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With a canvas violin case slung over his shoulder, Assil Mahamid walks over to Founder's Hall on the Guilford College campus for breakfast.

He doesn't say much, offering up short answers, and many one or two word responses, to inquiries about his personal life. But his shyness melts away when he picks up his bow and renders the strains of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

The 14-year-old from Haifa, Israel, is one of about 180 students in Greensboro for the Eastern Music Festival's monthlong school for young classical musicians.

Aged between 13 and 22, the students hail from 35 states and seven countries. Their itineraries can run up to 12 to 14 hours a day, much of it steeped in talk of scales, notes and bow techniques that sounds like so much technical jargon to the ears of one not schooled in the finer points of playing classical music.

The EMF marks Mahamid's first visit to the United States, though he had previously studied at a similar program in Germany.

The son of a city hall worker and a librarian, he took up the violin about eight years ago.

"I saw Itzhak Perlman on television once," he said. "He's a very good player and I thought, well, maybe I can be like him. It seemed ridiculous, but I started getting better and better and it seemed more possible."

In Haifa, Mahamid attends a private school of about 1,400 students, and studies music at the city's Rubin Conservatory, where he plays in the orchestra in addition to performing chamber music. He found out about EMF through a friend of his who participated in the program last year.

"I like the orchestral rehearsals, the teachers, the conductors, all very good for the students," he said.

EMF recruits students by sending materials out to conservatories, youth orchestras and music teachers, and also relies on word of mouth. Students apply either by attending a live audition in one of several major U.S. cities or sending in a video of themselves performing. About 700 people tried out this year for the EMF school, executive director Stephanie Cordick said.

A typical day includes rehearsals, performances and master classes that find some students still practicing or reading until curfew, which is 11:30 p.m. during the week and midnight on weekends for younger students. Those 18 and over are allowed to stay out as late as they want, though everyone has to be in rehearsal or in class by 9 a.m.

Mahamid is up at 7:30 a.m., and headed for Founder's Hall, where he grabs some scrambled eggs and buttered toast. He finishes eating about 8:30 and walks to Dana Auditorium, the main concert venue.

The Young Artists Orchestra is that morning rehearsing Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 and Mahler's Totenfeier. The students file in a few at the time, lay their cases down on the auditorium seats and walk up to the stage through a side door. Conductor Gerard Schwarz picks up the baton. The students run through the pieces, after which Schwarz critiques them. They practice some more, and he dismisses them early. The rehearsal was supposed to run about three hours, but lets out just shy of two-and-a-half.

Mahamid takes a short break, and runs up to his room in Milner Hall. Students stay in one of two residence halls on campus, Binford for those 18 and older and Milner for those younger. Two students are assigned to each room and have access to the college's Ethernet. If they don't have their own computer they can use the ones in the library.

A group of counselors in each dorm assists the students, enforces quiet hours and offers rides if a student needs to go somewhere in town, like a music store. They also will check to make sure students are all right if an instructor calls and says someone is late.

Downstairs in Milner is a lounge with pingpong and foosball tables, a big-screen television and doors leading out to a patio with shaded tables. Kristen Antolik, a former EMF student and now head counselor at Milner, said students also spend a good deal of their free time during the day playing ultimate frisbee and volleyball. There also are Karaoke, ice cream and dance parties planned.

After dropping off his violin Mahamid, comes back downstairs to the Milner lounge where he plays a game of ping-pong with fellow student Adam Trinkoff.

The students are having a pingpong tournament and printed out a bracket that's taped up next to the table. This particular game, however, seems more for fun, and neither one can decide who won.

At noon, Mahamid heads back to Founder's Hall, grabs a few slices of cheese pizza and converses with some friends. He has about two hours of free time before he has to be in his string quartet rehearsal.

"Sometimes I play basketball, though I'm not so good," he said. "Sometimes I'll head over to Starbuck's with friends." On this day, however, he chooses to go back to Milner and take a nap.

About 2:30, well-rested, he arrives at Duke Memorial Hall to rehearse a Shostakovich piano quartet.

"They've recently been assigned which pieces they're going to play, and it takes a little bit of time to learn to work together," EMF marketing intern Camille Cintron explains. "This is technically a team, so everyone has to learn about one another to get the dynamics down. You'll hear them talking a lot about tone and tuning. To create a better sound as an ensemble you have to match that. Sometimes they'll start and stop and talk about that."

Mahamid changes a string on his violin and tunes it. He counts to 10 and he and the three other students in the room set to creating music.

An hour later he packs up to head to his master class.

"Do we really have to go to this?" he says. "Why must we go to this?"

"It's required," one of the other students replies.

At the master class, three violin students take turns playing, engaging in shop talk about the particulars of stringed instruments. At about 5:30, renowned violinist Sarah Chang comes in for a Q&A session with the students.

"That was great," he said. "I got a picture with her. She talked about how to practice and how many hours she practiced when she was a girl, and how hard she continues to practice today and how hard she rehearses before a concert."

The day is capped off by a performance at 8 p.m. in Dana. The Young Artists Orchestra gathers to perform the pieces they rehearsed that morning. The auditorium appears to be little more than half full. Many of the students who aren't performing are in the audience.

Dressed in black, Mahamid takes his seat in the first violin section. The students start off with Beethoven and get a standing ovation. After the performance, students have more free time until curfew. Though they can do anything they want, many use the time to read through the material or practice on their instruments.

"A lot of times they'll have a reading," Antolik said. "They may get together and start reading through a quartet. There've been times when we've actually had to tell them to stop because of quiet hours. Some of the students who don't have curfew will go to Dana Auditorium and practice there at night."

After the concert on this night, Mahamid goes back to Milner. He says he usually spends about two to two-and-a-half hours practicing in the evening. In spite of the many hours attending rehearsals and lectures, he said he doesn't feel tired at the end of the day.

"I feel that I've done a lot of things and that this is all good, and I've really been enjoying myself," he said. "At the end of day, it's nice to think about all we've done in the rehearsals."

Contact Robert C. Lopez at 691-5091 or robert.lopez@news-record.com