George Pekarsky, a senior at Westfield High School and the Concertmaster of the American
Youth Philharmonic, is the featured violin soloist for Story Time, the Manassas Symphony Family
Concert on Saturday, December 7, 2019. He is playing Pablo Sarasate’s astonishing Carmen
Fantasy.
George Pekarsky, 17, began his violin studies at 4 with his father. At age 11, he joined the American Youth
Philharmonic Orchestras, beginning in their String Ensemble, and eventually their premier orchestra, the
American Youth Philharmonic, in 2016. That same year, he was chosen to take part in the Youth Fellowship
Program with the National Symphony Orchestra at the J.F. Kennedy Center, and in 2018 named a Markow Totevy
Foundation Youth Violin Fellow.
George has had many concertmaster positions, including with AYSE, AYSO, AYP, the National Orchestral
Institute Youth Orchestra, Rocky Run Middle School, Cappies Gala Orchestra. He has also played in the
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and the Summer Music Institute at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts in both 2017 and 2018, District 12 Junior District Orchestras, as well as the Northern Virginia
Regional Orchestra, and All-State Orchestra of Virginia.
George has performed in venues such as the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage and Concert Hall, Wolf
Trap Filene Center with 'The Piano Guys', the National Gallery of Art, NOVA's Rachel M.
Schlesinger Hall, and the George Mason Center for the Performing Arts. In 2018, he performed
Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Reston Orchestra.