ATLANTA — An Atlanta teenager is taking his musical talents to one of the country’s most iconic music halls.
Tendekai Mawokomatanda, 17, was selected to join Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Symphony Orchestra.
He plays the double bass. While he’s gotten taller since then, Mawokomatanda says when he started playing at 11 years old, it was bigger, wider and heavier than he was.
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“They’re about five feet tall. They’re wide. They’re heavy too,” he told Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen.
For the second year in a row, he will play alongside the best of the best and embark on a nationwide tour.
“You are playing to sold-out audiences across the country. This is a program many people are dreaming to get into,” Mawokomatanda said.
He attended DeKalb School of the Arts, and is currently at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. He also was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra.
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His parents came to Atlanta from Zimbabwe and say they couldn’t be more proud of their son.
One day, Mawokomatanda plans to return to his parents’ homeland.
“My goal is to build a symphony hall in Zimbabwe and create a program that teaches kids across the country how to play music, and how it can shape your life,” Mawokomatanda said.
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