2004-2005

Alessandra Aquilanti, viola

Alessandra Aquilanti began studying violin at the age of eight, and switched to viola in 2001. She has participated in the Youth Orchestra of Southern Alameda County, various San Leandro School District Orchestras (which rehearse every morning at seven o'clock), and is finishing her fourth season with OYO. She has been studying with Linda Green for three years and plans to continue her studies in viola at New York University. She participated in the tour to Australia and New Zealand in 2004 where she attempted to bring the "there down under," but still isn't quite sure what that means. Aside from music, Ale enjoys acting, telling bad jokes, and generally being a ham. This June she will graduate from San Leandro High where she became notorious for her sarcasm, stale jokes, and a marked distaste for chemistry.

Vanessa Blake, bassoon

Vanessa Blake has been in OYO for one and two-thirds years, participated in the Australia and New Zealand Tour, and has been playing the bassoon since the age of 12. She also plays the piano and the clarinet. She will graduate from James Logan High School, where over course of her four years she played in the Logan Band. The marching band and color guard were the Western Band Association Champions each time they entered, and marched in the 2003 Rose Bowl Parade. Also, the Concert bands recently went to Scotland and London for an Easter Parade. Vanessa will be attending San Francisco State University, where she will be majoring in Computer Science. However she will be continuing with her music.

Kyle Chin, bassoon

Kyle has been a member of OYO for two years and has previously played with the Berkeley Youth Orchestra and CSU Hayward Honor Band. He studies bassoon with Herb Fawcett. A finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program, Kyle is graduating from Bishop O’Dowd High School as a life member of the California Scholarship Federation and the National Honor Society. During sophomore year, he had the incredible opportunity to research green sea turtles on the beaches of the Galapagos Islands. He also began playing electric guitar and has enjoyed performing, songwriting, and relentless noodling. Kyle will attend UCLA where he plans to major in aerospace engineering while pursuing his interests in bassoon, classical guitar, and heavy metal.

Eboni Garrett-Bluford, violin

Eboni Garrett-Bluford began violin at the age of 12. For the past three years she has been a member of Oakland Youth Orchestra. However, her true passion in life is piano. She began piano at 10 years of age with the Young Musicians Program, studying under Jacqueline Chew; and has performed in numerous venues. Aside from music Eboni is a member of the tennis and swimming teams at school. This year Eboni will also be graduating from the virtuoso program at San Domenico School, in San Anselmo, CA. After graduating she will attend the University of Michigan School of Music, in piano performance until she decides if she wants to work hard enough to double major in an outside subject or not. She would really like to thank her mother for driving her (since she doesn't want to get her license,) and sitting countless hours in the car.

Gina Hu, flute

Gina Hu spent one year with the Oakland Youth Orchestra. She will be graduating from Alameda High School, where she has been a 4-year member and section leader of the School Symphonic Band. She also played in the pit orchestra for her school musicals. Gina has also been playing the piano since she was four years old. Gina will attend UC Berkeley in the fall, where she’ll be a science major, and she is planning to continue to play flute and piano. Gina would like to thank her Mom, Dad, Grandma, and her music teacher, Joe Simiele, for always supporting her and believing in her.

Emily Joseph, trombone

Emily has been playing trombone for 8 years, but this is her first year in OYO. She has also played with Young People's Symphony Orchestra for two years and the San Francisco Jazz All-Star High School Ensemble for one year. She has also played piano for ten years. Emily will be graduating from Amador Valley High School and is extremely excited about going to UC Santa Barbara; she hopes to major in music performance. Emily also hopes to see the ones who stay behind when she comes back to visit and wishes luck to all the graduating seniors.

Kiefer Katovich, bass

A two year member of OYO, Kiefer Katovich will graduate this June from The College Preparatory School in Oakland where he currently holds the school shotput record. He will be attending Stanford in the fall and hopes to study neuroscience and Japanese (among many other things!) down on the Farm. Kiefer was one of twenty students in the U.S. to win the prestigious Reischauer Scholarship, a semester long intensive study of Japan this spring. He has had a long musical career as a violinist, composer, and most recently, string bassist, studying under Andy Butler. He has played with his high school and middle school orchestras and jazz bands, Berkeley Youth Orchestra and various Crowden School ensembles over the past 14 years. Besides OYO, Kiefer has been on the CPS track and cross country teams, founder and president of his school film club for the past three years, and a class officer. He hopes to explore other music forms, perhaps even other instruments, in college.

Hannah Keeshan, bass

Hannah Keeshan, a student of bassist Michel Taddei, is a two-year member of OYO and was principal bassist in her second year. Also an avid jazz bassist, Hannah has played with a variety of ensembles around the Bay Area and has started freelancing in the area. A graduate of Bentley School, Hannah will be attending Georgetown University in the fall, where she hopes to double major in American Studies and American Music. Hannah will no doubt keep playing the bass and still has dreams of becoming a successful jazz and American roots music bassist.

Yongeun Lee, clarinet

Yongeun Lee has been a member of OYO for the past three seasons, and was also a member of BYO previously. She studies clarinet with Larry London. Aside from the clarinet, Yongeun has also been playing the piano for around ten years. She was part of the Australia/NZ tour in 2004, which was an experience she will never forget. Yongeun will be graduating from Albany High School this June as a lifetime member of the California Scholarship Federation. She was also Executive Director of the International Association of Youth and helped organize a Leadership Conference in the South Bay. Recently, she has started to give private clarinet lessons. Yongeun will be attending University of California, Berkeley as an Incentive Award Scholar where she hopes to major in Public Health and minor in Music.

Alyssa Mathias, violin

Alyssa Mathias has played with OYO for four seasons, getting hooked on the orchestra after the 2001 Italy tour. A violin student of Heghiné Boloyan, she also sings and has soloed with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera. During her years at Bishop O’Dowd High School, she has been active in student council, drama, and the school’s environmental club, acting in a production of “The Laramie Project” that drew protesters all the way from Kansas and traveling to the Galapagos Islands as one of the first high school students to conduct field research for the Charles Darwin Research Station. She is also her school’s Bank of America plaque winner for Liberal Arts. Next year, she will attend the University of Chicago where she will major in something fabulously intriguing, trying not to spread her self too thin. At any rate, her favorite musical activities include improvising on the piano and having spontaneous jam sessions with friends.

Chris McGaw, tuba

Chris McGaw, a three-year member of OYO, also plays tuba for the Diablo Wind Symphony and has played with the Contra Costa County, Northern California, and California All-State honor bands. He heads off to his eighth summer at Cazadero Music Camp, this time as a counselor. Chris is also well recognized around OYO for his skills as a mechanic, welder, and all-around off-road vehicle enthusiast. A recipient of a Governor's Scholarship, Chris is already well on his way to obtaining his Emergency Medical Technician ("EMT") Certificate before graduating from Miramonte High School.  He will attend Sierra College in the fall where he will pursue a Firefighter Certificate while continuing to play his tuba and explore vehicle trails throughout the state.

Callan Milani, bass trombone

Callan has debuted his classical career this year with OYO. He has played in numerous wind bands like the renowned Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble at Las Lomas High School. This year at the California All-State Honor band, Callan was ranked best in state in Bass Trombone. In fact, he also performed with the Wind Symphony, the top ensemble made up of the best musicians of California. Callan has studied four years with his accomplish mentor, Don Kennelly, and has become the musician he is today because him. Also, Callan has studied with Dave Ridge, a Bass Trombonist, and has learned many techniques that have improved his musicanship. Next year, Callan will be majoring in Trombone Performance and minoring in Spanish at the University of Southern California. He is very eager to pursue his musical interests at the Thornton School of Music and is walking away from OYO with a positive experience.

Jennifer Moriuchi, violin

Having been an OYO member for two years, Jenn is about to graduate from The College Preparatory School in Oakland. In her four years at the school, she has been quite active in the music program as concertmistress and mandolinist in the orchestra, violist in the chamber music program, and the head of fundraising for Music Tour 05 to Disneyland (nowhere near as amazing as the OYO Australia/NZ tour). Beyond music, she was a member of the girls varsity tennis team and will always be a hardcore A's fan. In the fall Jenn will attend Wellesley College with plans to major in neuroscience as well as further interests in French revolutionaries and Latin literature.

Philiana Ng, french horn

Philiana Ng has been a member of OYO for the past two seasons, participating in the 2004 Australia/New Zealand tour this past summer. Before her stint with OYO, she was a member of BYO, her first experience playing in a youth orchestra. She was also the Principal Horn for the All-City (San Francisco) Honor Band. Philiana has been playing the french horn since sixth grade, the clarinet two years prior, and has been mastering the piano since kindergarten. This June, she will be graduating from Drew College Preparatory in San Francisco, where she was chosen to be a Freshman Mentor for the current school year and is an active Unity Club member. She was also an avid member of her school music department, acting as the Principal Horn player for both the Advanced Band and Advanced Orchestra. Aside from her musical accomplishments, she has also broadened her athletic abilities, being one of the first members of San Francisco's Youth Synchronized Ice-Skating Team, the Tremors. Philiana has traveled all across the country for various competitions and exhibitions as a member of the team, competing at the 2002 Nationals in Lake Placid, NY. She is also a Governor's Scholarship Award recipient. She will be attending University of Southern California, pursuing a five-year professional bachelor degree in architecture with a minor in journalism.

Vidya Pai, violin

As a five-year veteran of OYO, Vidya was a two-term representative to the OYO Board and a participant in the 2001 Italy tour (unfortunately, an internship at the Lawrence Berkeley Labs prevented her from joining the 2004 Australia/NZ tour). This June, Vidya will graduate from Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, where she was an honors student, concertmistress, Varsity tennis player, youth educator, peer tutor, and Site Council student representative. In addition to the violin, which she studies with her teacher Cynthia Mei, Vidya plays the piano. In her spare time, Vidya enjoys volunteering in a women and children's shelter in Oakland and in a hospital in Walnut Creek. Most recently, Vidya traveled to Atlanta where she received the 2005 Coca Cola Scholars Award. This fall, Vidya will attend the University of California, San Diego as one of twelve students selected for the eight-year (BS/MD) Medical Scholars Program. She plans to major in human biology and minor in music.

Sydney Rainwater, cello

Sydney Rainwater has been playing with the Oakland Youth Orchestra for the past two years. Before coming to OYO, she was a member of the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra for two and a half years. She has been studying the cello for seven years, and studied piano for the seven years before that. Sydney is graduating from San Domenico High School in San Anselmo this June, where she has been an active player in the theatre arts department and as co-leader of the Social Justice Club and Film Club. Sydney has greatly appreciated the musical knowledge and friends she has gained through her experience in OYO. The New Zealand and Australia tour was an amazing opportunity and one she will never forget. Sydney will attend UC Santa Cruz this fall where she intends to double major in Politics and Linguistics, and continue her musical studies.

Stephen Shum, cello

As his second and final year of OYO comes to a close, Stephen would like to take an opportunity to express his gratitude to everyone who made this experience so worthwhile. Little did he know six years ago, when he first picked up the cello to fill a shorthanded section in his school orchestra, how much the instrument would mean to him in the years to come. Since then, Stephen has played in the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra of Berkeley, a two-year experience that concluded with a performance at Carnegie Hall. Last summer, he joined nine other young musicians at the Mendocino Music Festival Young Musicians’ Scholarship Program for two enlightening weeks of chamber music and orchestral training. In addition to taking cello lessons from Mr. Sergei Riabtchenko, Stephen has studied piano with Ms. Ann Jiao for nine years. A National Merit Finalist, Stephen will graduate in June from Northgate High School, at which he was a varsity soccer player, co-captain of the tennis team, a co-president of the Model United Nations Chapter, and an avid member of the Environmentally Concerned Kids (ECK) Club. Next fall, Stephen will be attending the University of California, Berkeley, with hopes to study mathematics and continue his musical pursuits.

Lisa Sommerauer, oboe

Lisa has been in OYO for the past three years. Prior to being in OYO, she participated in BYO. She began playing oboe in her middle school band and since has been taking lessons with Ellie Duste. She also plays piano, which she began in second grade. Since then, she has traveled the world with various music groups to Mexico, Hawaii, Southern California, and of course Australia and New Zealand with OYO. She has also participated in several music camps, including Eastern US Music Camp at Colgate University. Lisa is graduating from Bishop O’Dowd High School this year, where she is a life member of California Scholarship Federation and National Honor Society. She is also a member of her school’s ski club, with which she was able to carry her love of skiing to Whistler, BC. Next year Lisa will attend UCLA where she will major in biology and hopes to continue playing oboe and piano.

Danielle Taylor, violin

Danielle Taylor has been a member of OYO for 5 years, and a violinist for 8. She is one of the only survivors of both the Italy and Australia/New Zealand tours! This year she will be graduating from San Domenico School, as well as its renowned Virtuoso Program, where she has been a soloist on two occasions, as well as rotating from principal violist, to principal second violin, to assistant concert master. She is also a private violin teacher, and an avid chamber music player. Danielle is a 5-year recipient of the California Music Teacher's Association for California Scholarships. In OYO, Danielle is currently concertmaster, but has also been the assistant-concertmaster and assistant principal second violin, as well as a soloist on 2 occasions. Next year, she will be attending Oberlin Conservatory with a major in Violin Performance, studying under Gregory Fulkerson. She hopes to eventually join Oberlin College and earn a double degree with Environmental Science or History. She would also like to add that she loves her violin teacher, Debbra Schwartz, and wants to thank Debbra for teaching her how to play with her heart. Danielle will miss OYO, and she feels she has learned A LOT about being a musician and an orchestra player.

Bryan West, cello

Co-principal cellist Bryan West is a senior at Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy and has been playing the cello for nearly ten years. He started piano lessons at the age of five and cello lessons at the age of eight. His first cello teacher was Ariel Witbeck, with whom he studied for five years. At the age of thirteen he began studying with Milly Rosner, who is his teacher at present. Before joining the OYO he was principal cellist in the Young Person’s String Orchestra in Walnut Creek.

This past summer, Bryan was one of ten Scholarship Students at the Mendocino Music Festival. He has been invited to return this year and plans to do so. After OYO he intends to go into music professionally. Having received the Green Music Scholarship at UCLA, he will be attending there in Fall 2005 as a Cello Performance major and will be studying with Antonio Lysy.

Victoria Yoon, cello

Co-principal cellist Victoria Yoon has been playing cello for five years and she will graduate from Albany High and go to UC Berkeley in the Fall. This is Victoria's first and last year of OYO. Having lived in Vancouver (Canada), New York and Berkeley within four years of high school, Victoria has studied with Ian Hampton, Judith Fraser, Maureen McDermott, and Milly Rosner, her current teacher. Her masterclasses with John Katz of Alberta (Canada) and Bonnie Hampton, and orchestral participations in Fraser Valley Symphony and Vancouver Youth Symphony as principal cello and New York Youth Symphony in Carnegie Hall (NY), have allowed her to continue her study and love it. Although she doesn't intend to pursue music professionally, she hopes to continue cello along with her major in engineering.