Lights, strings, woodwinds—and in front, a boy with a violin. This past spring, sophomore Kent Hisada shattered the mesmerized silence of the auditorium and earned a thunderous standing ovation.

One of the winners of the high school’s concerto competition in February, Hisada, accompanied by the orchestra, opened the first night of the annual Spring Music Festival in May with the first movement of “Violin Concerto in D Major” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

“I think that was a good experience for me, because I’d never played [a solo] with an orchestra before,” Hisada said. “When I was in Japan, there was no orchestra for students.”

Hisada moved from Japan to Brookline a year ago, before the start of his freshman year.

“The solo was obviously the best part of the piece,” junior Marcos Rodriguez, Hisada’s friend and fellow violinist in the orchestra, said of the performance. “And it’s such a really hard piece, like one of the hardest popular solos that they play in orchestra repertoire. Obviously the audience loved it, because they stood up and gave a standing ovation. It was one of the best ones we’ve had in my time here.”

Hisada’s other accomplishments include a second-place prize from the Osaka International Music Competition, an honorable mention from the Kobe International Student Music Competition and a gold medal from the Japan Young Artist Competition.

Hisada started playing the violin at age five after his mother, Mariko Hisada, gave him a choice between the piano and the violin. Mariko Hisada said she had wanted him to learn music, but she had not expected he would come this far.

“At first, I thought that he couldn’t make a sound or something, but he made a very clear sound instantly,” Mariko Hisada said. “I was happy, and I was surprised.”

Aside from providing a means through which to make friends, playing violin helps her son learn about dedication, Mariko Hisada said. Kent Hisada said he practices for two hours each day and plays in the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra at the New England Conservatory, as well as in the school orchestra.

Rodriguez said Kent Hisada is a “devoted artist,” but also a regular person—and a good friend.

“I really like violin, so when I see somebody that’s really good at it, I always imagine that they’re god-like,” Rodriguez said. “But he’s pretty normal. It’s not all about violin, or all about music.”

Mariko Hisada said her son is just a regular high schooler.

“He is just an ordinary boy,” she said. “He likes playing video games, and he likes hanging out with friends. I think right now, he’s just a kid. He’s 15 but he’s not grown-up. He likes challenging himself, he has difficult pieces he wants to perform. But making music is sophisticated and difficult.”

Nonetheless, Mariko Hisada said she hopes her son will continue with music throughout his life, even if he does not go on to play violin as a career.

“It depends on him,” she said. “If he doesn’t want to be [a professional violinist], it’s okay. Even if he doesn’t become a professional musician, I hope he enjoys playing music. I hope he enjoys music as long as he lives.”

For now, Mariko Hisada also hopes that her son will enjoy his life as a high school student.

As for Kent Hisada, he said he is not yet sure if he will be pursuing a career in violin someday.

“If it’s possible to be a violinist, I want to,” he said. “But I haven’t decided yet.”

 Ashley Lee can be contacted at [email protected].