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The "Back to BACH" Project
Students for the Arts!
Teddi Yoo
Member Since Fall 2019
Teddi Yoo, 18, is currently a freshman at Rice University and is a piano performance major. She learns from Professor Jeanne Kierman Fischer. Teddi placed first in the Tselentis Bach, Viola Hartman, and Miriam Shields Gottlieb Memorial Piano Competition and placed second for the Lichtenberg and Swarthout-Hayes Piano Competitions. She performed at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the Concert Artists International Virtuoso Competition III. Besides the piano, she plays the violin. Currently, she is the concertmaster of Rice University’s Campanile Orchestra. Last year, she served as the co-concertmaster of Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra’s Philharmonic group and New Life Youth Orchestra. Through NLYO, she has traveled to Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand, South Korea, Cuba, and Peru. Teddi won the Londontowne Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition and performed as a soloist with the LSO orchestra. She was also invited to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra for their Labor Day concert. She performed as a violinist at Carnegie Hall as well as a winner of the American Protégé International Competition. Teddi was presented the Certificate of Merit for Excellence in the Arts for Music under the National Society of Arts and Letters Washington DC Chapter. As a passionate musician, Teddi is excited to join the Back to Bach Project for another year of performing and sharing her love for music with children.
Allison Paquette
Member Since Winter 2019
Allison Paquette is currently a junior at James E. Taylor High School, and has been a member of the Chamber Orchestra for three years. She began studying music at the age of 7 with piano lessons, and moved on to study the viola in 6th grade under the direction of Weigo Yin. She has performed with the Symphony Region 23 Orchestra in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019 and with the Philharmonic Region 23 Orchestra in 2017. She has received first division scores in all of her solo performances in the Solo and Ensemble Competition. Allison also had the opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall with the Taylor High School Chamber Orchestra in the spring of 2018. She was in the Texas All-State Sinfonietta Orchestra in 2019 and plans to perform with the 2020 All-State Philharmonic Orchestra. Her hobbies include painting and playing tennis with friends.
Julie Park
Member Since Fall 2019
Rebekah “Julie” Park is a freshman at Rice University, double-majoring in Kinesiology and French, minoring in Neuroscience. She grew up in Natick, MA, where she began playing the oboe at the age of 7. She recently graduated from Beverly Hills High School in CA, where she was an All-American Drum Major of the marching band. Over the years, she has performed with California State (CBDA) and Southern California (SCSBOA) Orchestras, Colburn Wind Ensemble, Cerritos College Wind Ensemble, and Idyllwild Art Summer Academy Orchestra. Her mentors include oboists Yuli Kwon, Ted Sugata, Aki Nishiguchi, and Mayu Isom. In addition, she has donated over 400 hours of community service, volunteering at local nursing homes and hospitals with various organizations, including her own Chamber for Charity club. As a hopeful pediatric surgeon, Julie plays with a strong belief in the healing power of music, in both a medicinal and societal sense.
Megan Xiao
Member Since Fall 2019
Megan Xiao is a college freshman studying mathematical economics and cognitive sciences at Rice University. She has played the flute for nine years and took lessons with Susan Brandt. She is currently a member of the Rice University Campanile Orchestra and has also played with various Potomac Valley Youth Orchestras, Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras, and All-County and All-State bands. In her free time, she enjoys running and playing music with her friends.
Ryan Park
Member Since Fall 2019
Ryan Park, 15, is a freshman at Taylor High School. Born and raised in Katy, Texas. Ryan began his cello studies at the age 11 with Mrs. Daniela all the way to 8th grade. He was chosen as 1st chair in the philharmonic orchestra for the region 23 orchestra in 7th grade. He then got chosen as 1st chair for the symphony orchestra the next year. Ryan then switched to Mr. Cavazos the summer before 9th grade, where went to Sam Houston State University where he studied with Dr. Saenz in private lessons, ensembles, and orchestras. He also went to The Texas All-State Strings Camp, where he studied with multiple professors. In his free time he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with friends, and listening to music.
Kristine Yuan
Member Since Fall 2019
Kristine Yuan is currently a freshman at Rice University and majors in Psychology while playing in the Rice nonmajors’ Campanile Orchestra. She is also a native Houstonian with a bubbly personality and an immense love for classical music. She has played the violin for the past ten years of her life and found music to be a wonderful enjoyment. For the past seven years, Kristine has been a part of her school orchestras as well as her city orchestra, Houston Youth Symphony, where she has played amazing repertoire ranging throughout all eras of classical music. Participating in region, area, and state-wide competitions and having the honor to play with numerous young and talented musicians has helped Kristine develop the invaluable traits of musicality, ambition, and humility. Kristine is incredibly excited to work with Back to Bach and introduce young kids to the depth and beauty of string instruments!
Sanne Christensen
Member Since Fall 2019
Sanne Christensen, 19, graduated with honors from Park City High School. She currently attends Rice University as a piano performance major and studies with Professor Brian Connelly. She performed on the Utah Symphony's 2013 and 2017 Salute to Youth and is a winner of the 2014 and 2015 Youth Guild Recital Audition in the ensemble division and 2013, 2014, and 2016 solo division. Sanne started piano training at age four with Lena Bates and currently studies under Dr. Vera Oussetskaia-Watanabe. Her other awards include the 2017 Paderewski Festival grand prize winner, and a two time Concerto winner in the University of Utah SummerArts Competition. Her first performance with an orchestra was in Libby Gardner Hall at age nine. Sanne has been a full scholarship student at the Gifted Music School since 2008. When not practicing, she also loves to read, ski, and travel.
Ayane Nakajima
Member Since Fall 2019
17-year-old pianist Ayane Nakajima is a freshman studying with Professor Jon Kimura Parker at the Shepherd School of Music. Born and raised in New York City, she attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and graduated as an instrumental major. Ayane began her piano studies at the age of 4 with Mr. Chaim Freiberg at the Lucy Moses School and continued to study privately with Dr. Hiromi Fukudafrom 2007 through 2019. In 2016, she received the Gold Prize in the International Virtuoso Competition as well as second place at the New York Music Competition. During the summers of 2017 and 2018 she studied at Boston University's Tanglewood Institute with professors Boaz Sharon and Gila Goldstein. In 2018, she received the Grand Prize in the New York Concerto Debut Competition where she performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 under the baton of Maestro Muneyoshi Takahashi. In 2019, she was recognized as a winner in the National YoungArts Competition and performed at the New World Center. Following the program, she was nominated by YoungArts to be a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and was named a semi-finalist. Recently she performed at Gabriel Faure's Piano Quartet No. 2 at Alice Tully Hall as a part of a concert series with the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center.
Lauren Mathews
Member Since January 2020
Lauren Mathews, 16, is in the eleventh grade at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. She currently studies cello with Brinton Smith, principal cellist of the Houston Symphony and Sami Myerson Khang. Lauren began studying cello with Donna Rogers at the age of 5. Lauren was named a 2018-2020 Texas Young Master by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Lauren was accepted into the New York String Orchestra Seminar in December 2019 and performed with the orchestra in Carnegie Hall. She has recently won concerto competitions with the Houston Civic Symphony, the Starlight Symphony, and the Clear Lake Symphony and will perform as a soloist with these orchestras in March 2020. Also in 2020 Lauren won first prize in the string division of the TASO Juanita Miller Concerto Competition. Lauren has also won concerto competitions and performed as a soloist with Symphony North of Houston, the Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra, and the Houston Youth Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2012, Lauren has been a member of the Houston Youth Symphony. Lauren earned a top spot in the Texas All-State Symphony Orchestra in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In January 2018, Lauren performed with the Esperanza Trio on the Houston Young Artists’ Concert at Rice University. From 2010 to 2018 she earned superior ratings with honors at the ASTA Certificate Advancement Program. Lauren has attended summer festivals at The Meadowmount School of Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, The Eastman Cello Institute, and The National Cello Institute.
Esther Lee
Member since January 2020
Esther Lee is currently a freshman at Rice University interested in studying neuroscience and sociology. She started playing the violin in kindergarten and music has been her constant friend through her childhood moving between Seoul and New England multiple times. In addition to being an active member of her school’s orchestra and honors music society, she has played in Youth Symphony of New England Conservatory Prep and has also played in the Massachusetts all state and district orchestras. Today she plays with the Campanile Orchestra at Rice University.
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