Chandler 15-year-old wins solo honor

When Chandler Symphony Orchestra takes the stage in concert Sunday afternoon, a special guest will be among its ranks.

Quinton Neville, a Chandler teenager, will play a 7-minute solo on the bass viol, a large string instrument that looks a lot like an enormous violin. He won the honor in the symphony's first-ever youth soloist contest.

"To be honest with you, I didn't think I was going to win," says Neville, 15. "In the music world, the bass player isn't the one that usually wins. It's kind of an unwieldy instrument; it's really big and there's a lot of moving your hands over this huge region of stuff."But Neville's audition of Johann Baptist Vanhal's "Concerto for Double Bass" was spot-on, says Dan Coombs, the symphony's education outreach coordinator. Coombs plays clarinet for the orchestra and is principal of Desert Ridge High School in Gilbert.

"Quinton was the most well-prepared, and he sounded the best. He's doing a professional-level performance by an 18th-century composer, and I think people are going to be impressed," says Coombs.

To win the spot in Sunday's concert, Neville, a student at Tempe's Corona del Sol High School, competed against other string players from high schools across the East Valley, auditioning before the orchestra's string players and conductors. He learned he won when a note from the symphony was delivered to his eighth-period class.

"Getting to play with the orchestra is a neat thing. A lot of people never have this opportunity," says Neville, who plays in the Corona del Sol Chamber Orchestra and takes bass lessons from Phoenix Symphony bassist Michael Kazepides. He also plays middle hitter for his school's men's volleyball team and is a defenseman on a hockey team.

"I like playing bass because it's used in basically all kinds of music, in one form or another. I play jazz, orchestral, rock - I have an electric bass. It just leads to everything," Neville says.

The concert, slated for 3 p.m. Sunday at Chandler Center for the Arts, is free.

Coombs says the symphony will invite young orchestral musicians to audition for the solo contest again next year, when the competition will be open to wind instrument players.

Chandler Symphony Orchestra

What: A classical music concert featuring works by Mozart and Dvorak and a bass viol solo from a talented Chandler teen.

When: 3 p.m. Sunday

Where: Chandler Center for the Performing Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave.

Cost: Free, but donations are appreciated. Suggested amounts are $5 per child, $10 per adult or $15 per family.

Information: (480) 782-2680, http://chandlercenter.org or www.chandlersymphony.org