2008-2009

Cory Chang, violin
Cory Chang has immensely enjoyed his fourth and final year with OYO, where he met many new friends and even discovered his long lost twin! Cory remembers among his other notable musical experiences, OYO’s Greece tour in the summer of 2007, where he enjoyed sleeping on roofs, burning in 120 degree weather, witnessing scandalous activities, and making a spectacle of himself by falling asleep during rehearsal and subsequently being pulled out by a certain Barbara Stack. He will never forget the experience of playing unintentional seventh chair violin solos in an ancient Greek amphitheater, which just happened to feature great outdoor acoustics. Cory would like to thank Ju-Yi Peng and Cecilia Huang, his highly esteemed violin teachers, for enduring his erratic (occasionally non-existent) practice habits and cacophonous playing for the past five years.
As a senior, Cory takes pride in having the worst attendance record in Granada High School’s history (or so he claims). On days when Cory was present at school (an increasingly rare occurrence), he served as the concertmaster of Granada High’s orchestra and was regularly berated by his conductor for his delinquent habits. Cory also has a great passion for piano, and he has won top prizes in numerous competitions and festivals and has even performed at Carnegie Hall! (Alas, his bragging rights are severely hindered by the fact that he played in one of the “side” halls rather than in the main auditorium.) In addition to his musical achievements, Cory has also received numerous academic awards, named a PG&E Scholar, a qualifier for the Presidential Scholars award, and being nominated for Homecoming King.
Over the years, Cory has mastered the art of pretending to know to play several other instruments (and even successfully performed in concerts!), such as the flute, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, glockenspiel, and handbells. In his free time, Cory enjoys basketball, tennis, table tennis, skiing, origami, sleeping hecka late for no reasons, sleeping during class, and whining about never getting enough sleep. For the next four years, Cory plans to continue his sleeping patterns at Dartmouth College (unless he is admitted off the wait-list for Harvard), where he will double major in chemistry and procrastination.

Michael Chang, viola
As a violist, Michael has been a part of OYO for four years. When he was young, in 2nd grade, his parents introduced him to the piano and violin. Through the band program at his school, he learned the trumpet. Ever since, he has been in his school’s band program, as there is no orchestra program, playing the role of section leader for the Irvington High marching band. He began violin under the instruction of Ted Yuan and misses him. He is very grateful to Ted for introducing him to the violin, the viola and OYO. As part of OYO he was able to enjoy exploring a genre of music his band would never play. Rehearsals with OYO have been fun for him and he will miss both Michael Morgan and Bryan Nies, for they made the music take a new meaning. Having been on the Greece tour and on OYO for so long, he will miss his friends and cherish his memories of OYO. Since last year, he has been studying under Melissa Huang, a performing violist, and wants to thank her for expanding his perception of the viola. He plans to attend UC Berkeley and study Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Next year, he plans to try out for the UC Berkeley Orchestra or SFSYO. He will miss OYO very much as it has been so much fun. A thank you to his parents, teachers, conductors, and the orchestra for everything.

Melissa Chu, cello
Melissa has been in OYO for four years, finishing her last year as principal cellist. She first fell in love with music playing the piano at the age of four, but her first time picking up the cello was not until 2002 when she joined Houston’s Strack Intermediate School strings program. She played with the Texas Music Education Association Regional Orchestra for consecutive years before moving to California in 2004. She began studying with Mildred Rosner, and her passion for the cello was further developed when she attended Summer Music Berkeley at The Crowden School. Melissa’s high school music career includes one year with the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra and four years as the principal cellist in the Campolindo High School Orchestra. She had the honor of being selected for the CODA Honors Symphony Orchestras and the California All-State Orchestras, as well as the privilege of playing with the Alexander String Quartet and the Cypress Spring Quartet at chamber music festivals. She also participated in Campolindo’s pit orchestras for the musicals, Wizard of Oz in 2006 and Beauty and the Beast in 2009. At the state level CMEA solo and ensemble festivals, she, along with her duets and quintets, received many superiors and command performances. This year, she won the concerto competition at Campolindo High School with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. Melissa would like to thank her mother for being so supportive, Milly for putting up with her for five years, and all her teachers for their patience and understanding. She really enjoys making music and is grateful for all the great opportunities that are given to her. In the fall, Melissa will be attending UC San Diego as a Joint Math and Economics Major. She will bring with her all the memories from OYO, where she has learned to kick the little guy, to find her inner Caribbean woman, to never vibrate during Baroque pieces, and to perfect the fffssssss bows. As she realized in the summer of 2007, melting under the 104-degree Greek sun and bonding during bug-filled concerts, “the hills (of Melissa’s journey) are alive with the Sound of Music”, and her musical journey will never end.

Lizi Feng, violin
This is Lizi Feng’s first and sadly final year with OYO, this fall she will be reporting to UC Berkeley in pursuit of a biology major and hopefully move onto medical school. During her residency in OYO, she met various kinds of people; some are obsessively compulsive (instead of hearing music in their heads, they sing it for others to hear), some who seem to have multiple personalities and are unpredictably fun, some who continuously look for perfection in music with a slight ADD, some are studious insomniacs who suffer from late night studies and cramming, and some whose world becomes disorderly without food. All members are undergoing the music therapy, if not coupled the support of group therapy. Being the student representative of OYO is something that would be stored in Lizi’s permanent long-term memory; the experience of performing alongside with other orchestras and professionals, the wonderful cause behind the BayofHope, the costumes and the priceless baskets at the Gala (and the many many preparations prior to that), the talks and planning of the tour with students and the Board, and most importantly, every precious rehearsal that in ten, twenty, thirty years won’t fade in color or diminish in sound.
Lizi has left medical records in both China and America. When she moved to America at the age of thirteen, she continued to play the violin under Sharon Hendee who realized her financial situation and refused to charge her. Sharon’s inspiration in Lizi’s life and music connected two continents of feelings and music has remained and will remain constant of Lizi’s life. As Lizi gradually stumbled through the foreign environment, she formed a moderate political view, an agnostic philosophical view and a quite liberal approach towards English spelling and grammar. She was involved with the Student for Environment Club as Publicity officer, The Matheletes as Treasurer, and the Rubik’s Cube Club as one year president. Four years on the badminton team and 200+ hours of community service had made Lizi healthy in physique and soul. It was in Anatomy that Lizi first met her special someone, Kat, her cat on dissection tray, whom helped her realized her inner love for science and inspired her to embark on the journey of finding the cure for procrastination and becoming a philanthropist.
It’s merely a placebo effect that the 2008-2009 seniors will be gone from OYO because OYO is an indivisible group of mentors, friends and family (literal in some sense) that take up ½ of our Sundays, 1/4 of our Facebook friends, and our whole heart. OYO is a way to forget the rest of the world, to have fun, to relax, to be inspired, and to meet people with the same interest in the creation of something greater. It makes Sundays special. It is surreal. Welcome to the end of thought process.
Problem: Life experience
Treatment: Friends and music as medicine of mind.
Discharge status: Alive, inspired, nostalgic, and thankful.

Anabel Hirano, trombone
When Anabel was in ninth grade Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony made her fall in love with orchestral music. Now she is more than happy to be playing it again with OYO. This is Anabel’s second year playing the trombone in Oakland Youth Orchestra. The trombone’s beautiful sound has grown on her in the past five years, so much so, that she has decided to pursue classical trombone in college. Anabel is graduating San Francisco School of the Arts and next year will be attending the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She has enjoyed her time in the Bay Area, and will think of the weather fondly as she finds refuge in the practice rooms during the Ohio winter. Anabel would like to thank her family for their unceasing love and support.

Tabitha Hsia, violin
This is Tabitha's fourth year as a violinist at OYO. She will be graduating from Northgate High School and attending University of the Pacific in the fall. Currently, she studies violin under Chen Zhao, the violin player she respects the most and whom she hopes to surpass some day. She wants to thank OYO for teaching her so much (including non-music related stuff) and leaving her with many fun memories. She also wants to thank her family for being supportive of her music studies.

Andrew Huang, violin
Andrew has been a part of the Oakland Youth Orchestra for three years now. At age seven he first had the idea of playing the violin when he saw his brother playing, and like all little brothers he followed in the footsteps of his older sibling. Though at the time he was too much of a kid to take anything seriously–especially something requiring such discipline as a musical instrument–he quite enjoyed playing violin, though it might be better to describe his first experiences with the violin as “screeching.” This, of course, greatly pleased his brother, whose looks of agony towards Andrew are both memorable and nostalgic in retrospect. But as his family moved from Columbia, South Carolina to Walnut Creek, California, where he now resides (until college that is), he expectedly began taking the violin seriously. He began studying under Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, where Andrew quickly learned that going faster and faster in music isn’t a good thing. He played in a few solo competitions yearly, completed a Certificate of Merit level yearly, and enjoyed playing in his school orchestra. Andrew was fortunate enough to go to Greece with OYO, which was such an amazing experience for him. OYO has been such a growing experience for Andrew, whether it is the great leadership he finds in the conductors or the interesting people he meets. Many experiences influence people in surprising ways, and Andrew undoubtedly has received a very positive experience playing for the Oakland Youth Orchestra. He thanks the Oakland Youth Orchestra for a wonderful three years. He thanks his parents for the unconditional support they’ve given him, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson for the great instruction without which he would not have attended OYO, and the many friends he’s made while at OYO. He looks forward to attending the University of California, Berkeley in the fall.

Kin Hang Lam, violin
Kin Lam has immensely enjoyed his first and final year with OYO, where he met many new friends and even discovered his long lost twin! Among other memorable musical experiences, Kin participated in YPSO's Australia and New Zealand tour in the summer of 2008, where he enjoyed speculating why toilets swirl in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere, dorming in an Aussie all-boys Catholic school, and home-staying with Kiwis (the people, not the animal nor the fruit). He will never forget the experience of playing a 16 bar fourth chair violin solo at the Sydney Opera House, which consisted of a single note: C. Kin would like to thank Philip Santos, his highly enthusiastic violin teacher, for enduring his erratic (occasionally non-existent) practice habits and cacophonous playing for the past five years.
As a senior, Kin takes pride in having the worst attendance record in Berkeley High School’s history (or so he claims). On days when Kin was present at school (an increasingly rare occurrence), he served as the concertmaster of Berkeley High’s orchestra and was regularly berated by his conductor for his delinquent habits. Kin also has a great passion for acting, and he has filmed in the movie “The Harimaya Bridge” (to be released in 2009) with renowned actor Danny Glover! (Alas, his bragging rights are severely hindered by the fact that his role in the movie is only a violinist who appears in two 30 second-long scenes.) In addition to his on-screen achievements, Kin has also received numerous academic awards, named a Gates Millennium Scholar, placing in the Semi-Finals for the Coca-Cola Scholarship, and placing 378th place in some math competition.
Over the years, Kin has mastered the art of pretending to know to play several other instruments (and even successfully performed in concerts!), such as the piano, timpani, cymbals, triangles, and viola. In his free time, Kin enjoys playing foosball, table tennis, air hockey, sleeping hecka late for no reasons, sleeping during class, and whining about never getting enough sleep. For the next four years, Kin plans to continue his sleeping patterns at UC Berkeley (unless he is admitted off the wait-list for Harvard), where he will double major in business administration and procrastination.

Janna Lee, oboe
Janna has played in OYO for 2 ½ years as part of the woodwind family. As a young child she unleashed her imagination, cutting holes in straws and connecting them in hopes of making a functioning flute. Her creations always failed. In third grade she had the opportunity to play music, learning the violin with her third grade teacher, Robert Repicky. In fourth grade, she finally got her hands on a flute in her elementary school band, and she began private studies with Caroline Reutter in the seventh grade. During the same year, she started playing the oboe and became involved in percussion. Janna utilized practically every musical opportunity in middle school, performing with a woodwind quintet, the intermediate and advanced bands, the middle school jazz band and the middle and high school percussion ensembles. Some of her fondest memories as a percussionist include whacking brooms on a plywood board, and learning how to play the quads (also learning how to stand with four drums on her shoulders without falling over). Currently, she studies with Ruth Stuart-Burroughs and sits as principal oboist in the Hercules High School Symphonic Band. In her spare time she tweaks oboe reeds, edits for her school newspaper as co-editor in chief, and raises Guide Dogs for the Blind. This fall, Janna will be attending UC Los Angeles, where she plans to study Environmental Science, or a major in the field of science. She would like to thank her teachers, conductors, and peers for helping her grow as a musician and as an individual. She especially thanks her family and friends for their support and for all of the memories shared!

Ceci Li, violin
Ceci Li has been a member of OYO for three years and was able to tour in Greece with them in 2007. She will be graduating from San Domenico High School this June. She is also part of the prestigious Virtuoso program at San Domenico winning first place and gaining the title “Grand Champions” at the American Strings Teachers’ Association National Orchestra Festival 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ceci started playing the violin in 4th grade and has been studying the violin with Debbra Wood Schwartz since seventh grade. Ceci served as concertmistress for OYO in 2008 and that same year also won the OYO concerto competition and Contra Costa Performing Arts Society Scholarship Competition . This year Ceci was one of the soloists and played “Spring” of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with Orchestra Da Camera. During the Summer, Ceci participates in summer music camps held at The Crowden School. Aside from violin playing, she enjoys spending time with her swim team, The Live Oak Hammerheads. Next year, Ceci plans to attend Chicago College of Performing Arts majoring in violin performance. She would like to thank her family, Debbra Wood Schwartz, Margot Harrison, and friends for their love and support.

James MacQueen, viola
James has been a member of the Oakland Youth Orchestra for two years on the viola, and has enjoyed the unique views of his fellow violists. He has studied violin and viola for nine years with Marie Flexer, Cindy Chen, and Michael Thomas. He also plays in a string trio and writes music. James will be attending University of the Pacific this fall and will major in Composition and Violin Performance. He can also be heard playing Scottish fiddle music, which inspired him to first take up the violin. When not involved in some sort of musical activity, he reads science fiction and fantasy, paints, sculpts, etc., and tries to avoid homework.

Robert Rousseau, tuba
This is Robert’s first and final year with OYO. He will be graduating from Pinole Valley High School and will be moving down south to study at the University of California Santa Barbara. Robert began as a musician in the fourth grade when he played alto saxophone. He continued to play saxophone until his freshman year in high school, when his band director switched him to Tuba. Robert has progressed from barely playing the instrument to joining OYO, and would like to thank everyone who helped him. He would also like to thank OYO for having helped Robert to remember why he loves music. After all the rehearsing, the songs we play become more than just ink on paper; the songs become treasures that we can hear and call our own.

Molly Rubin, bassoon
This is Molly Rubin’s first (and unfortunately, final) year playing bassoon with OYO. She took up the bassoon when she was 14 and loved it immediately, though it took a while to figure out what to do with all those thumb keys. Now at age 18, Molly plays in the Napa Youth Symphony, North Bay Wind Ensemble, is Student Conductor of the Napa High Concert Band, and best of all, she plays in the Oakland Youth Orchestra. Molly currently studies with Steve Paulson. In the summer of 2008 Molly attended Interlochen Arts Camp for seven weeks and thoroughly enjoyed it. This year she placed second in the OYO Concerto Competition and first in the Napa Concerto Competition. Additionally, she has been invited to perform the Weber Bassoon Concerto with the Pacific Chamber Orchestra at the end of May. A special thanks goes out to her parents for supporting her in all of her musical endeavors and putting up with the endlessly long practice sessions. Next year, Molly will be pursuing a degree in bassoon performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She has been honored to spend her Sunday afternoons with such a talented group of people. Rock on OYO!

Geoffrey Seto, viola
This is Geoffrey’s second and final season with OYO. He began his musical studies with piano lessons at age five. With his former teacher he passed Preparatory C in the National Piano Playing Auditions while in sixth grade and with his current teacher, David Ross, he completed Level 10 (Advanced) Panel in Certificate of Merit while in tenth grade. Geoffrey took up violin in the summer before sixth grade and has been under the guidance of Fei Ching ever since. He quickly picked up viola later that year because the sixth grade school orchestra was in need of violists; today it is still his most negligent hobby. In addition to OYO Geoffrey has dutifully been Concertmaster of the Castro Valley High School’s Symphony, Honors Chamber and String Orchestras for the past two years and has twice publicly performed concertos in their annual Concerto Concert. He has also participated in the Jenny Lin Foundation’s Summer Youth Music Program for the past five summers, taking on various leadership roles as a student coordinator. Beyond classical music, Geoffrey likes to augment his financial education by reading books about investing and will attend Oregon State University this fall to study pre-pharmacy. He would like to thank his parents for getting him started with music, his teachers for imparting efficient practicing techniques and his conductors and friends at OYO for the fun moments.

Brian Shen, violin
Brian Shen is completing his fourth year in the Oakland Youth Orchestra. He started studying the violin at the age of four with Mr. Art Peterson. From there on he studied with a number of teachers, including the late Mr. Nathan Rubin. His most recent violin teacher is Mrs. Heghine Boloyan. In addition to this, Brian studied the piano, most recently with Mrs. Elena Pang who led the way to the advanced level in the MTAC Certificate of Merit test. Brian utilizes what he has learned from studying the piano and the violin at The College Preparatory School, where he will graduate this June. He plays with both instruments in the advanced chamber music program (of course not at the same time); he sings in the Advanced Vocal Ensemble at school as well as in the senior sextet a cappella group; and he plays guitar in the school jazz band. Given this, Brian is not only a musician. In order to balance his brain, he learned golf at age eleven and has studied fencing for the last eight years. He is also an Eagle Scout. Brian will graduate this year from College Prep and in the fall will study at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He would very much like to thank his family and friends for their support, all of his instructors, past and present, and especially God for all that He has blessed him with.

Andrew Watson, french horn
Andrew Watson started playing the French horn in the Charlotte Youth Orchestra in Charlotte, NC, and joined OYO in 8th grade. He studies with the greatest horn teacher ever, Alicia Telford. He had so much fun going to Greece with OYO that he joined YPSO for one year in order to go on another tour, but, as his mother had rightly predicted, two orchestras was too much, and after the tour of Australia and New Zealand, he stayed with OYO. Andrew also plays the trumpet in The College Preparatory School jazz band, as well as the occasional guitar. He’s an English citizen, loves to travel and will be attending Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service next year. He is grateful to Michael and Bryan for putting up with him for his entire adolescence, and is honored to have performed under their leadership, and to have been part of the musical arts in Oakland. He's taking his horn to Georgetown next year and hopes to continue performing!.

Ceylan Yagmur, clarinet
Ceylan Yagmur has been playing clarinet with OYO for a little less than a year. Instantly attracted by its sleek black wood and shiny silver keys, she picked up the clarinet as a fourth grader and has been attached to her instrument ever since. She had held the principle chair of the clarinet section in the Albany High School Wind Ensemble for the past three years. Aside from playing classical clarinet, she has also been a member of the Jazz Band as a baritone saxophonist for the past three years as well, and has performed with her school’s R&B band (Rhythm Bound) for almost two years on baritone sax. She studied saxophone with Jim Moran and is currently studying clarinet with Larry London. Her woodwind trio has performed at CMEA for a number of years, receiving Superior ratings each time. This year Ceylan performed Stravinsky’s “Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo” and received a command performance rating. A few months ago, she participated in the CBDA All-State Honor Band for the second year in a row, and also traveled to Sacramento to perform in the CMEA All-State Honor Band as a junior last year. Next year, she will be attending New York University, where she will major in clarinet performance. Hopefully, she will get her pilot’s license and eventually settle down in a Scandinavian country in the more distant future. Ceylan would like to thank her mother for driving her to her lessons, flying her across the country (multiple times) for college auditions, culturing her passion for music, and strengthening her desire to make music professionally. She is very grateful for having had the opportunity to make music with such amazing musicians.

Anthony Yee, cello
Anthony Yee completed his third year in OYO this year. After some years spent studying the piano and briefly the violin, Mr.Yee found his instrument of choice in the cello. Seven years ago he began to study the cello with Bret Harte middle school teacher Mr. Duane Worm. Soon after, he transitioned to his first private teacher Mrs. Beth Vandervennet. He now studies with Mrs. Milly Rosner. Mr. Yee began to further his musical training by joining the Berkeley Youth Orchestra and soon after, the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra, with which he participated in a Chine tour. Not yet satisfied, he continued his studies with two rounds of the Summer Music West program at the San Francisco Conservatory, two of Summer Music Berkeley and three as a part of the University of California Berkeley Summer Symphony. During the school year, he takes part in the after school advanced chamber music program at the College Preparatory School, where he will be graduating from this June. As an aside, while in general he plays as a cellist, Mr. Yee will in fact be playing a Violin 2 part on the cello due to an unfortunate shortage of violinists in the program. Mr. Yee will attend the University of Rochester in New York this fall. Although he is indebted to many who have helped him along his path, Mr. Yee would like to thank, first and foremost, his parents, for without them he would not exist. Of course, though, he thanks them for helping him with all his endeavors, support and love. After doing that he does not much mind displaying gratitude to the cello section of OYO, for being a wonderful group of peers and a wonderful source of entertainment; or to Mr. Peter Hung, for teaching him the art of solving the most elusive (not anymore) Rubik’s cube; or finally to Brian Shen, for being a friend and because he is, as they say, “cool.”

Michael Zhao, viola
Michael Zhao has been in OYO for the past two years. He began playing the viola in the fourth grade and has grown particularly attached to the underappreciated instrument. In the summer between sixth and seventh grade, Michael took up private lessons with Phyllis Kamrin and has been with her since. During the summer after 9th grade, he participated in a music camp at Crowden and became motivated to work harder at the viola. Before joining OYO, he was in BYO for a year and this past summer he enjoyed playing in a chamber music camp hosted by the Del Sol quartet. As Michael started playing the viola at school orchestra in the fourth grade, he has shared many years, from elementary through his final year of high school, under the direction of Sharon Calonico. In addition to music, he has been involved in martial arts for 7 years and in the past 4 years, he has instructed students at Yees Martial Arts. Since the ninth grade, he took up golf and spends much of his free time at the golf course, preparing for matches with the varsity golf team at Hercules High School and practicing for other tournaments and leagues. As the sports editor for his schools newspaper and as an active member of the Interact Club on campus, he somehow manages to fit everything in his hectic schedule. This fall, Michael will attend UC San Diego, focusing on a major in biochemistry and cell biology, and he hopes to continue playing the viola and possibly minoring in music.