Lillian Arnold Mages, 16, lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, and is a tenth grader. She began playing Texas-style old-time fiddling at the age of five and soon developed a love for classical music. Lillian started her classical violin studies at age six at the City Music Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

After relocating to Boston six years ago, she joined Anait Arutunian’s studio at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School (NEC Prep). Currently, Lillian studies with both Anait Arutunian and Soovin Kim. She is a member of NEC’s Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar (CHIPS) program and is in her second year with NEC’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Lillian performed on NPR’s From the Top “Giving Thanks”, Show 455, and is a From the Top Learning and Media Fellow (Class of 2024-2025).

In November of 2022, Lillian won First Prize in the MTNA Massachusetts State Junior String Performance Competition. Her other accolades include second place in the New England Conservatory Prep Virtual Solo Competition in March of 2020 and the NEC Prep Concerto Competition in February of 2024.

Lillian was a finalist in the MTNA Eastern Division Junior String Performance Competition in December 2022, the Beethoven Concours Nederland Junior Violin Competition in April of 2023, and the United Stars Music Competition in May of 2023.

During the summers, Lillian has attended Greenwood Music Camp (Junior ‘22, Senior ‘24), Berkshire Summer Music (‘21, ‘22), the Heifetz Institute Program (Junior ‘23), and Luzerne Music Center (Senior, ‘23). Last summer, she was accepted into the Senior division at Greenwood Music Camp, where she had the opportunity to work with and perform the music of renowned composer Kareem Roustom.

Some of her most memorable performances include solo appearances with the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra in December of 2023 performing Vivaldi’s Winter, and the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra in January of 2024 performing the first movement of Barber’s Violin Concerto op. 14. She is scheduled to perform again with the Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra in March of 2025 playing Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. 

In addition to violin, Lillian studies voice at NEC with Deborah Williams. She has enjoyed singing with the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir (September of 2018 until it disbanded in March of 2022) and has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra. Notably, Lillian has won 1st Prize for four consecutive years (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) in the South Shore Music Club Traditional Irish Ballad Singing Contest.

Beyond the stage, Lillian is passionate about environmental advocacy. As part of the From the Top Environmental Initiative, she collaborated with members of Yo-Yo Ma’s Our Common Nature project and led a workshop in 2024 titled Musicians and the Environment. The workshop guided her peers in exploring how their classical music skills could serve as powerful tools for advocacy and raising awareness about climate change.

Lillian still loves fiddling and has won numerous regional, state, and national titles, including the 2017 National Fiddle Championship (SF Division). When not playing music, she enjoys thrifting with her three sisters, sight-reading chamber music with friends, reading about history, and watching Freaks and Geeks and Stranger Things with her family.

Lillian plays a violin made by Christian Schabbon, modeled after the Venus Stradivarius.