Galen Kusic, Editor

Classical music lovers are in for a treat.

On Feb. 10, renowned violinist Alina Kobialka will join the Vallejo Symphony to perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 at the Empress Theatre.

Kobialka, 19, currently attends the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studies under Ilya Kaler. The soloist phenom is a San Francisco native and is excited to return to the Bay Area to perform with the Vallejo Symphony for the first time.

“I think it’s going to be an awesome concert with an awesome repertoire,” said Kobialka. “It’s unique that this piece is being programmed. It will be a great collaboration between soloist, conductor and ensemble.”

While Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 was one of the first pieces of music she learned to play at age six or seven, she has never played the piece with a full ensemble until now.

Kobialka’s parents are both musicians and got her into a music class at an early age. When they realized she had a special talent, they got her a private instructor and she’s been playing ever since.

But not without struggles, or even thoughts of quitting playing music altogether.

Around age 12, Kobialka was having doubts of continuing on her musical path until she joined the San Francisco Youth Orchestra.

“It was a life changing experience,” she said. “It was such an inspiration for me to be playing with people my age who loved to play music just like me. It really invigorated me and inspired me to see that this is a whole new world.”

By the age of 13, Kobialka won the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra’s Concerto Competition and a year later made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony at their 100th Anniversary Reunion Concert. She went on to make her solo debut with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Camellia Symphony and performed for a second time with the San Francisco Symphony.

San Francisco Classical Voice Magazine dubbed Kobialka as a “Jaw-droppingly assured soloist who made present and future converge.”

Kobialka cites Kaler’s instruction as a major driver behind her success.

“He’s a fantastic musician,” she said. “He’s an all-around intelligent man and we work so well together. I’ve improved so much under him.”

Kobialka is the winner of the Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Foundation Scholarship of the 2018 Musician’s Club of Women Music Scholarship Auditions, the Evanston Music Club Competition, and was a finalist in the Klein International Strings Competition (2016).

When she isn’t studying, reciting or performing music, she enjoys cooking, yoga, running and spending quality time with friends and family. She noted that by exercising, it aids her stamina to play.

“Putting so much energy into playing can be really draining, so exercising helps me have more energy,” she said.

Kobialka’s future music goals include playing a “combo of everything.” While she loves to play concerto and solo recitals, she looks forward to collaborating with other artists and playing different genres of music.

This summer, Kobialka will play at the Marlboro Music Festival, which spans from July 13 – Aug. 11 on the campus of Marlboro College in Vermont. After three weeks of daily rehearsals, the Marlboro artists will share their in-depth collaborations with audiences at weekend public concerts.

The Vallejo Symphony concert will consist of three shows, the first on Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. for the public. On Feb. 11, she will perform two more concerts for over 800 Solano County students.

To learn more about Kobialka, visit www.alinakobialka.com. To purchase tickets to the concert, visit www.vallejosymphony.org or www.empresstheatre.org.