Violinist Maria Sanderson will be able to add performing with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra to an already impressive list of accomplishments in her music career.
On Feb. 28, Sanderson will celebrate her 18th birthday by performing a solo by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during the orchestra’s Celebration of Black History concert at Hilbert Circle Theatre.
The concert will also feature the debut of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Christopher Wilburn singing with the orchestra.
The concert will honor “the significant impact of African-American musicians on the cultural life of Indianapolis and the nation,” according to the orchestra’s website.
Last year, Sanderson won first place and $10,000 in the Sphinx Competition in Detroit, a nationwide contest for black and Latino young adult classical musicians.
Sanderson said in June that she spends six hours a day practicing violin — with a day off on Sundays.
She’s been on tour with Indiana University’s Violin Virtuosi — violinists 12 to 18 who perform as an ensemble and as soloists.
Last fall, she went on a six-week tour with the Sphinx Competition, visiting about 20 different U.S. cities, including New York City and a stop at Carnegie Hall.
Almost three years ago, Sanderson attended a program in England, where she was able to stay at Cambridge University. In 2015, she studied in Canada. Last summer she participated in a program at the Heifetz International Music Institute in Virginia.
The Sphinx Competition also set up solo gigs for her in three orchestras throughout the country in California, Florida and New York.
Violin is her main instrument, but she also sings and has played piano some, she said.
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What: Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Celebration of Black History concert
Where: Hilbert Circle Theatre, 45 Monument Circle, Indianapolis
When: Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Online tickets are sold out, but 200 tickets will be released the day of the show at 5:30 p.m. Those tickets must be reserved in person at the Indiana Symphony Orchestra box office. There is a four-ticket limit for reserving in person.
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