Emily Diggle, a senior at Warwick’s Pilgrim High School, sat with 35 other members of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Symphony Orchestra in the Vets Auditorium Green Room eating pizza and cookies.

The talented students had just finished their rehearsal with their older counterparts and were enjoying their break before performing Mozart’s “The Magic Flute Overture” before a large audience at last Friday’s open rehearsal.

Emily is a fifth year violin student at the Philharmonic’s Music School and was chosen for the second time to perform with the Philharmonic.

“I’ve been playing violin for nine years now,” she told me, “and I plan to continue to play in college.”

Emily plans to study both music and psychology next year and has her choice of Stonehill, Salve Regina, RIC and one other school to pursue her studies. She continues to practice with the RYPYSO every Saturday morning and practices at home at least an hour every day.

“I’m the only one in my family who has pursued music, although my grandmother did play the piano,” she said. “I’m so fortunate to get an experience like this.”

Conductor Bramwell Tovey mingled among the students, joining their pizza party and answering the often asked question following his cancer treatments: “How are you feeling?”

“I feel great” he responded, adding that he never tires of answering them. “As long as I’m feeling good. And I love working with these delightful young musicians.”

As of Friday night, there were only a handful of tickets for the Saturday night concert, which was guaranteed to be a sellout.

Tovey worked the musicians hard as they sat side-by-side, asking a few times to repeat a section to get it just right and praising the students and their parents “who have to drive them all around.”

Reports from Saturday audience members were very positive for the all-Mozart concert.

Tania Miller will conduct the orchestra in a special Valentine’s weekend concert featuring Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” plus Saint-Saens “Cello Concerto No. 1, with cellist Johannes Moser.

Tovey will be back on the podium on Saturday, March 14 with pianist Joyce Yang performing Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto. For tickets call 248-7000.