Colin Aponte is a senior at the Webb School of Knoxville and has been playing the violin since the age of three. Currently in his first year with the ensemble, he serves as the Concertmaster of the KSYO and is the winner of the 2022 KSYO Concerto Competition. Prior to relocating to Tennessee in 2021, Colin was the Concertmaster of the Bangor Symphony Youth Orchestra and Maine All-State High School Orchestra. He also performed in Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra and was featured on NPR’s From the Top radio show. Colin would like to thank his violin instructor, Dr. Miroslav Hristov, as well as Maestro Fellenbaum and the entire KSYO staff for guiding his violin studies this year and giving him wonderful opportunities to perform in East Tennessee. He plans to pursue Mandarin and International Business in college and will continue to perform violin. So far, Colin has been accepted to Stanford, Yale, University of Chicago, and Vanderbilt.