A member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and two quartets, Marcucci regularly totes her reddish 1769 violin to churches, nursing homes, parks and halls. Earlier this month, she played with the orchestra at the Union League in Philadelphia. Among the guests was Tom Ridge, former Pennsylvania governor who is now the federal director of homeland security.
"I love the violin. I fell in love with it when I was, I don't know how old," she said. She remembers when she was 5 and clutched the instrument for the first time during her introductory lesson in Philadelphia.
"They [the instructors] had me hold the violin, but I didn't really play it," she said.
That is no longer the case. Marcucci now practices three to four hours a day.
"My fingers aren't sore because they already have calluses. But sometimes my back gets a little sore," she said.
Marcucci doesn't mind. Her career goal is to become a full-fledged member of a professional orchestra.
"Her hours of practice are comparable to training for the Olympics," said Sandy Marcucci, her mother.
A typical Saturday is proof. From 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., the teen rehearses with the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and with two quartets - the Wisteria Quartet and the Settlement Music School Quartet - taking a break, of course, for lunch.
"It's hard, but I don't ever get bored with it. The violin is a good part of my life," she said. Her other interests are her academic studies and tennis.
Marcucci was home-schooled by her mother until last year, when she enrolled in the Pilgrim Academy, a private school in Absecon. After one year, she decided that home-schooling fit her needs better.
"I didn't have enough time to practice violin and attend school, too," she said.
