A Vancouver violinist recently enjoyed two big firsts: she played Carnegie Hall and she accompanied a turntablist. Rosemary Siemens, a student and teacher at the Vancouver Academy of Music, was the only Canadian resident invited to participate in the groundbreaking New York City concert on October 2. She and 67 other young classical musicians joined DJ Radar in the Red Bull Artsehcro (a project to bring electronic and more traditional orchestral forms together) for the premiere of a new composition called Concerto for Turntable, which had been commissioned for the event. "I had heard DJ Radar's name, but I hadn't been that much into that scene," Siemens told the Straight upon her return. "We got a huge standing ovation, which I don't think happens too often at Carnegie Hall." Siemens noted with a laugh that the piece, which she and the others flew in to rehearse only a few days beforehand, made her want to get up and dance in the cadenza while she played.

The group got the star treatment-not the usual for budding classical artists: "It was ridiculous how well they treated us. We all stayed at the W [Hotel] and they had parties for us every night. And there was Red Bull everywhere, so we never got tired," she added, admitting she and the others were a bit wired. Some useful things emerged from all those schmoozes, however: Siemens made great contacts in the hip-hop and other pop-music communities and hopes to hook up with them for future projects.

It's an exciting year for the musician, who is about to release a Christmas CD with her violin-and-piano duo Diva Musica; it's called All Is Calm, All Is Bright. Right after her trip to New York, she also met with renowned American composer Victor Davies, who is commissioning a piece for her based on Mennonite hymns. Siemens is excited about the piece because she grew up in a Manitoba Mennonite community before heading to the UBC School of Music to do her undergrad degree.