At 7, Royal Oak Girl Makes Carnegie Hall Debut

Avery Martin couldn’t read a note of music when she picked up a tiny violin and bow a couple of years ago.

The fluid sound that came out amazed everyone around her.

And earlier this fall, the 7-year-old Royal Oak Shrine Catholic Grade School first grader amazed the judges with her rendition of “Gavotte from Mignon” at the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition.

The only Michigan student to place in the prestigious international competition, she placed second in her division, earning her the right to play Carnegie Hall in New York City over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Avery came by the violin quite by accident. It was a cast-off offered as thanks by a client to her grandfather, Fred Martin, a professional skate sharpener. (To be fair, he’s not just any skate sharpener, but the go-to guy for Olympians Tara Lipinski and, more recently, Charlie White and Meryl Davis.)

“He’s the best in the business,” says his daughter-in-law, Julie Martin, Avery’s mom.

Fred Martin asked his three granddaughters if any of them wanted the child-sized instrument.

Avery said she’d give it a try.

Her daughter’s talent “came out of nowhere,” Julie Martin said. “I don’t have a musical background, and my husband doesn’t either. Her sisters don’t play.

“She just picked it up and started playing,” Julie said. “She couldn’t read music and had never played an instrument, but it wasn’t squeaky at all. It sounded good.”

That’s when Fred Martin asked if Avery would be interested in taking lessons with Juilliard-trained instructor, Sonia Lee, who calls the youngster a prodigious talent who works hard and is “a delight to teach.”

“She’s very, very sharp,” Lee said. “She advances very quickly from week to week. From the get-go, she’s been a special kid who shows a lot of tenacity.”

The Road to Carnegie: Practice, Practice, Practice

Lee knows about tenacity.

Her own violin teacher told her to abandon any hope of becoming a virtuoso when she was a youngster because “I had no future,” Lee said. “I said to myself, ‘Watch me do it.’ ”

She didn’t make the cut for the prestigious Juilliard School when she was 12. She dedicated herself and increased her practice hours. When she was 13, she passed the exam.

After graduation, Lee became the youngest principal violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and spent six seasons there before touring with renowned talents like Luciano Pavarotti and The Three Tenors, Harry Connick Jr., Josh Groban, Billy Joel and others. Locally, she often accompanies Karen Newman, “the voice” of the Detroit Red Wings.

The takeaway?

“Everything is in your capacity if you dream big and stay humble,” Lee said. “In this field, anything can happen if you put your heart in it.”

Avery does that, in ways that most 7-year-olds don’t, often exceeding expectations, her teacher said.

“She is very excited every week,” Lee said. “Sometimes, I’ll give her one piece of music and by the next week, she will have that and another one learned. She has a lot of ability and potential. She’s very special.”

Lee doesn’t take on many students so young, but made a special exception in Avery’s case, partly because she also teaches the child’s grandparents, Fred and Laurie, who began playing violin later in life.

They both also qualified for the elite performance at Carnegie Hall’s Joan and Sanford I. Weill Recital Hall over the Thanksgiving weekend, too, making the trip a family affair.

“Her grandparents instill a lot of work ethic, but also find joy in playing music,” Lee said. “Oftentimes, they will practice with her, and that’s a blessing for me, because they help instill that passion of playing the violin.”

As a teacher, Lee’s philosophy is that “I can get you to Carnegie in a year.” Such confidence, she said, stems from believing in her students.

“It’s a team effort,” she said. “The most important thing is me believing in my students’ capabilities. The violin is not an easy instrument to play, but with the right encouragement, anyone who believes in themselves can master it.”

Lee says that how far Avery can go as a violinist depends on her dedication and confidence in her abilities.

“She’s only 7, and that’s around the time most kids start violin, so it’s a matter of staying the course,” Lee said. “The running joke is: How do you get to Carnegie? No. 1, practice. No. 2, practice. No. 3 practice.”

The lure of the playground and other activities that children enjoy are strong competition.

“I know Avery, and what separates her: It’s an excellent work ethic,” Lee said. “Not all 6- and 7-year-old kids like to practice, but she has love of music and supportive parents who have a vested interest in her success and bring her to my recitals and concerts to hear high-level elite students.”

A virtuoso’s bar is high, but Lee is confident Avery can clear it “if she chooses.”

“She can take it as far as she wants,” Lee said. “Avery really is a very young prodigious talent – both in her abilities and willingness to practice.”

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Photos courtesy of Julie Martin