La Jolla violinist, 13, takes her skills to the nation with fellowship and radio feature
By Noah Lyons for La Jolla Light
Emel Cubukcu, an eighth-grader at Muirlands Middle School, is featured in an episode by nonprofit organization From the Top, distributed by National Public Radio
At just 13, Emel Cubukcu, an eighth-grader at Muirlands Middle School in La Jolla, has drawn extensive local attention and recognition for her expressive, precise violin playing. And now her star is rising beyond San Diego.
Cubukcu recently was featured in a radio and podcast episode by nonprofit organization From the Top, distributed by National Public Radio. Her performance of “In the Style of Albeniz, Op. 52” by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, along with a Q&A with host and pianist Peter Dugan, was uploaded March 16.
The performance was the culmination of a From the Top fellowship Emel completed.
The learning and media lab fellowship is conducted online, spanning 12 hours over six weeks. Eligible participants must be ages 8-18 and cannot be enrolled in a college or conservatory.
At first, Emel thought she might be too young to truly stand out from the pack. But once she was selected, she quickly felt like she belonged.
“You get to connect with like-minded musicians and peers across the country and get to discuss things,” she said. “It was just very open, and you could talk about whatever you wanted in regard to music.
“This was an amazing opportunity. It’s a prestigious program and I was really, really grateful to From the Top for organizing all of this. I’ve never experienced something like this before.”
Participants plan a community engagement activity, collaborate on the organization’s digital media and record a solo or an ensemble performance.
For Emel’s community project, she was tasked with playing specific pieces of music for somebody she doesn’t know well and engaging with the listener afterward.
“For example, there might be someone that doesn’t love classical music and maybe they’re leaning toward the Beatles or something,” she said. “You could specifically arrange a playlist where you perform specific pieces by the Beatles and talk about it with them.”
Emel did just that, performing Beatles classics “Yesterday” and “Hey Jude,” as well as Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” on her violin.
Her From the Top taping took place in mid-November, preceded by one practice session at the University of San Diego. The recording session lasted an hour for her three-minute piece, Emel said.
Four months later, her work is out in the world.
“I was really excited for it to come out,” she said. “I really wanted to hear my interview … I wanted to see my recording. When I saw it, I watched it a bunch. … I love how it turned out.”
The release of her episode comes nearly a year after she placed first in her division of string players through age 13 at the Music Teachers’ Association of California San Diego Concerto Competition. Then she was tapped to play with the MiraCosta College Symphony Orchestra in May in Oceanside.
In front of a crowd estimated at 200 people, Emel performed a 15-minute piece with the orchestra behind her. She described it at the time as “a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
By the end of her From the Top fellowship, some of her biggest takeaways were that music doesn’t need to be confined to any specific genre and that storytelling knows no musical bounds.
As she performed the Shchedrin piece, a vivid scene appeared in her mind, she said.
“I kind of created a story in my head while I’m playing, which helps me focus in and concentrate, based on the short story ‘The Most Dangerous Game,’” Emel said. “And I associated some parts, like two hunters creeping through the dense jungle and the leaves crunching, [with] the quiet parts of the piece … and the very loud, exuberant, enthusiastic parts with them fighting each other and hunting each other.
“You can express music in many different ways through storytelling.”
Article originally published by La Jolla Light for The San Diego Union Tribune
(https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/03/20/la-jolla-violinist-13-takes-her-skills-to-the-nation-with-fellowship-and-radio-feature/)