Two exceptional string musicians, who also happen to be brother and sister, have been awarded special instruments honoring Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped by terrorists and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.
Croft (Didi) Stone and Jodie Stone, sixth and eighth grade students, respectively, at Rising Starr Middle, are the recipients of the 2017 Daniel Pearl Award, which consists of a viola, violin and cello specially made in honor of Pearl who was also a violinist and fiddler.
Each year, composer and violinist, Mark O’Connor, presents the instruments to exceptional string students who attend the O’Connor Method String Camp. Awardees are given the instruments to play for one year as well as a scholarship to return to the camp the next year to continue the tradition of passing the instruments to the next recipients.
Didi, who received the viola, began playing the violin at age five and the viola at age eight. He is the principal violist of Rising Starr Middle’s orchestra and has performed with the All County Orchestra as a violinist and with the Emory Junior Chamber Orchestra as a violist. He will be performing as a violist with the Georgia All State Orchestra in March.
Receiving the Daniel Pearl viola was a dream come true for Didi; he says he had been dreaming about winning it since he watched last year’s recipient, Jafre Chase, accept the award.
“When I was selected as the winner, I was in shock. It was a huge honor accepting the viola from Jafre, who is an exceptional violist. When I got the viola, it was truly a dream come true,” he says.
Jodi, the violin recipient, also began playing the violin when she was five years old, and then the viola at age 10. She is the principal violinist of Rising Starr Middle’s orchestra, and the principal second violinist of the Emory Junior Chamber Orchestra. She has performed with the All County Orchestra and will also be performing with her brother in the Georgia All State Orchestra in March.
Jodi describes playing the Daniel Pearl violin as an amazing experience and says that the instrument has made her realize that she has the potential of making sounds beyond her expectations.
“Receiving the Daniel Pearl violin is an honor and a boost of confidence that allows me to scratch the surface of what it means to be a musician. I am so humbled by this opportunity and look forward to what violin playing will bring,” she says.
