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The "Back to BACH" Project
Students for the Arts!
Tia Tyng Chang
Member Since January 2016
Pianist Tia Tyng Chang, 17, is a senior at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, CA. She currently studies with John McCarthy and previously with Chiao-Han Liao. Tia has won numerous awards, including first place of the International Great Composers Competition, Silicon Valley Second School Competition, Junior Bach Festival, and the Adler Award as a winner of the Burlingame Music Club Competition. She was also invited to perform in Concerts at the Presidio- Allegro, Inferno. An avid chamber musician, she studies chamber music with Jonathan Koh at the California Music Preparatory Academy and is a current member of the award winning Zeitlos Trio. Her piano trio has garnered accolades including first prize of the Best Music of Germany and Austria Competition, third prize of the US Open Music Competition, third prize of the International Grande Music Competition, and third prize of the VOCE Competition. Tia attended the 2017 International Summer Sessions in Paris, France, the 2016 Walnut Hill International Music Festival in Natick, Massachusetts, and the 2014 Morningside Music Bridge Music Festival in Calgary, Canada. When not playing the piano, Tia is a social entrepreneur and plays for her school’s varsity golf team.
Sean Mori
Member Since Fall 2017
17 year old violinist Sean Mori is a scholarship student of Ian Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. Previously, he has studied with Li Lin, Wei He, and Bettina Mussumeli. He was a quarterfinalist in the 2018 Menuhin Competition, as well as the first place winner of many other competitions, including the United States International Music Competition, DVC/HNU Young Artist String Competition, Pacific Musical Society competition, KAMSA, Symphony Parnassus Concerto Competition and the Nova Vista Concerto Competition. He will perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Nova Vista Symphony in the 2019-2020 season. His piano trio, the Fervida Trio, won First prize at the 2018 Galante Prize Competition, as well as the Gold Medal at the 2019 Pasadena Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Competition, where they also won the Andrew Cook Beethoven Prize; and most recently, the Gold Medal at the 2019 National Fischoff Competition. He has participated in many summer festivals including Music@Menlo in 2015, Meadowmount School of Music in 2017, and received a full scholarship to the 22nd and 23rd Morningside Music Bridge Program hosted in Warsaw, Poland, and in Boston, Massachusetts.
Davis You
Member Since Fall 2017
Cellist Davis You, 17, is a senior at Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California, United States. He currently studies cello with Jonathan Koh and previously has studied with Irene Sharp. Davis has performed in several solo engagements, including a Noontime Concerts recital in San Francisco, a concerto with the Prometheus Symphony as the winner of the 2018 Felix Khuner Competition, and two solos with the California Youth Symphony (CYS), of which he is the principal cello. His awards include first place in the 2018 KAMSA Competition, semifinalist in the 2018 Klein International String Competition, first place in the 2017 CYS Young Artists Competition, first place in the 2016 California ASTA Solo Competition, semifinalist at the 2017 Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, honorable mention in the 2019 YoungArts Competition, and second prize in the 2018 Galante Competition as a member of the Trio Sonoro. An avid chamber musician, he is a member of the Young Chamber Musicians program in Burlingame, CA, and attended the Music@Menlo chamber music festival in 2018 and 2019.
Jasper Wang
Member Since Winter 2018
Jasper Wang, 16, is a junior at Palo Alto High School. He studies clarinet with Mark Brandenburg and previously with Susan Macy. His achievements include second place in the 2017 International Golden Era of Romantic Music Competition in American Fine Arts Festival, first place in the 2017 USIMC Young Artist Award and first place US International Music Competition 2018. Jasper had the honor to perform in Carnegie Hall in Oct, 2017. He has served as the principal clarinetist for CYS Associate Orchestra for two years and as the principal clarinetist for CYS Senior Orchestra. During this summer, Jasper has been involved in community music education, teaching beginners clarinet, performing at senior centers and participating benefit concerts. Jasper is an Eagle Scout candidate in Troop 5. He has been the patrol leader and the assistant senior patrol leader many terms. . Besides music, Jasper also likes to play golf and trade stocks.
Emily Hwang
Member Since Fall 2019
Emily Hwang, age 14, is a freshman at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. She studies with Dimitri Murrath at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division, and is a member of Young Chamber Musicians directed by Susan Bates. Emily is a winner of the 2019 ASTA San Francisco Solo Competition and is the first place winner of the United States International Music Competition, Korean American Music Supporters Association, Bay Area Music Association, Silicon Valley Music Competition, and the Korea Times Music Competition. She also received an honorable mention in the 2017 MTNA California Junior Strings, and served as principal violist in the 2019 All-State Junior High Orchestra. She performed as a soloist with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra in 2017, at Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall in 2016, and was invited to play with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra at their 2018 Gala Concert. Emily also enjoyed being part of the 2019 Music@Menlo Koret Young Performers Program.
Katherine Lee
Member Since Fall 2019
Katherine Lee, 14, is a cellist who is currently under the tutelage of Eric Sung at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. She has been playing the cello since age 6. Music has become a strong passion and an important part of her life. Katherine has won multiple prizes in competitions such as 1st place in the KAMSA Music Competition, Silicon Valley Music Competition, Korea Times Youth Music Competition. She has won other prizes such as 2nd in the CalASTA Solo Competition and United States International Music Competition. As an avid chamber musician, Katherine has numerous chamber experiences. This coming year, she is joining Young Chamber Musicians. Through her education at the Pre-College, Katherine has also played in a variety of chamber groups and repertoire. From 2015 to 2017, she was in the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra. She won the 2016-17 solo competition and made her solo debut with the orchestra. In 2018, she was selected to perform at the Junior Bach Festival. Besides solo work, Katherine enjoys playing music and giving back to the community through various programs. In past summers, she studied at Encore Chamber Music and Music at Tateuchi. Throughout her years, Katherine has been honored to play in front of great musicians such as Brinton Smith and Ralph Kirschbaum.
Jennifer Mori
Member Since Fall 2019
Jennifer Mori, 14, is a freshman at Palo Alto High School. She currently studies cello with Jonathan Koh of San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and her previous cello teachers include Mrs. Sieun Lin and Ms. Kris Yenny. She was the first place winner in the DVC/HNU Young Artist String Competition, Music Legacy Open Competition, Palo Alto Unified District Music scholarship competition, US Open Music Competition, and the 2019 KAMSA music competition. She also won 1st place at 2017 and 2018 VOCE branch competition and claimed 2nd place in 2017 and 1st place at VOCE state final in 2018. Her cello quartet won 3rd place at the IGMC (International Grande Music Competition) in 2017, and her piano trio and cello duo also won 2nd and first place respectively at the US Open Music Competition in 2018 and 2019. Besides music, she enjoys calligraphy, reading, drawing and Karate.
Julia Wang
Member Since Fall 2019
Julia Wang, 16, is a junior at Homestead High School. She began studying the violin with Zeng Zheng at age six and has studied with Zhao Wei since 2016. She has been a member of the California Youth Symphony since 2013 and Young Chamber Musicians since 2018. Julia is currently the co-concertmaster of the Senior Orchestra at CYS and the concertmaster of the Homestead Orchestra. Recently, she won first place in USOMC and in the 2019 Pacific Musical Society Competition, and played in a masterclass for pianist Rohan de Silva. In past summers, Julia has attended Bowdoin International Music Festival twice, where her teachers included Kurt Sassmannhaus, Itamar Zorman, Phillip Ying, and Janet Ying. In the summer of 2019, she was a member of the National Youth Orchestra.
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