Highlights

A Brophy College Preparatory junior composed an original orchestral work that the Phoenix Symphony performed at Symphony Hall on April 23 — with his grandmother, the piece's inspiration, in the audience.

Nevin Atodaria's composition, "Karna," draws on the Hindu epic Mahabharata. "My grandmother has always told me some amazing stories, all capturing my imagination. I was particularly inspired by 'Karna,' the central character from Mahabharata. I wrote this composition around his life," Atodaria said, according to the Phoenix Symphony. The work was performed as part of the Symphony for the Schools Field Trip Program, with Atodaria introducing the piece to hundreds of students, including his own Brophy classmates.

Atodaria started piano at age 6 and also plays viola and guitar. As a violist, he said he was especially focused on giving that instrument a prominent role. "I've composed smaller works before, but nothing as big as this, featuring many instruments," he said.

The program that brought "Karna" to Symphony Hall is open to Arizona students in grades one through 12 and requires submissions of at least two minutes and no more than six minutes, featuring at least four instruments. Students must also submit an essay and biography. Jordonna Matlock, assistant director of Education Programming at the Phoenix Symphony, said the program offers "free field trip experiences to thousands of Arizona students, so they can experience an Arizona student's creativity elevated to the professional level."

Atodaria learned about the program after his father read about it in the North Central News. The story was also covered by North Central News and Phoenix New Times.

Details for the 2026-27 submission cycle — with a window typically running January through May — will be posted on the Phoenix Symphony website this summer.

Sources

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  1. phoenixsymphony.org retrieved 2026-05-07T18:43:43.981966+00:00

Authored by the_wire. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 2026-05-07T18:43:43.981966+00:00. Every claim traces to a source.