Symphony performance is homecoming for violinist prodigy

When Rosie Weiss attended Billings Symphony concerts when she was young, she had one thought.

“Man, I feel like I belong on that stage,” she remembered thinking.

She was right. At 9, she played a solo at a Symphony in the Park concert. By 12, she’d become an intern violinist with the symphony, and played with them through high school.

“I played nearly every concert with them until I left for college in 2017,” she said. “It’s been a huge, huge part of my education. I’m very grateful.”

Weiss is now 26, and she’s returning to Billings for a concert on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. Along with the Henry Mancini Institute String Quartet, she’ll be playing a show called “Klap, Knock and Stomp” at the Billings Depot at 2310 Montana Ave.

The Henry Mancini Institute is part of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where Weiss went for more education after leaving the Billings Symphony. She did her undergrad there, graduating in 2021. She’s currently getting her master’s there, with plans to graduate in May. Both degrees are in the same thing — violin performance.

That’s been a long time coming. Weiss started playing violin when she was 3-years-old. The story goes that before she was even born, her father learned about the Suzuki method, a teaching methodology started by Japanese musician Shinichi Suzuki. It aims to teach children music as they grow up, in the same, intuitive way you teach kids to read, write and speak. Music, after all, is just another language.

“When I was 3, almost 4, my dad remembered that, and he was like ‘Oh, let’s revisit that,’” Weiss said. “He looked into it and saw that a lot of people started their kids at age 2. So he kind of freaked out and worried that it might be too late.”

It wasn’t. Weiss’ parents enrolled her in violin classes taught by Laura Dalbey, an accomplished violinist who still plays with the Billings Symphony, as well as a long list of other collaborators.

“She was one of the only people who would take me, being so young,” Weiss said of Dalbey. “We were lucky to have her. And then I just took it and ran with it.”

At 14, she won the junior division of the Montana Association of Symphony Orchestras' Young Artists Competition.

All that time and preparation is paying off in Miami. Still, for a homeschooled student in 2017, the move down south was quite the culture shock.

“The obvious thing is the weather,” she laughed. “It’s ironic, we’re in Florida, but we go to a school called Frost.”

But it’s more than just the heat.

“It’s a totally different culture down here,” Weiss explained. “It’s very international feeling.”

She especially appreciates the effect that multiculturalism has on the music, lending grooves and sounds from the Caribbean and South America to her classical and Celtic influences.

“I’m known for playing a ton of classical and then doing a fiddle encore,” Weiss said.

That’s where the upcoming “Klap, Knock and Stomp” show comes from. It’s a combination of works from Celtic and Nordic folk traditions, as well as works by the American avant-garde composers Joan Jean Renaud and Daniel Bernard Roumain. Both those musicians are still living, lending a contemporary edge to a performance style that often relies on works that are centuries old. Weiss called it a “very eclectic program.” It’s the first time the quartet have performed this show.

The Henry Mancini Institute String Quartet is Weiss on violin, and rounded out by Colin Priller on viola, Ester Rogers Baker on cello and João Felipe, also on violin. None of the others have been to Montana before.

“They are really excited,” Weiss said. “I keep telling them it’s going to be cold. They just don’t have the clothes. [Felipe] is from Brazil, and I don’t think he’s ever experienced that kind of cold.”

In Billings, the high on Thursday is forecast at 1 F, a full 81 degrees colder than it should be in Miami.

Even still, Weiss can expect a warm welcome.

“Billings will always be where I consider home,” she said. After graduation in a few months, she’s planning to use both Montana and Miami as home bases, commuting between the two and seeing what comes up.

“I have such a huge musical community that’s been so supportive,” she said. “So every time I get a chance to come back and play music for my colleagues and friends, it’s just a joy.”