When Ava Hosea­ of Hanover­ was 4, her mother, Sherry Thomas, wanted her to get into music, and asked what she’d like to play.

“I’d seen people playing the violin and thought it was cool,’’ said Ava, now 11. “So she enrolled me in the South Shore Conservatory.’’

Cool has paid off: In November, she placed first in the Talented Young Musician Association’s 12th annual Russian Music Competition in Boston. And as a result of that win, she was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, playing Dmitry Kabalevsky’s “Concerto in C Major’’ in December.

She was nervous, but the composed young woman said she was “more nervous during competition in front of judges, when you know it’s all on the line.’’

She attends Winsor School in Boston, and in January placed first in her division at the South Shore Conservatory’s concerto competition. She loves her studies at the conservatory, adding, “I have an awesome teacher there, Aleksandra Labinska.’’

Ava also created a youth volunteer music group called Songs for Seniors, comprising young musicians ages 6 to 18 who play for the elderly. She used to play for her late grandmother and great-grandmother and got the idea from that.

“It’s really fun; we go to nursing homes, and they love it,’’ she said. “It feels good; they’re smiling from ear to ear, and they treat us like celebrities.’’

She seeks other young musicians who play an instrument or sing to join the group and can be reached at songs4seniors@gmail.com.

Music studies and school take up much of her time, but her hobbies include science. She said she does experiments at home and hosts science camps there for girls in the summer.

She wants to expand the Songs for Seniors program and do more music competitions, but as proficient as she is at the violin, she said music for work won’t be her first choice.

“I don’t want music to be my career; I really want to be a scientist,’’ she said. “Music on the side is fun to do because it makes other people happy.’’

Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at pkandarian@aol.com.