MUSIC: 'Rising star' Surrey teen brings cello around the world (with video)

PANORAMA RIDGE — The cello is taking Trisha Doo around the globe.

The Surrey teen has already performed at New York’s fabled Carnegie Hall, and she’ll be off to Hong Kong and Ohio to continue her musical studies later this year.

Doo, 18, is currently a standout pupil of Vancouver Academy of Music’s Rising Star mentorship program. At the facility’s recital hall this Sunday evening (June 7, 7 p.m.), Doo and another prodigy, violinist Esther Hwang, have been selected as guest performers with the Koerner Quartet in a season-ending “Summer Serenade” concert (click on link for ticket information).

“It’s nice to be noticed like this,” Doo said, “and people are so encouraging and supportive of my dream, helping me to be my best. These are some amazing opportunities.”

Doo spoke to the Now at her family’s Panorama Ridge-area home, where she performed Edward Elgar’s “Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85” for a video posted below.

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She has played the cello since age nine – fully half of her life.

“Before that, I played violin, but I was really bad at that,” Doo said with a giggle. “I love the deeper sounds of cello, and also my sister (Alicia) played cello, and I really like to copy her, so that’s how I made the switch.”

At age 15, an excited Doo hit the stage at Carnegie Hall.

“I was really nervous and I practiced so much,” she recalled. “When I got there, I actually started crying in the bathroom because they wouldn’t let my parents come backstage with me, which was stressful. But it’s a moment I’ll probably never forget because at that moment, I realized that all the hard work I’d done, it all paid off. And being in that environment, where everyone loves this music so much, it really made me want to (play music as a career). It was a big moment for me.”

This Sunday’s concert will feature Doo and Hwang with Koerner Quartet members performing Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence” as a sextet.

“(Trisha and Esther) both already have appearances and scholarships at some of the world’s top musical institutions under their belts,” stated Elworthy, who is also the executive director of Vancouver Academy of Music.

“My fellow quartet members and I are continually amazed by their burgeoning talent, maturity and artistry.”

This fall, on a full scholarship, Doo will complete her Bachelor of Music degree at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio.

“My dream is to just perform and share my love for music and travel the globe,” she said. “It’s very exciting to me.”

tom.zillich@thenownewspaper.com