Arlington Heights teen among world's violin virtuosos

Sometimes Gallia Kastner thinks her life would be a whole lot easier if she gave up the violin.

Perhaps the Hersey High School freshman would have the time to accept those invites to see a movie. She could train harder for the swim team. Or maybe she'd spend her lunch hour actually eating with friends instead of studying alone in the library.

But she'd also be miserable.

“The violin is so much a part of me, I could never let it go,” Gallia said. “It gives me so much of my character, I'd be nobody without it.”

That realization is no doubt the world's gain, for the Arlington Heights teen is one of the finest, most accomplished young violinists around.

Just last month, the Music Institute of Chicago awarded Gallia, 14, one of six fellowships as part of a prestigious new program designed to recognize and support extraordinarily talented pre-college musicians.

As a fellow, which in her case is funded by benefactors Susan and Richard Kiphart, she receives a yearlong scholarship covering 95 percent of her tuition, as well as exclusive opportunities to take master classes with some of the most esteemed musicians on the planet. Fellows also get complimentary recording sessions and piano accompanist services for competitions and conservatory auditions.

Those valuable experiences will only enhance a long list of acclaimed showings at local and international competitions, both as a soloist and chamber musician playing with a second violin, a viola and a cello.

Gallia's most recent victory came at the Society of American Musicians competition in Winnetka. In the past few months alone, she placed first in the Midwest Young Artists Walgreens National Concerto Competition, the Sejong Cultural Society competition and the Chinese Fine Arts Society competition. She also won the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 Concerto/Aria Contest, giving her the chance to perform March 2 as a featured soloist with the district's Honors Orchestra.

“Gallia is definitely of the caliber of someone who could have a solo career,” said her teacher, Almita Vamos, professor of violin at Northwestern University and instructor at the Music Institute of Chicago. “And that's not something you say lightly.”

Gallia's aptitude for the stringed instrument was evident at an early age. Her grandpa was a tenor in a choir and always considered the violin to be beautiful, so he encouraged her parents, David and Regina Kastner, to sign Gallia up for lessons.

She began at 4 years old, entered competitions by age 6, truly grew to love playing at 7 and gained acceptance into the Music Institute of Chicago's Academy at 9.

“I remember she only played three notes at the beginning, and now she plays thousands,” Regina Kastner said. “We're not musicians, so I don't know where she got it.”

As a student at the academy, an elite training ground for the area's most talented young musicians, Gallia devotes countless hours to honing her craft. She spends most Saturdays taking music theory, enrichment and master classes, followed by practice for orchestra and then her chamber quartet.

Musicians in Gallia's position are expected to practice several hours each day, but between school, swim team, homework, lessons, competitions, performances at St. James Parish and sleep, she struggles to squeeze in two to three hours.

Her family is hoping her high school will be more flexible as her commitments increase. She tried home schooling for a few years to better accommodate her demanding schedule, but Gallia couldn't stand the solitude.

“My school friends don't understand anything about what I do, and sometimes they get mad because I can't hang out,” Gallia said. “My music friends totally get my life, so it helps that I can let my frustrations out.”

At the moment, she's mastering Brahms' Concerto and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major, two pieces she ranks among the toughest in history. The technicality and length — the first of Tchaikovsky's three movements alone is longer than 20 minutes — can be exhausting.

“It demands some serious energy,” Gallia said. “There are fast changes and different moods and your fingers are always moving, so it's very physical in that way.”

She's performed those concertos lately at competitions, which don't always go flawlessly.

She recalls her most recent trip to Germany, where she advanced to the final round of an international showcase only to flub her final performance. Her first few notes were completely off as she began moving her bow to Mozart's Concerto No. 4 and she could never recover.

“Every competition is a learning experience,” she said. “You develop an attitude if you win everything.”

The violin virtuoso is becoming more visible in the community thanks to her fellowship, performances on WFMT radio and TV appearances, including a “Today” show segment with renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine.

In a couple of years, she'll begin auditioning for college music programs, perhaps at Julliard, Curtis or Colburn. Her dream is to become a soloist performing with the world's great orchestras.

“For me, this isn't just music coming out of a wooden box,” Gallia said. “The violin is a singing instrument that's close to the human voice, so I play everything with my heart and soul because I feel it going through me as if I'm singing it.”

Ÿ Kimberly Pohl wrote today's column. She and Elena Ferrarin always are looking for Suburban Standouts to profile. If you know of someone whose story just wows you, please send a note including name, town, email and phone contacts for you and the nominee to standouts@dailyherald.com or call our Standouts hotline at (847) 608-2733.

Gallia Kastner

<B>Age</b>: 14

<B>Hometown</b>: Arlington Heights

<B>School</b>: John Hersey High School

<B>Who inspires you?</b> The late violinist Jascha Heifetz

<B>What's on your iPod?</b> Classical music, pop

<B>What book are you reading?</b> “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

<B>The three words that best describe you?</b> Mature, Competitive, Passionate