“When the Young People’s Chamber Orchestra presents their prerecorded virtual concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, there will be lots of unusual music on the program,” writes Diane Peterson in last Wednesday’s (5/13) Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA). “But a unique piece will highlight a trio of local talents … for the debut performance of the Redwood Violin, a one-of-a-kind fiddle created by luthier Andrew Carruthers of Santa Rosa…. His vision for the instrument is to embody the principles of the Go Local movement, with as much of it as possible made … from local materials…. Although he normally sells his hand-carved instruments to serious music students across the country, the internationally known luthier decided to use the Redwood Violin to promote local music education programs, such as the Santa Rosa Symphony Institute for Music Education, the umbrella organization of the Young People’s Chamber Orchestra. Aaron Westman, music director for the Young People’s Chamber Orchestra, served as the glue that joined the three collaborators…. In the video recording of the concert, the Redwood Violin is played by the orchestra’s gifted co-concertmaster, Aeden Seaver … premiering a short but alluring work by the orchestra’s 17-year-old cellist, Gwendolyn Thalia Przyjazna.”
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