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The "Back to BACH" Project
Students for the Arts!
Anna Choi
Member & R.D. Since Fall 2019
Anna Choi, 17, from New York, New York, began her piano studies at age 5. Soon after, she was accepted to the highly selective Special Music School. Anna was a prizewinner of the YWCA competition at age 8, allowing her to perform at Weill Hall at Carnegie. Following her graduation from SMS, Anna was accepted into The Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Division where she continued to learn piano performance from Natela Mchedlishvili. She has performed solo and chamber music in Merkin Hall and Greenfield Hall. In eighth grade, she chose to switch her primary instrument to oboe. She began her oboe career with Juilliard Pre-College teacher Yousun Chung. In 2019, she secured first prize at the International Grande Music Competition and the YWCA Competition. She attended Curtis Summerfest, allowing her to study with renowned oboists such as Richard Woodhams, the principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Katherine Needleman, the principal oboist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She then relocated to Boston, where she attended Walnut Hill school for the arts, the only independent arts school on the East Coast. There, she participated in a masterclass with Robert Sheena, the English Horn player of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Anna entered the New England Conservatory (NEC) Pre-College division where she was accepted into the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, of which she has been principal numerous times. She now studies from Amanda Hardy, the principal of the Portland Symphony, and weekly learns reed-making from John Ferillo, the principal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Vicky Cheng
Member Since February 2019
Vicky Cheng (17) is a senior cellist at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She is a student of Laura Blustein at the New England Conservatory Prep School, where she is the associate principal cellist of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Vicky has attended summer festivals including Morningside Music Bridge, Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Castleman Quartet Program, and Orford Musique, and she will be attending Orford Music Festival again this summer. Vicky loves playing chamber music and she is currently enrolled at NEC prep’s Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar, where her string quartet has performed in masterclasses given by Don Weilerstein, Paul Katz, Kim Kashkashian. In addition, Vicky has also appeared on From The Top in 2019 with the Walnut Hill String Chamber Orchestra. Aside from being a cellist, Vicky likes learning foreign languages and skiing.
Katherine Huang
Member Since February 2019
Katherine Huang started learning the cello at the age of 8 and is currently a senior at Walnut School for the Arts. She is now studying the cello with Ms. Carol Ou at the Preparatory School of New England Conservatory. She has attended summer festivals such as the Walnut Hill Summer music camp host by the Foundation of Chinese Performing Arts, New York University Summer Strings, and Cremona International Music Academy in the past three years. Her favorite things to do during the weekend is watching Youtube videos and TV shows.
Eric Wang
Member Since February 2019
Eric Wang is currently a senior violinist at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Eric studies with Mr.Angelo Xiang You at the Preparatory School of New England Conservatory. Eric is an active chamber music player and he has attended to Walnut Hill Summer Music Festival in both 2017 and 2018. Aside from being passionate about his violin playing, Eric loves all kinds of sports, especially tennis and basketball. A fun fact about Eric is that his mom always gets confused about his and his brother’s name.
Chenyi Hu
Member Since February 2019
Chenyi Hu started playing the cello at the age of 6. He is currently a sophomore cellist at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. Chenyi studies cello with Mr.Ronald Lowry at the Preparatory School of New England Conservatory. Before coming to the United States, Chenyi studied cello at the Tianji Conservatory of Music. He is a prize winner in several young artist competitions, including the youth division of the HongKong International String Competition, Tianjin division of Asian Music Competition, AiQinBei Cello Competition. Chenyi loves napping and he can literally naps whenever he wants.
Shawn Lian
Member Since April 2019
Shawn Lian is a junior pianist at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. He is currently a student of Alexander Korsantia at the New England Conservatory Prep School. Shawn did not receive formal piano performance training until the age of 14, when he entered the central conservatory of music in Gulangyu in 2014 and began to study under the instruction of professor Yang Chen. After coming to Walnut Hill, Shawn has quickly built up his reputation as a spontaneous and talented pianist by winning the second place at the 2018 NEC prep concerto competition. Shawn has given solo recitals both at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and New England Conservatory. Other than playing the piano, Shawn also enjoys listening to various kinds of music and watching operas.
John Harry Clark
Member Since April 2019
John Harry Clark (17) is a senior violist at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. He is a student of Mai Motobuchi at New England Conservatory Prep School, where he is the principal viola of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. He will enter NEC in the fall of 2019 as a candidate for Bachelor of Music in viola performance. He has recently attended summer festivals including Greenwood Music Camp, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Music Mountain, and he will be attending the Aspen Music School this summer. An avid chamber player, he has performed with the Boston Music Institute and with several NEC Prep ensembles. He appeared on From The Top in 2019 with the Walnut Hill String Chamber Orchestra. Outside of classical viola, he is a Celtic fiddler. He has attended the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Summer Festival and the Boston Harbor Scottish Fiddle School, and he has been fiddling in local pubs since age 15. In order to lift, his Moes and Moes viola, nicknamed “Mjölnir,” he does 300 push-ups a day.
Raunak Kumar
Member Since February 2020
Raunak Kumar is a seventeen-year-old violinist from Johns Creek, Georgia. He has soloed numerous times, debuting at Kennesaw State University with the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra at age fourteen in 2017, and has won many competitions. Raunak began his studies at the age of six and currently studies Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School . Most recently, Raunak soloed at Carnegie Hall after winning the American Prótogé International Piano and String Competition. Raunak won first place in the Georgia Music Teacher Association String Competition, where he was a featured soloist at the 2018 GMTA conference. Raunak has been accepted to festivals such as Aspen, Bowdoin, National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute and Holy Cross Chamber Music Institute. When Raunak was twelve, he was invited to perform with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a Side by Side concert. He was one of the youngest recipients to ever win the Dave Cady Memorial Scholarship Competition at the age of 12. Raunak was concertmaster of the GMEA All State High School Orchestra. He played in a concert series at Kennedy Center. He has played in masterclasses given by distinguished musicians such as the Parker Quartet, Peter Oudijan, and Robin Scott. He founded the Crimson Septet, who won the Grand Prize in the 2019 Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition playing Ravel’s Introduction et Allegro at Spivey Hall. His trio and septet have been featured on NPR. He has worked with members of the Ying Quartet and the Parker Quartet.
Jennie Tang
Member Since February 2020
Jie-Ling (Jennie) Tang, 17, began her piano studies at age 6 and viola studies at age 8. She is now a senior at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts/ New England Conservatory Preparatory joint program and previously attended the Shuangshi Junior High School in Taiwan and Idyllwild Arts Academy. She has performed as a chamber musician and orchestra member in many different venues mainly around the Boston area, including Jordon Hall, Sanders Theater, and MIT concert hall. She is the principal violist of NEC’s Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and was presented by NPR’s From the Top as a member of the Walnut Hill String Chamber Orchestra in 2019. She attended the Chinese Performing Arts Foundation Summer Music Festival at Walnut Hill from 2016-2018 and Music@Menlo in 2019. She studies from Mai Motobuchi, Hui-Chu Hsiao and Donald McInnes, and has performed in masterclasses taught by Benjamin Zander, Yehudi Wyner, Helen Callus, Rebecca Fisher, Chris Jenkins, David Requiro, Arnaud Sussmann, and the Parker Quartet.
Evan Chen
Member Since February 2020
Evan Chen (14) is currently a junior violinist studying at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts. He studies with Mr. Angelo Xiang Yu at the New England Conservatory’s Preparatory School. Evan was born in Hong Kong, and began his violin studies at age 4. He was the associate concertmaster of Hong Kong’s Metropolitan Youth Orchestra before coming to the United States, and is currently a first violinist in NEC Prep’s Youth Symphony. In February 2019, he won the concertmaster position of the annual International Schools Music Festival, one of the biggest orchestra festivals in Asia, taking place in Shanghai. He is also a 2x Musician of the Year winner in Hong Kong, and has played in masterclasses for Cho-Liang Lin and Robin Scott. In addition to violin, Evan also plays the Piano, Oboe, French Horn and the Cello at a high level. He has attended numerous summer programs including Interlochen Arts Camp and Juilliard’s Young Artists camp, and will be attending the Bowdoin International Music Festival this summer. Aside from violin, Evan’s interests include orchestral conducting, and performance psychology.
Sarah Campbell
Member Since March 2020
My artistic identity is cultivated by human interface with audience members, teachers, and peers. I’d be lying to say my 6am trek to the practice room is solely for my own satisfaction of nailing a run or learning a new bowing. I constantly think of ways to connect with my audience and peers. During summer 2018, after just five days of learning Debussy String Quartet’s third movement at Greenwood Music Camp, I left behind both my shoes (per Greenwood tradition) and my sheet music, to perform by memory. The intense embodiment of the piece within my quartet and between the audience that night is exactly what I strive for. This year, I am studying Debussy Quartet first movement at the NEC Prep CHIPS program. I am awed by the insights of my peers. We receive coaching from one of my biggest idols, our CHIPS director, Merry Peckham. One night our conversation quickly turned to the customized Nikes on her feet. With the etching of “Beethoven since 1770” on the shoe’s tongue, in each color that she related to a key and phrase she sang, this revered coach felt like a goddess and at the same time, simply our best friend. With the common language of music, Merry bonded with my quartet over something as simple as shoes. I have yet to find a form of expression as powerful as music. And thus, I hope to create a career of musical excellence in which I deeply connect with my colleagues and audience.
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