2003-2004

DeMarus Allen, clarinet

DeMarus Allen has been a member of OYO and YPSO for two years, during which time he served a term as Representative to the OYO Board. Last summer DeMarus played in New York’s famed Carnegie Hall with YPSO and was accepted to the National High School Music Institute at Northwestern University where he played principal clarinet, bass clarinet, and E-flat clarinet. DeMarus is graduating with honors from Pinole Valley High School, where he has been an active member of the Symphonic Band, musical pit orchestra, French Club, Forensics, the Youth Educators Program, and worked as a tutor at PVHS. He is also a life member of the California Scholarship Federation. DeMarus received one of the KRON TV Students Rising Above Scholarships and several others. He will attend Northwestern University in the fall and major in clarinet performance.

Kate Bokan-Smith, violin

A three-year member of OYO, Katie will be graduating from San Domenico High School in San Anselmo this June. In addition to playing the violin for 12 years, Katie also plays the viola in the prestigious Virtuoso Program at San Domenico. As well as participating in the Orchestra da Camera at San Domenico, Katie also enjoys performing in chamber music ensembles at San Domenico as well as at The Crowden School during the summer. For the past two years, Katie has performed in the Junior Bach Festival with the Orchestra da Camera, this year performing as one of the soloists. Throughout her high school career, Katie has received Merit Scholarship Awards for being a member of the Virtuoso Program and is also a lifetime member of the California Scholarship Federation and National Honor Society. Katie plans to attend the University of California, Berkeley in the fall to study Journalism, but will continue her studies in violin and viola and hopes to join the UC Berkeley Symphony.

Agnieszka Borzuchowski, violin

Aga, a four-year veteran of OYO, started taking violin lessons at age 8. She played with BYO, YPSO, and performed at Carnegie Hall with YPSO when she was 14. She is graduating from Las Lomas High School and will attend Diablo Valley College in the fall. Aga loved the Italy Tour and is excited about going to Australia and New Zealand.

Bridget Chang, cello

Bridget Chang, co-principal cellist, joined OYO in 1998. She will be graduating from San Domenico High School  and starting UCLA in the fall. At San Domenico, she performs in the Orchestra da Camera as principal cellist as well as in chamber music ensembles in the Virtuoso Program.  In previous summers, she has attended Summer Music Berkeley and the National High School Music Institute at Northwestern. She currently studies with Sandy Walsh-Wilson of the Alexander String Quartet.

Samuel Chen, violin

After five years with the Oakland Youth Orchestra, Samuel will graduate from Mission San Jose High School in Fremont this June. Being the “super-senior” of OYO, Sam is one of the few remaining members of the original 2001 Italy Tour ensemble and will have been the Concertmaster of OYO for both the 2001 and the 2004 tours. Samuel also plays the keyboard, sings, and has participated in many music ensembles, choral ensembles, and chamber groups. He graduates as the Activities Coordinator and Co-founder of his school’s Ultimate Frisbee Club as well as a 4-year letterman and Senior Captain of his Varsity Volleyball Team. Samuel is off to the University of California at Irvine in the Fall where he plans to double major in Biological Science and Criminology, and might even keep on playing the fiddle.

Homer Chiang, trombone

Homer AKA HoCo, soon to complete his 3-year OYO sentence, began playing trombone in the 5th grade. Prior to joining OYO, he played with the Fremont Youth Symphony for 3 seasons, including its inauguratory season. He will be graduating from Mission San Jose High School, where he proudly holds the title of loudest trombonist, to attend Cornell University in the fall. When not practicing trombone, Homer is probably sketching something. Years of martial arts training has made him an experienced swordsman as well as a die-hard ninja fanatic.

Benjamin Gan, violin

A two-year member of OYO, Ben will be graduating from Lick Wilmerding High School in San Francisco this June. Ben has been participating in his school orchestras since middle school, and has performed in many music ensembles. Ben enjoys music in variety ways: he is the President of the Breakdance Club at Lick Wilmerding High School. In the fall Ben will attend Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, where he plans to major in Physics. He plans to continue playing violin and hopes to join his college orchestra.

Erika Oba, flute

Erika Oba has been in OYO for the past two years. She started playing the piano in first grade and the flute in fifth grade. She is currently a senior at Berkeley High School in the Independent Studies program. At BHS, she has played in the Orchestra, the Concert Band, the Spring Musical, the Jazz Lab Band, the Jazz Ensemble and one of the combos. Erika has been a student of the UC Berkeley’s Young Musician’s Program for the past 7 years, and has participated in programs such as the Composers in the Schools Project, Feather River Jazz Camp, the Berkeley Jazz School, and the MidAmerica Productions High School National Wind Ensemble as well as the Oaktown Jazz Workshops and Winds Across the Bay. This fall she will be attending Oberlin College where she hopes to major in either Environmental Studies or East Asian Studies, and plans to apply for the Double Degree Program with the Conservatory.

Jessica Peterson, bassoon

Jessica has been in OYO for three years. She has also played in GAYO for three years. Jessica is graduating from College Park High School in Pleasant Hill with honors. She received a Governor’s Scholarship for STAR testing, and the Rossmoor Scholarship. Besides her strong academic record Jessica has been active in the theatre at College Park. She has played piano for “Grease” and bassoon for “Cinderella,” as well as assisting with tech and house in many other productions. Jessica has been accepted at UC Santa Cruz and has received a generous scholarship. She will be attending this fall, majoring in something spectacular.

Ruthie Price, percussion

Ruthie Price has been a member of OYO for 1 and 1/2 years. She also plays with the San Francisco All Star High School Ensemble, Oaktown Jazz Workshops, the Skyline High Jazz Band, and in a rock band called the foundation. Ruthie has been playing the drums for 12 years, and the piano for three. She plans to go to Cal State Hayward to study music and business. Ruthie wants to be a professional musician playing all over the world, and a marketing consultant for a record label.

Niko Reyer, french horn

A one year member of OYO, Niko has been playing the clarinet since age 8 and switched to the french horn during his sophomore year. Throughout high school he has been in the symphonic band and wind ensemble and has participated in numerous county, regional, and all state honor bands. He will graduate Benicia High and will be attending California Maritime Academy in the fall while studying Marine Engineering Technologies. His interests include mountain biking and skating.

Paul Smith-Stewart, bass

Paul is a senior at Marin Catholic High School. This is his first year in OYO playing upright bass. Prior to OYO he played with the Marin Youth Orchestra. Paul has played in Jazz Band, Symphonic Band and with the Strings Orchestra for four years at Marin Catholic. In addition he plays electric bass in two rock bands, Tremor Toe and New Speak. He plays local small clubs and concert halls and has cut one demo CD and full-length album with Tremor Toe, containing their original music. He is also the bass player in a ska band named, Custy Chib. They recently won grand prize and audience favorite at the Marin Catholic Solo and Ensemble Festival. At the Spring 2003 Santa Cruz Jazz Festival Paul received “A Special Citation For Outstanding Musicianship” from the International Association for Jazz Education for his bass solo at the beginning of “Haitian Fight song” by Charles Mingus. He has recently been accepted and is planning to attend Cal Poly in the fall where he will be majoring in music.

Charlie Stephen, viola

Having spent 3 long strenuous, torturous years in OYO, Charlie has finally gotten his ticket out. He will be going to college at San Francisco State University, where he will major in graphic design, and minor in music. Charlie has studied violin since he was 9 years old, and just this year has taken up the viola. He has enjoyed his experience here in OYO very much and would like to further his studies in music by joining the orchestra at SF State.

Noel Swanson, trumpet

Noel W. Swanson joined the OYO trumpet section at the start of the 2002-2003 season. In addition to his two-year tenure with OYO, Noel has served for the past five years as principal trumpet with the Young Artists Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Steven Accatino. Noel also performs regularly with the San Ramon Valley High School Jazz Ensemble and various honor groups at the state and county levels. A student of Oakland East Bay Symphony trumpeters Lenny Ott and Tony Caviglia, Noel himself teaches music lessons to elementary and middle school students, an activity which he feels has contributed immensely to his own growth as a musician. When he is not teaching or playing the trumpet, Noel spends his time hiking, fencing, and writing. After completing his senior year at San Ramon, Noel plans to attend Harvard University where he hopes to pursue his interests in physics, philosophy, and, of course, music.

Jean Wang, flute

This year was Jean’s first and last at OYO. Jean has been playing flute since the 7th grade and has been participating in various school bands and orchestras ever since. Jean will be graduating from Mission San Jose High School this June and plans on attending Johns Hopkins University to study Biomedical Engineering. Besides the flute, Jean enjoys playing badminton and practicing martial arts. She would like to thank her parents for supporting her in flute and everything else. Thanks also to Sam and Homer for driving her to Oakland every sunday.

Sarah Yow, french horn

Sarah Yow has been a member of Oakland Youth Orchestra for three years. She has enjoyed participating twice in California’s All-State Honor band, as well as playing for community orchestras and for pit orchestras with musicals, operas, and ballets. Sarah has a penchant for playing in her church’s brass quintet, entering concerto competitions, and expanding her classical repertoire. She has performed as a winner of the local Solo & Ensemble Competition for the past six years. In her spare time, Sarah relishes creative writing. Sarah will graduate from Livermore High School this June, go on tour with OYO, and proceed to further her education at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, pursuing a double major in music performance and English.