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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 7, 2012 · 24 Young violinist heading to Carnegie Hall By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Artscene dad to take her to a Broadway show. However, more importantly, she wants to visit The Julliard School, which she hopes to attend when she's done high school. To get to where she is today, Ashworth has put in a lot of work practicing her instrument. She has been playing the violin since the age of four -- making her first stage appearance at five years old -- and putting in about six hours of practice every day. For the past four years, she's had a scholarship for her music schooling through the Young Artists Performance Academy at the Royal Conservatory of Music. A t just 15 years old, Oakville's Leslie Ashworth can cross one more item off her list of musical career goals. This one is a dream-come-true moment, as she will be playing her 400-year-old Amati violin at New York City's Carnegie Hall, one of several world-famous stages she had hoped to play in her career. "It's very exciting. It's another step further to achieving my goal," she said -- the goal is to become a violin soloist. She received the invite to perform on the stage after winning a gold medal in the Passion of Music 2012 competition, put on by the American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented (AADGT). To enter the competition, she submitted two videos of herself playing the violin. The March 10 concert, which will take place inside Weill Recital Hall, one of the three theatres at Carnegie Hall, will feature a number of young performers from around the world who received gold and silver medals in the competition. Though it's a dream come true to perform at Carnegie Hall, Ashworth is already used to performing for large audiences. The young musician has performed for an audience of 2,000 in Vancouver, while in the past two years she's also performed with seven orchestras and played for large groups at various venues. But that doesn't mean the excitement of Carnegie Hall has diminished at all for Ashworth. "I'm really excited," she said. "I've never been to New York." Ashworth and her family will spend several days in "The Big Apple." Saturday will feature the Carnegie Hall concert, while the following day, the young violinist will perform at the AADGT's awards ceremony in White Plains, N.Y. Ashworth says she is also hoping to take in some sights as well. If there is time, she says she hopes to convince her mom and "I really love my violin. It's got an older, more mature sound. The Amatis are known for their very sweet and mellow sounds." Leslie Ashworth, of her 400-year-old Amati violin on loan from the Royal Conservatory of Music Ashworth begins practising violin at 7:30 a.m. She goes to a fitness club and has lunch for an hour during the day and goes back to practising. After her work with the violin, she puts in one hour of piano practice, another instrument she's accomplished at playing. This summer, she will be taking her ARCT (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) piano exam. In the midst of her business schedule, Ashworth still finds the time to compose music and practice jazz piano. To be able to do all this, she's been home schooled for the past four years by her mother, Allison, a former teacher. Now, that she's reached Grade 9, she does her courses through the E-Learning service through the Halton District School Board. "I have to practice violin during PHOTOS BY RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER the day, so I do online learning at night," she said. "I'm more ener- ON A WORLD STAGE: Oakville`s Leslie Ashworth, 15, has been playing the violin since she was four years old with gized during the day." her first performance taking place at the age of five. On March 10, the young established musician will be performing at New See I page 25 York City`s world-famous Carnegie Hall with her 400-year-old Amati violin, seen here. Inset: Ashworth's busy daily schedule.