Originally published on 3/5/2020
Fourteen-year-old Shadow Creek High School violist Sandhya Mahesh has been named the winner of the Senior Strings division of the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra’s 2020 Whit Phillips Memorial Young Artist Competition. She will be awarded a $100 scholarship and the opportunity to perform her concerto as a soloist with the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra on April 18, 2020, at the Clarion Music Performance Center, on their “Wizards of Music, Wizards of Magic!” concert.
Sandhya competed with the first movement of Hoffmeister's Viola Concerto in D Major. This concerto is one of the few major concertos for viola and incorporates several elements of form and style from its time, combined with a singing, grand opening and a melodic theme returning several times in different keys. "I love this piece," said Sandhya. "It's impressive because it's very majestic and stately while still being incredibly elegant."
Sandhya has been playing viola for five years, and in addition to being part of the Shadow Creek HS Shark Strings Orchestra, she is a member of the Houston Youth Symphony and a past member of the Bay Area Youth Symphony. She received a scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Center’s Summer Program in summer 2019 and was a principal of the Interlochen Philharmonic. She has also been a consistent performer as the principal violist of the Region 17 Symphony Orchestra since 2017. The Pearland native has other interests other than her musical achievements since she is also a competitive figure skater and dancer.