Meena Bhasin, considered one of the best young string players in the world, has performed in Japan, at the United Nations General Assembly Hall, and at the Mostly Mozart Concert at Avery Fisher Hall. She’s performed with the Queensborough Symphony, Riverside Orchestra, Great Neck Philharmonic, Bay Area Symphony, and Harlem Dance Theatre. She’s won numerous competitions, honors, and awards such as the Eugene B. Kahn Memorial Scholarship at Manhattan School of Music and also the Tilles Music Scholarship three consecutive years for her participation in the C. W. Post Chamber Music Festival.

She started studying violin at age 4 with Yukaka Tarum in Queens, New York. She spent seven summers at the Perlman Music Program in the Hamptons and eight years studying with Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music.

“At age fourteen, I had the best day of my life to date. I performed with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, and the Israel Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. I had been chosen as one among thirty-five of the top young string players in the world to be part of the Perlman Music Program. I got on stage and never wanted to leave. I wanted the performance to last forever.”

Meena practiced about three hours a day, one hour on technique and two on repertoire. Her Saturdays were spent at music school. She says, “I rarely had time to go to parties or talk daily with friends on the phone, which is a sacrifice when you’re a teen. I also sacrificed my love for sports, because I can’t afford the time or the risk of injury.”