Meet the 15-year-old budding violin virtuoso growing up on Evansville's West Side

EVANSVILLE − When he was in third grade, something happened to Braden Riley that sent him down a new path of exploring his gifts and talent.

That year, West Terrace Elementary School was the first to launch SPARK, an Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. program to teach string instruments to primary students.

Braden, now 15, picked up the violin, and has yet to put it down.

This summer, he will be a performer in the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2).

The Reitz High School sophomore will spend July 1-15 studying and rehearsing with fellow orchestral musicians in New York City, culminating with a concert at, of course, Carnegie Hall.

The orchestra will then fly to the Dominican Republic, where the musicians will spend five days and perform two additional concerts.

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Each year, Carnegie Hall offers the NYO2 program focused on recruiting outstanding young musicians, ages 14-17, from communities “under-represented in classical music.”

In the summer session, reports the Carnegie Hall website, the students have the opportunity to work closely with top players from American orchestras and conservatories.

The July 15 concert with Conductor Joseph Young, music director of Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, will feature Grammy Award-winning violinist Jennifer Koh. The orchestra will perform “Three Dance Episodes" from “On the Town,” (Bernstein), Sibelius’ Violin concerto and selections from Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

Braden applied for the program last September and found out in mid-February that he had been selected for the 80-member orchestra.

“The audition process for the NYO2 program included three performance videos, a video essay and a written essay, as well as reference letters,” Braden said.

He used the video essay portion of the audition to show a different side of himself, choosing the question (from among a few options) “What is a non-musical interest or activity that you are passionate about and why?”

“I talked about how I enjoy teaching, specifically that it's different and unique to each person and how you have to find a way to resonate with the person you're teaching,” he said.

Maybe his appreciation for teaching came from his own lessons.

He started taking violin lessons in sixth grade with Sheryl Schuster, director of the EVSC orchestral studies. His current violin instructor is Michael Chu, principal second violin with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra.

But Braden, the son of Sean and Mindy Riley, got “hyper-focused” on his music during the pandemic, said his mom, who is also a violinist and pianist. The young musician agrees that the spring of 2020, and the subsequent months of lock-down, were key for his focus and skill development.

“I first realized I wanted to pursue music seriously during the beginning of the pandemic. I had much more time to explore the violin (and music making in general),” Braden said.

“I started taking online classes because in-person options were limited, and I was able to connect to lots of other young violinists. We developed a community for support,” he added.

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But how did Braden get to Carnegie Hall?

Turns out that the old joke is actually true. It’s practice, practice, practice. And a lot of performances.

“I map out each week, looking at rehearsals/performances and then try to organize my school work to maybe either work ahead or at least know the deadlines,” Braden said. “This helps me know how much time I can practice each day. Sometimes it's just an hour but most days I practice around two hours.”

Braden was a three-year member of EVSC Middle School Honors Orchestra, serving as concertmaster for two years.

In his eighth-grade year he was the concertmaster of the Indiana Junior All-State Orchestra.

He is currently in his fourth year as a member of EVSC High School Honors Orchestra, and his second year serving as concertmaster. Braden is also a two-year member of the Indiana All-State Orchestra.

In 2021, he won the grand prize of the EPO Young Artist Competition, and in 2022 was awarded the Conductor’s Prize. When he was 12, he had his first experience as a soloist with a professional orchestra. In 2022 he performed "Cinema Paradiso" with EVSC High School Honors Orchestra at the Victory Theatre.

Additionally, he has participated in the orchestras for Warrick County and EVSC Summer Musicals, Jacob Ball Wish Fund musicals and is a member of the FJ Reitz and EVSC High School Honors string quartets.

“A couple of my favorite pieces from the All State Orchestra the last two years were ‘Ballade’ by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Howard Hanson ‘Symphony No. 3’,” the young musician said. “Outside of orchestral music, I have enjoyed playing the Saint Saens ‘Violin Concerto No. 3,’ Mendelssohn ‘Violin Concerto’ and short pieces by Fritz Kreisler.”

It has personal discipline to pursue all of these opportunities, to keep up with his other studies and to even give up other activities he enjoys, such as playing baseball.

“My early encouragement, probably in 5th or 6th grade, came from my mom because she was able to help me practice,” Braden said. “Now, I just know that practicing is part of my daily routine and I make time because it's important to me.”

His mom thinks the opportunity with the SPARK program at West Terrace made a difference for her son, who got a head start on developing musicianship when otherwise it might not have happened until the more traditional fifth- or sixth-grade year.

“I’m extremely proud of him,” Mindy Riley said. “He has earned experiences that I couldn’t even fathom when I was in high school,  but it's a validation of his consistent dedication these past several years.

“I'm most proud that he stays true to himself, stays humble and generally doesn't understand what the big fuss is about,” she said.

After this summer, Braden said he hopes he’ll bring home more skills to add to his repertoire.

“I hope to learn how to make music at an advanced level with people my age,” he said. “I'm also looking forward to surrounding myself with talented musicians and directors from across the country. Of course, I am excited to perform at Carnegie Hall and in the Dominican Republic.

“It will be my first time out of the country,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Reitz's Braden Riley is garnering attention for his work on the violin