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Young cellist is a Chicago classic among musicians

By Tariqah Shakir-Muhammad -The Final Call- | Last updated: Jul 18, 2017 - 2:22:54 PM

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2017 Junior Winner, Ifetayo Ali-Landing, performing with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra.

CHICAGO—Fourteen-year-old Ifetayo Ali-Landing finished in second place in last year’s Sphinx stringed instrument competition, but she set a goal to come out on top in 2017.

That persistence and practice paid off earlier this year when she was crowned Junior Division Laureate in the prestigious competition.

“I couldn’t wait to play for everyone,” she stated in an interview with The Sphinx organization, explaining that she’s been playing since she was four. “It was just an awesome experience. I think it [cello] basically reassured me that I can do this and I do have a future in this and I am good.”

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Ifetayo Ali-Landing

A student at the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute (HPSI) on the city’s South Side, Ifetayo has music in her blood. The young musician was raised in a family who played the violin and cello, from grandfather to aunt. After winning competitions as early as six years old, she continued playing. Her coaches and teachers at the institute noticed her exquisite talent and passion for the instrument.

“She was born into a musical family so she started very young, probably as soon as she could walk,” said her mother, Lucinda Ali-Landing, the institute’s founder and executive director. “She switched to cello and really excelled at a very young age.

“Whether she took first, second or whatever, we knew she was a winner,” Ms. Ali-Landing said. “When they announced her as the winner, I was just really happy that she was not disappointed, given the amount of work that she has put in.”

Ms. Ali-Landing founded HPSI in 1998 to bring the joy of music to young performers. The institute earned the reputation of “excellence in the instruction of young children.” The Sphinx is a Detroit-based organization dedicated to transforming lives through diversity in the arts. The Sphinx competition is held annually to provide Black and Latino classically-trained musicians the opportunity to compete with guidance from professionals.

“Ifetayo is just one child from the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute who has been a part of this national competition. We’ve sent three students there from this little itty, bitty school.  What other school can boast that they have had three Sphinx winners in the country?” Ms. Ali-Landing said.

Ifetayo also received $10,000 for­­ her performance with hundreds of other young musicians nationwide. She is a vibrant, mature and clearly passionate musician who also enjoys singing, dancing and playing the piano in her free time.

Ifetayo received a major honor for her talent at the age of 10, her first from the Friends of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra Rising Stars Showcase in 2013 after playing Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor. In 2016, she was selected for Junior Division 2nd Place Laureate of the Sphinx Competition and as one of the winners of the 2016 DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers.

Her mother desires that she pushes further as a role model for the other students at HPSI.

“Ifetayo is not the first and she won’t be the last winner of Sphinx or other local and national competitions.  What we do is provide professional level training to students, one after another, so there are people coming behind her,” Ms. Ali-Landing added.