Thirty-plus young local string players will travel thousands of miles across the planet to play their tunes in Europe’s classical music nucleus: Vienna, Austria.

The James M. Collier Siskiyou Violins has earned its reputation as one of the premier private student ensembles in Oregon, and the group will have the chance to share its songs in the same city that hosted iconic composers Mozart, Beethoven and other legends of the classical world.

Participating in the Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival, the Siskiyou Violins will compete with orchestras, bands and choirs from across the world from July 5 to 10.

While the local string group has performed in renowned venues across the United States — such as New York City’s Carnegie Hall and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles — the voyage to Vienna will be the first major trip for the Siskiyou Violins since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been multiple years in the making and the kids are super excited; we’re kind of pinching ourselves that it’s going to happen,” said Kelly Pastrano, a board member with the Siskiyou Violins. “We’re going to be representing not just Medford or Ashland or Oregon, we are representing our country.”

The string group will perform and compete with 36 other musical ensembles from across the world — from Hong Kong to Peru, including a fellow American orchestra from Miami, Florida.

The young musicians will get the opportunity to play in three historic and acclaimed venues across the Austrian capital for the competition. One of those stages is the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, which is considered by many to have some of the best acoustics in the world. The other two locations are the Grand Hall of the Konzerthaus and the MuTh Concert Hall; home to the world-famous Vienna Boys’ Choir.

“I’m definitely excited for the acoustics … I’m excited to perform there, but I hope I don’t get distracted while playing,” said Rowan Pastrano, a violinist with the Siskiyou Violins.

The 16-year-old South Medford High School student is anticipating much more than just performing music though.

“I’m super excited for the food because I’ve heard a lot about European food and how different it is, and I just love food,” Rowan Pastrano said. “I’m also excited to see all of the architecture and different culture there, and I’m also really excited to hear all the other musicians.”

“This is going to be my first time out of the country, going to Vienna; that’s a big honor and I’m super excited to go,” Rowan Pastrano added.

The student-musicians, ranging from ages 10 to 23, will have plenty more to explore while in Vienna such as visiting the city’s numerous museums and participating in musical workshops.

“We’ve commissioned a double-decker bus to take everybody,” Kelly Pastrano said, noting that over 70 musicians and family members will be attending.

The Siskiyou Violins are led by instructor and conductor Faina Podolnaya, who started the organization in the early 2000s as a group of advanced violin students from her music studio in Ashland. The group has since evolved, with Podolnaya leading the Siskiyou Violins to gold medal winning performances at Carnegie Hall in 2005 and 2012. The ensemble also earned gold medals at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2008 and 2012.

Violin player Rowan Pastrano joined the group in the fall of 2023 and mother Kelly Pastrano joined the nonprofit’s board soon after.

“We contacted (Podolnaya) and she took me in for some lessons, and that’s where I heard about Siskiyou Violins … I watched a couple of their performances and started going in and catching up with them,” Rowan Pastrano said of joining the group.

“She has such a high caliber of expectations on her students, so she expects a lot out of them but balances that out with just a sheer joy for music and love for all of her students,” Kelly Pastrano said of Podolnaya. “I think they definitely feel like a family in a way.”

A special practice the Ukrainian-born conductor’s string outfit implements is fully memorizing each of the 15 pieces they will perform while in Vienna.

The Siskiyou Violins have been preparing to play in Vienna for more than a year now, with the older musicians sometimes aiding the younger players for different tunes and techniques.

“I’ve seen some mentorship going on too, some of these older kids to the younger kids, which is really sweet,” Kelly Pastrano said.

To learn more about the Siskiyou Violins, visit siskiyouviolins.org.

The group’s next scheduled performance in the Rogue Valley is set for Oct. 11 during the Heart of the Rogue Festival in Medford.