Violinist Sadie Hamrin will return to the stage where it all began for March 24 BSO concert
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Mar. 20—BEMIDJI — When Sadie Hamrin fractured her collarbone in a bicycle accident last summer, the talented violinist didn't mope about being sidelined. In fact, she considered it a blessing in disguise.
About a week later, the 23-year-old prodigy from Bemidji was back on stage performing as concertmaster with the National Repertory Orchestra in Colorado. Now, as she prepares to graduate with a master's degree and take her first professional orchestra job, Hamrin looks back on her accident with appreciation.
"After I broke my collarbone I realized I don't want to live without music," Hamrin said. "It was a moment where I realized this is really what I want to do. It was so much more exciting when I came back because I was so happy to be there."
She will be back home this weekend to perform with the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra on the stage where it all began. Hamrin will be featured on Dmitri Shostakovich's "Violin Concerto No. 1," an emotional piece she first performed as an undergraduate at Baylor University. She will reunite with BSO Music Director Beverly Everett, who first welcomed Hamrin to the orchestra when she was 9 years old.
The concert is at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, at the Bemidji High School Auditorium.
"It feels so good to be back," Hamrin said, "and to be able to play my favorite violin concerto in the world with the person who propelled my career when I was young and made me excited about it. It feels really good to return to my roots and get to play something I love, and to share it with people who have been supporting me my whole life."
Shostakovich composed his concerto in 1947-48 while he was censured in the Soviet Union. It was not published until 1953 and not performed until 1955 because of political unrest.
"It's difficult to put Shostakovich in words," Hamrin said. "A lot of his music has so much to do with the Soviet Union and all the political things that were happening, the censorship. This piece captures a huge complexity of emotions. It's a little bit edgy. But it's exciting."
Exciting also describes Everett's thoughts as she prepares for Sunday's concert.
"Probably my most favorite thing about being a conductor (in Bemidji) and having been there for such a long time is I get to watch these young musicians grow up and go off and do great things and then come back and share their music with us," she said. "It's just a real privilege to get to do that."
In May, Hamrin will receive her master's in music performance from the McGill University Schulich School of Music in Montreal. She recently auditioned for jobs with The Orchestra Now program at Bard College in New York and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Fla. One or two job offers could come by April 1.
She plans to return to Colorado for a second summer as concertmaster for the National Repertory Orchestra, where on July 10 she will perform a solo that was canceled last year because of her bicycle accident.
Hamrin also will have a meet-and-greet event on Saturday, March 23. Student musicians or music enthusiasts are invited to a final BSO rehearsal from 10 a.m. to noon. Following the rehearsal, Hamrin will share her story and answer questions on how being a musician has impacted her life.
The BSO also will perform Tchaikovsky's epic Symphony No. 5 and will feature the Bemidji premiere of a piece titled "Minnesota Lakes" composed by Christopher Stanichar.
The Tchaikovsky piece is special for Everett because she used it to audition for her position with the Bemidji Symphony nearly 20 years ago.
"It's a very difficult piece for the orchestra," Everett said. "It's almost like an endurance race."
Tickets for Sunday's concert may be purchased online at
at both Lueken's Village Foods locations or at the door. They are priced at $27 for adults, $22 for seniors 62 and over, and $10 for college students with ID. Students in grades K-12 will be admitted free of charge.
