Move Over Mozart - The Perth Voice Interactive

Ellie makes her big orchestral debut

AFTER composing her first orchestral movement at just seven years old, Mt Pleasant violinist Ellie Malonzo will finally get to hear a real orchestra play her music next weekend.

The Fremantle Chamber Orchestra will be premiering her latest composition, Violin Concerto in A, at the Redemptorist Monastery in North Perth on Sunday October 16 at 3pm.

Now 12 years old, Ellie will also become the youngest soloist the FCO has featured.

But she’s already racked up multiple awards, including a 1st prize in the International Youth Music Competition in June, allowing her to attend the 2023 winners recital in New York.

Ellie’s musical journey began with a gift from her father.

“It all started when my dad gave me a pink ukulele – he plays the guitar – so he wanted me to learn too, but for some reason I put it straight under my chin, got a chopstick out of the kitchen drawer, and pretended I was holding a violin and a bow,” she said.

Ellie’s first concerto drew inspiration from mornings with her mother.

“I used to sit in bed on Sunday mornings with my mum and I would sing a melody to her, and she would write it down and play it on the piano,” she said.

“I finished writing the first movement of my first concerto for violin and string orchestra when I was seven; I have always felt that the melodies are the easy part, and the hardest aspect is linking all the ideas together, it’s a bit like a puzzle.”

FCO director and cellist Hans Hug is excited for the world premiere of Ellie’s concerto and says the event will be a beautiful and historic moment.

“Here we have a person who, already at 12 years of age, is an accomplished violinist, on top of that, a composer, which is quite remarkable,” Mr Hug said.

“At the FCO we try to perform beautiful music and create opportunities for young people, and Ellie is a shining example of this.”

The orchestra will also be showcasing 17-year-old cellist Max Wung as soloist in Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C.

If you can’t make the Freo concert, the FCO will be at the Fremantle Town Hall on Saturday October 15, also at 3pm.