The "Back to BACH" Project
Students for the Arts!
Zubin Hathi
Member Since December 2017; Reg. Director since Fall 2019
Zubin Hathi, from Roanoke, Va., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2015 and studies timpani and percussion with Don Liuzzi, Eric Millstein, and Robert van Sice. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Zubin is the Laura and Bill Buck Annual Fellow.
Zubin has participated in a number of festivals, including Principal Timpanist appointments with the National Repertory and New York String Orchestras. He served as Principal Percussionist of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Interlochen Arts Camp for two summers, where he received the Emerson and Avedis Zildjian Company scholarships as well as the Maddy Summer Artist Award. He also attended the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Additionally, Zubin has performed in the percussion section of the Symphony Orchestra of India.
Sunny Xuecong Xia
Member since Fall 2019
Sunny Xuecong Xia, conductor, is a semifinalist in the 2019 National Radio Television of Albania Conducting Competition. Sunny currently serves as assistant conductor at the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra and Opera Theater while pursuing a Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting and Violin Performance. Additionally, Sunny was appointed Apprentice Conductor at the 2019 North American New Opera Workshop.
In the 2018-19 season, Sunny has successfully led the CIM Orchestra in a variety of concerts, including the 2019 Benefit Concert “A Legacy in Bloom: Celebrating Clara T. Rankin” with violinist Caroline Goulding. As a passionate advocate for contemporary music, Sunny has led the CIM New Music Ensemble in the Cleveland NEOSonicFest, CIM New Music Series, and Cleveland Museum of Art Performing Arts Series. In the summer of 2019, Sunny attended the prestigious Pierre Monteux Music Festival as a Conducting Scholar and Orchestral Assistant. Sunny is passionate about bringing music to unconventional and diverse locations and has directed community performances throughout the greater Cleveland area. Sunny has had the privilege to be mentored by a number of prominent conductors from around the globe, including JoAnn Falleta, Jørgen Fuglebæk, Romolo Gessi, Kenneth Kiesler, Ludovic Morlot, Robert Spano and Thomas Wilkins. As an accomplished violinist, Sunny has served as concertmaster of the CIM Orchestra and performed as a soloist with orchestras in China and Australia.
Lydia Rhea
Member since Fall 2019
Cellist Lydia Rhea is currently pursuing her B.M. at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying under Dr. Melissa Kraut. Formerly a scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, Lydia studied under Hans Jørgen Jensen. Lydia has soloed with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, the Muncie Symphony Orchestra, and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has been featured on NPR’s From the Top, both as a soloist and chamber musician. Lydia made her debut at the age of nine with the New World Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Fishers Chamber Players. In 2019, Lydia attended the Yellow Barn Young Artist Program, Zephyr Chamber Music Course & Festival, Talis Music Festival and Academy, and served as principal cellist of the Moritzburg Festival Academy Orchestra, where her chamber groups were also awarded the Moritzburg Festival Akademiepreis for Best Performance of a 20th/21st century piece and the Akademiepreis for Best Performance of a 19th century piece. Lydia garnered international recognition as the cellist of the Kairos String Quartet through their gold-medal wins at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition. In the summer of 2018, Lydia attended the Festival de Ecoles d’Art Americaines de Fountainebleau in France. While there, her string quartet was awarded the Premier Prix and the Prix du Château de Fontainebleau in the Prix Ravel, sponsored by the Maurice Ravel Foundation.
Robert Diaz
Member since Fall 2019
Robert Diaz (oboe), 19, hails from Miami, Florida and is currently studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Frank Rosenwein. He is a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award and a graduate from the Interlochen Arts Academy. One of his favorite musical experiences was performing at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2019. His most influential teachers are Elaine Douvas, John Ferrillo, Frank Rosenwein, and Dane Philipsen. Aside from music, Robert enjoys swimming, running, and going to the beach.
Roi Trawon
Member since Fall 2019
Born in one of the most densely populated and chaotic cities in the world where classical music is an apparition and where all his relatives had little to do with the profession of music. Roi Trawon from Manila won in the 2016 VSA International Competition for Young Artists which provided him the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He graduated from the Philippine High School for the Arts majoring in violin with a full scholarship under Prof. Sergio Esmilla Jr. Afterwards, because of the lack of opportunities to pursue music he studied Statistics at the University of the Philippines and won numerous medals at the World Math Competitions. Trawon, who has epilepsy, did not let it hinder him to pursue his passion. He was awarded a full scholarship to the 2015 Alpen Kammer Musik Festival in Austria and became the first Concertmaster of the Orchestra of Filipino Youth in 2013 but had to evacuate his position to pursue music at the Cleveland Institute of Music under Ms. Joan Kwuon. One of his favorite things to do during school breaks is busking in Central Park sharing his music, collaborating with a diverse set of artists and meeting different kinds of people. This led him to various opportunities, most recently being invited by actress and director Halle Berry to shoot in “Bruised”.
Nicholas Pogharian
Member since Fall 2019
Nicholas Pogharian is a third-year undergraduate student studying at Case Western Reserve University and majoring in music and polymer science. On campus, he is involved in a variety of musical ensembles including jazz ensemble, orchestra and symphonic winds. He is also a member of the Orion Brass Quintet and treasurer of Mu Phi Epsilon’s Phi Omicron chapter. Nicholas is interested in the Back to BACH project because he wishes to share his love for music with others – he has led educational clinics with students before and is excited to do so again in this context. In his spare time, Nicholas enjoys taking long walks outside and reading anything he can get his hands on.
Alex Lenhart
Member since Fall 2019
Alex Lenhart is a native of Cleveland, OH, and attends Case Western Reserve University for music education. In addition to performing as a trumpeter in the symphonic band and orchestra, he manages and performs in the Orion Brass Quintet. Alex enjoys composing and arranging music for various instrumental groups. He is the incoming President of the Cleveland Institute of Music’s chapter of the Mu Phi Epsilon professional fraternity. Alex is active in the community, where he serves as an instrumental coach for the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony and teaches at several area marching band camps. Outside of music, he enjoys watching Cleveland sports and camping.
Zoe Perrier
Member since Fall 2019
Zoe Perrier is a third year student at Case Western Reserve University studying Music and Psychology. She is a bassoon player participating in several CWRU ensembles and currently studies with Mark DeMio. Zoe serves as the vice president of the Music Student Undergraduate Involvement Committee at CWRU. She is a second year member of Mu Phi Epsilon, a music service fraternity at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Zoe enjoys participating in chamber music and spending time with friends.