Westerville Central High School sophomore Victoria Phillips is early into her violist career and already her string quartet has beaten hundreds of groups across the country for the chance to compete in prestigious national competitions. She was recently invited into the New Albany Symphony Orchestra as its youngest member.
Since playing with the Chamber Music Connection (CMC) in 2016, Phillips has performed with multiple quartets before joining the DAJJ quartet, which formed in 2015 under the mentorship of CMC’s Artistic Director — and Phillips’ private teacher — Deborah Price.
The quartet, which includes students from Olentangy Orange High School and Columbus Academy, auditioned for multiple competitions and have been invited to compete in the next round this year. Among them: The Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, considered the largest chamber music competition in the world. More than 100 groups submitted entries in the first round of the competition; the DAJJ quartet was among eight to advance to the semi-finals.
“It’s been really great playing chamber music because I get to make a lot of friends and I think I’ve improved a lot from that,” said Phillips, who is also a member of WCHS’ orchestra.
Phillips started playing the violin at 8 before moving onto the viola at 13. She typically has between one to three lessons or rehearsals a day.
Prior to the pandemic, quartets would travel for competitions in hopes of making it to the next round. Organizations moved the competitions online this year, which Phillips said has made them more competitive as more groups are vying for a chance to move on to the next round.
“It’s been different because we don’t get to travel but it’s been great competing against people outside of the country,” she said.
Phillips and the other members of the DAJJ quartet will spend three weeks at a summer program through the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute in Cleveland. Watch Phillips and the DAJJ quartet perform here.