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LORRI HELFANDAfter years of dreaming of playing with an orchestra, a teenager steps forward as a soloist.
ST. PETERSBURG - Tihda Vongkoth took her position front and center on the Mahaffey Theater stage.
Behind her was the Florida Orchestra. Before her was a crowd of 1,500. She stood like a soldier, her right hand resting on the concert grand marimba.
She is 17, but she had been waiting for this moment for years. Now she would have to wait 37 measures longer. She was the soloist in Concertino for the Marimba by Paul Creston, but her part didn't start for a while.
She fixed her eyes on conductor Susan Haig.
Then, grasping a pair of fuzzy-tipped vibration mallets, she tapped the rosewood bars, sounding out a hypnotic cascade up and down the keyboard.
It had been Tihda's fantasy since fifth grade, when she first saw the musicians.
Her performance Thursday brought her full circle. Last year, she won the honor of playing with the Florida Orchestra after winning its young artists competition.
And about a week ago, she won the grand prize at the U.S. Air Force Band's Young Artists Competition and a chance to play with the Air Force band on Feb. 22 in Washington, D.C.
Tihda knows that performing at these venues is imperative for her to grow as an artist.
"It's hard to concentrate when you're nervous. That's why I want to get as much experience as I can because it will make it easier," Tihda said.
In the audience was her mother, Khit Vongkoth, and Tihda's former classmates from the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School.
Before the concert, they hugged her, showered her with flowers and gave her fashion advice as she changed half a dozen times.
Through the years, Khit has been able to provide emotional support, but she hasn't had the means to provide the financial support necessary for Tihda's dreams of playing with a professional orchestra.
Khit has struggled to make ends meet since she divorced about a decade ago.
She was working as a bank teller, raising her son and Tihda until she was laid off from a bank job about a year ago.
Khit wanted to support her daughter's passion, but couldn't afford to pay for lessons or buy instruments, especially a marimba, an instrument that looks like a xylophone and lists for $2,500 to $15,000. Instead, she bought Tihda a practice pad, a round platform with the texture of a drum head, which Tihda pounded until it was almost clear.
Tihda joined the Pinellas County Youth Symphony and in her freshman year, she started at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School. Last fall, she received a $25,000 scholarship to enter the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, a high school that offers an intensive arts program and college preparatory academics.
She needed an additional $5,000 for the program, so Khit dipped into her retirement savings.
That was hard to do, Khit said. Not so much because of the cost, but because she had to let her daughter move so far away her senior year of high school.
"I wasn't ready. "You're not even going to college,' I said. I wanted to move with her," Khit said.
Recently, Khit was hired as a customer service representative. Finances are better but still tight.
Several members of the community have come to their aid. They've pitched in to donate instruments, pay for summer workshops and even buy Tihda clothes, including the sequinned-collar blouse and flowing velvet skirt she wore for her performance with the orchestra.
"This is my little gem," said Elaine Stupp, former president of the Florida Orchestra Guild and one of Tihda's several community sponsors. "I've been following her for so long."
Tihda, whose family lives in Seminole, used to strive for an aggressive, almost athletic zone, like the people in Gatorade commercials.
Now, she's trying to develop a calmer, more focused, more mature style.
"I'm not like a kid anymore, but I'm not an adult yet," she said.
During her performance, she strove for the sweet tones of the violin and she capped off her concertino with a robust pattering of high notes and a confident swoosh.
She took a bow and a few dozen people throughout the audience rose to their feet to applaud her, including her former classmates.
Jeff Bram, the orchestra's operations director, said Tihda has been a fixture around the Florida Orchestra for years and has grown into a true musician.
"I used to have to shoo her and her friends out of here," he said after the concert. "She really carries herself like a soloist."
Her goal is to be a timpanist with an orchestra like her mentor, John Bannon, who plays for the Florida Orchestra.
"She has always risen to and beyond any expectation I've had for her. I hope that music is always an extremely important part of her life," Bannon said.
"I hope as she grows into her capabilities she can take on this role of mentor, and I hope she'll ensure the continuity of our art."
- Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com