. Its mission is to bring together energetic, talented musicians to pursue excellence and celebrate cultural diversity as a catalyst for social change.
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