Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — In Bloomington, Ind., where Anna Roder attends the Jacobs School of Music, the aspiring violinist said she feels like a small fish in a big pond.

But back home for spring break in Steamboat Springs, where she has lived since she was 10, it’s a different story.

“It’s like everyone supports you,” she said. “And the fact that they’re going to support you no matter what is really nice.”

Some of that support comes from the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, which is presenting a special concert from Roder on Sunday afternoon. Roder was a longtime student of the orchestra’s Concertmaster Teresa Steffen Greenlee, who Roder said is a nurturing and talented teacher.

The fruits of years of intense study will be on display for the community to see and hear at 4 p.m. at Library Hall at Bud Werner Memorial Library. Tickets are $20 each, $35 for preferred seating and $5 for students.

She will play selections from Bach, Kreisler and Dvorak, among others, with Denver violinist Alice Rybak — who has appeared with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra —featured on two of the pieces.

Roder said she doesn’t remember falling in love with the violin at a young age, but her mother told her the story this way: She was about 3 years old and walking with her grandmother when she saw a violinist busking. She tugged at her grandmother and said, “I want to play that.”

“I don’t know why it’s the violin, but I can’t imagine my life without it,” she explained. “I love that it’s a bit of a drama queen, like me in a way. I love that the range is huge, that you get these big, dark colors at the bottom, and you can sing up into the stratosphere.”

But a strict and dedicated student she was not.

She said that she never loved to practice and that she wanted to go to school to study veterinary science.

In her teens, she realized if she didn’t try for a career in music, she would regret it later. At school, where she is in her junior year, she plays with several ensembles and the orchestra.

On Sunday, she’s looking forward to connecting with an audience she feels she knows well and communicating with her hometown through the bow and strings of her instrument, which she has named Nimitz.

“Intellectually, I know I’m not a bad player,” she said.

“I’m pretty decent, actually. But in the back of my mind, I’m listing all the people at I.U. who could play this show better than I could,” she said. “But then again, they don’t know Steamboat.”

To reach Nicole Inglis, call 970-871-4204 or email ninglis@ExploreSteamboat.com