Stringing her way to success

Fantee Jones is obsessed with Panda bears, the Twilight series and the color pink. She likes listening to Taylor Swift, texting her friends and loves playing the piano. She's just an average girl who, at 15, has accomplished what tops many musicians' to-do lists – she's performed at Carnegie Hall.Jones began playing the piano when she was 3. Her earliest memory is crawling up onto the bench to pound on the keys, which is how her mother knew to start her in lessons."I grew up with my mom teaching piano lessons and having recitals at home," Jones said. "I used to love to just sit and watch the students play."According to her mother, Tiffany, who was also Fantee's first piano teacher, Fantee was a fast learner and was different from the other students she taught. Eventually, she began lessons with a family friend because as a young child, "she knew the difference between mom and teacher. At home it wasn't serious because it was just mom," Tiffany said.From taking lessons, Fantee discovered a natural talent in music and excelled at piano. At 5 years old Fantee and her mother felt that adding another instrument to her repertoire would only be beneficial and Jones began playing the violin.Now in her sixth year with the Sacramento Youth Symphony, Fantee plays in the first violin section for the Premier Orchestra."She has really come up through the ranks," said Symphony Conductor Michael Neumann. "She's a fine musician."Next week, the Mondavi Center in Davis is hosting the symphony for a special concert that will feature the world premiere of composer George Roumanis' "Symphonic Meditations," where Fantee will be one of the performers.According to Neumann, Roumanis has re-written "Symphonic Meditations" specifically for the youth symphony to play for the first time by a symphonic orchestra. Roumanis is a contemporary composer who has arranged and conducted scores for popular TV shows like "Twilight Zone," "Star Trek" and "Mission Impossible."And at 80, Roumanis will be making a special appearance at the concert to conduct his piece."He said it was the best birthday present he could receive," Neumann said.Fantee said her favorite part of being in the symphony is the group work that she doesn't get much as a pianist or as of this year, a student.In order to find more time to practice, Fantee opted to go on independent study instead of attending classes at Woodcreek High School where she would have been a sophomore. "It got to the point where homework and school projects didn't leave me with enough time to practice, or I was staying up late trying to finish homework," she said. Her mother supported the idea of independent study saying, "if playing music was her goal, it would have to come first and be her focus."Now, Fantee said she is able to get three to four hours of practice in on weekdays and five on weekends. Schoolwork, Fantee says, is typically done in the afternoon and "is pretty easy to get through on my own but I do miss the social aspect of school."However, all the newfound practice time has also given Fantee the opportunity to compete in several competitions. Last year, in a span of three months, she attended and brought home first place in three international competitions."I haven't ever won consecutively like that," Fantee said. At 11, as a result of winning an international competition held in New York, Fantee had the opportunity to play piano at Carnegie Hall."It was such a cool experience to be on the stage where so many legendary pianists have performed," she said. With the hopes of someday attending The Curtis Institute of Music or Juilliard School, Fantee said it is winning competitions that motivate her to do more and pursue a career in music."It gives me a great sense of accomplishment," she said.