HAV-ING THE TIME OF HER LIFE Junior Hava Polinsky talks about her growing musical success playing her violin.
by OLIVIA JOSEPH reporter
“When she holds her violin, it’s like she’s holding her baby or hugging a friend,” Mike Polinsky, father of CHS junior Hava Polinsky, said. As a freshman, Polinsky was the concertmaster in the Missouri AllState Orchestra, a program for which high school musicians all over the state strive to just get in. Polinsky continued her streak as concertmaster her sophomore year. In addition to being in the All-State Orchestra, she also became the concertmaster in the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, which ranges in age from 12 to 22 years old. With a father who played violin throughout high school and college, and two sisters who played piano at young ages, Polinsky had been interested in classical music ever since she was a little girl. At the age of five, Polinsky started playing the violin. Right when she started it was obvious that she was musically talented. “She seemed to have this very intense attraction and love for it very quickly,” Mike said. It wasn’t until Polinsky got first place in St. Louis Got Talent at the age of 11 when she realized violin was her true passion. “I was sort of aware from that point on that [my] hard work really was paying off,” Polinsky said. The hours of practice that Polinsky had to do every day in preparation for the competition made her realize that it takes commitment and
dertakes each day is brought on by her own ambitions and not by the influence of her parents. “That’s the peculiar thing about Hava,” Mike said. “Sometimes we have to ask her to stop [practicing].” Since winning the St. Louis Got Talent in 2011, Polinsky has also won the University City Young Artist Competition, the Belleville Philharmonic “Stars of Tomorrow” Young Artist Competition, the Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition and the UMSL Concerto Competition. As for the future, Polinsky will be applying to only music conservatories for college and she hopes to play in a successful orchestra for a living. “I still love it every day and thinking about a career in it makes me really happy,” Polinsky said. “I’m really lucky that everybody in my life is supporting me [in] doing what I love.”
sacrifice to succeed. On the weekdays, Polinsky does her homework right after school, practices for an hour before dinner, and then practices more for a couple of hours after dinner. As for the weekends, Polinsky’s average Saturday consists of a few hours of practice before rehearsal with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, which ranges from two to four hours. After rehearsal, Polinsky practices for a few more hours, and then later if she feels satisfied with her practicing, she will make other plans. “I have to make a lot of sacrifices,” Polinsky said. “That’s probably the hardest part about being serious about violin.” Although these intense responsibilities are hard to balance with her life, her strong love and motivation for music keeps her going. “I don’t believe a child can do what she’s doing unless they have an intense desire of their own,” Mike said. “You can’t make somebody practice for five hours a day [...] You can’t make somebody do that and keep them happy.” Despite the stress and intensity that Polinsky goes through, her love and passion makes it worth the hard work. “I always make sure that I’m doing it for myself,” Polinsky said. “She’s not really doing this to impress anybody,” Mike said. “She wants to see her audience emotionally moved by the music.” Unlike most young musicians, the hours of practice that Polinsky un-
Polinsky plays her violin. (Emma Barnes) F E AT U
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