Hunter Ludovicy: From worst to best violinist and a designer of boats

If the music department had a most improved award, Warwick Valley High School senior Hunter Ludovicy would be a candidate. When Hunter started playing the violin, he had a lot of room for improvement. Now his music teacher Elissa Maynard said he’s one of the best violinists she has worked with at WVHS.

“Up until about the beginning of seventh grade, I was last chair,” said Hunter, who started playing the violin in fourth grade at Sanfordville Elementary School. “That means I was the worst violin in the entire section. Then I started taking private lessons.”

“I practiced daily until I could successfully play through complex pieces without making any mistakes. Eventually, I began climbing a few chairs at a time every time we had a playing test. After years of practice, I finally became the first chair in my junior year and have retained this position since then.”

Hunter is currently the concertmaster of the WVHS Chamber Orchestra. He will be playing with the New York State School Music Association All-State Symphony Orchestra later this month in Rochester after scoring a perfect score at the highest level on his audition.

“I am very excited to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Hunter said about the all-state concert. “In the future, I would like to continue playing both violin and guitar, possibly forming a musical group and helping younger musicians.”

Hunter is still taking online lessons with his private teacher, Ha-eun Ryo, who has pushed him to improve. From playing the violin, Hunter has learned that focus and hard work are the keys to success.

“Hunter was not very good at first, but now he is one of the best violinists that I have had,’ Ms. Maynard said. “I told him that if I had my way, he’d be a concert violinist. He’s just that good. He could actually become a professional as a player.”

While Hunter wants to continue playing music, he plans to study naval engineering in college with the ultimate goal of becoming a naval engineer and designing boats.

Hunter started out building remote control boats and is now restoring a 30-foot 1970 Chris-Craft. He also spent two weeks over the summer at an engineering camp at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. He and his team successfully built a human-powered watercraft capable of crossing the pond in the center of campus.

Hunter has many abilities in addition to music and boat building. At WVHS, he is the founder and president of the Mountain Biking Club. He is skilled in ceramics and pottery and is an active member of the Empty Bowls Club. He also made the magna cum laude honor roll for the first marking period.

Outside of school, Hunter works at his father’s sawmill, operating and sometimes repairing the equipment. He can also handle heavy equipment, such as a 40,000-pound skid loader he’s used for land clearing.

His hobbies include making knives, restoring old bicycles, drone photography, fishing and hunting.