Paris Wilson, a sophomore at Orcas Island High School, has been invited to play violin with the Honors String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in February 2017 and with the Honors Orchestra at Sydney Opera House in July. Selection for both groups was by audition and open to nominated high school students from around the world.

Wilson will join performers from the United States and a number of foreign countries who were chosen to be part of the orchestra, band, strings and choral ensembles.

“We processed more than 18,000 nominations this year and have selected nearly 750 of the most talented student performers from around the world,” said Program Director Morgan Smith.

Pamela Wright, director of strings at the schools, nominated Wilson to the program in August. Wilson prepared three audition excerpts from Mozart’s “Violin Concerto no. 4,” “Symphony No. 35,” and Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D Major.”

Wilson submitted her audition recordings and applications in September and recently received notice of her selection to both groups. The New York and Sydney programs feature different ensembles and repertoires, and selection for one ensemble does not necessarily mean selection for the other.

“Your acceptance to this elite group is a direct result of the talent, dedication and achievements demonstrated in your application,” said the program board.

Eight years ago, when Wilson was in second grade, she was introduced to the violin at one of Wright’s week-long summer violin camps. Like many students who take Wright’s beginning strings class, from that first day when she came home playing “Twinkle,” Wilson fell in love with the violin.

Soon, Wilson began private lessons, first with Matthew Olson. Then at age 10 she began traveling to Bellingham for lessons with Lisa Humphrey.

Wilson has enjoyed many summer master classes available to student musicians through the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival. She spent the past summer studying with Martin Friedmann and has also had lessons with Will Fedkenheuer of the Miró Quartet. Recently, she began studying with Grant Donnellan, professor of violin at Western Washington University.

Wilson began playing in Wright’s high school strings class when she was in sixth-grade. She is currently concertmaster of that group. She also performs with the trio Almost Classical, a group that creates their own improvisational arrangements of pop songs, and she enjoys studying piano and playing jazz violin with Martin Lund.