Fourteen-year-old New Zealand native and acclaimed cellist Oliver Mar relocated to Long Island in 2022 after being accepted into the Juilliard Pre-College Program.

Mar began playing the cello at the age of 7. Since then, he has earned top prizes in many competitions, such as the 2024 Camerata Artists International Competition and performed with the Camerata New Jersey Orchestra, the 2024 Young Soloists International Competition, the 2023 International Grande Music Competition in New York, and the 2023 New York International Classical Music Competition.

He attended the 2024 Morningside Music Bridge summer program at the New England Conservatory.

More recently, Oliver won the Island Symphony Orchestra’s Annual Young Performers Competition and will be featured as a guest soloist at the upcoming concert. The competition was established in 1996. Past winners have gone on to distinguished careers in the music world, and several have gone on to win prestigious international competitions. This year, there were 22 applicants. Jurors shared that Mar reminded them of a young Yo-Yo Ma.

One of the jurors, Eric Stewart, shared that despite the amount of talent and musicianship, it’s always clear who the winner should be—and in this case, it was Oliver.

Stewart has been participating as a juror since 2018 and has gone on to conduct the winners. His experience as a juror has been nothing less than mind-blowing, and the talent he sees each year from these young musicians is staggering. Oliver is among one of the youngest winners.

Stewart stated, “Even at his age, he came onto the stage, and from the first few notes he played, it was just so clear that he had a clear vision musically. Everything came effortlessly.”

He added that Mar was technically flawless, and his performance was what you would expect to hear from a professional.

After trying both the violin and cello, he chose to play the latter “for a plethora of reasons,” Mar said.

One of the reasons he chose to play the cello was to follow in his older sister’s footsteps. He also enjoys practicing standing up, but the most important reason was that he fell in love with the sound, which Mar described as warm and deep.

On average, he practices three to four hours a day; however, if he is preparing for a competition, it can range from five to six hours.

Mar has had the opportunity to perform with orchestras in the past, and he enjoyed it so much that he is always looking for an opportunity to experience it again—which is why he participated in the Island Symphony Orchestra’s Annual Young Performers Competition.

“I really never expected to win. I went up against so many strong people that day. I was completely unsure about what would happen, but I’m really grateful for the chance to play with this orchestra,” Mar said.

His favorite aspect of performing is walking out onto the stage, and his least favorite is the anticipation leading up to his performance.

Like many performers, Mar experiences his share of nerves, which are the hardest part of both performances and auditions. To combat these nerves, he tells himself not to overthink and to pour his emotions into the music.

“My ideology is once I get on stage, I feel like the lights wash away all worries,” Mar explained.

Besides playing cello, Mar enjoys reading, writing short stories and poems, skiing, and playing tennis. He also has a talent for music composition. His works have been performed by New York Philharmonic members and featured on WQXR, New York’s classical music station.

Mar will perform with the Island Symphony Orchestra at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Bay Shore. Tickets are $15 for adults and free for students.