12-Yr-Old Kumamoto Violinist Performs at Carnegie Hall in N.Y.

New York, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)--Twelve-year-old violinist Sora Iwai from earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, performed at Carnegie Hall in New York after winning the top prize in the under-18 division of an international music competition.

Iwai, an elementary school sixth grader living in the city of Kumamoto, the capital of the namesake prefecture, played Franz Waxman's "Carmen Fantasie" before an audience of about 250 on Aug. 1.

"I felt I had to do my part, too," Iwai said as his home prefecture is working to recover from the July 28 quake that registered a seismic intensity of up to 7, the highest level on the Japanese scale.

Unfazed by the crowd, Iwai completed his performance, drawing loud applause. "The acoustics at Carnegie Hall were very good," he said.

His dream is to become a violinist who performs around the world. "I think performing here brought me closer to my dream," he said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]