Skip to main content

Upcoming Concert


No events were found.

National Youth Orchestra - Summer 2014

Each summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute selects 120 of the brightest young players from across the country to form the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. Competition for placement is intense and generally only a few players at most are chosen from each state. CYS is incredibly proud that two of our members, co-concertmaster Helen Wu and co-principal bass Janice Gho, have been selected. In addition, CYS Young Artist marimba soloist Adrian Lin was selected for the percussion section. Following a two-week training residency with leading professional orchestra musicians, the National Youth Orchestra will embark on a coast-to-coast US tour with dynamic conductor David Robertson and virtuoso violinist Gil Shaham.

Helen Wu, Co-concertmaster


Helen Wu started studying violin at age four and joined the California Youth Symphony in fifth grade to cultivate her love for music in the midst of people who all came together for the same reason: to play music. In 9th grade, she became the concertmaster of the CYS’s Senior Orchestra and The Harker Upper School Orchestra. Since then she has had the opportunity to lead CYS in playing many great orchestral works like Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Strauss’s Don Juan, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. More excitingly, as concertmaster, she has toured and performed in London, New Zealand, and Eastern Europe, all of which she enjoyed thoroughly.

Helen was a violinist in the 120-member 2014 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America under the guidance of Maestro David Roberson and the violin virtuoso soloist Gil Shaham. In NYO-USA, she was trained for two weeks by some of the finest professional musicians in the country and then toured coast-to-cast across the country, performing eight concerts in some of the greatest halls in the US, including Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, and Seji Ozawa Hall in Tanglewood.

Helen was a Junior Bach Festival winner and was invited to perform in the Junior Bach Festival in the spring of 2012. She was also the first-prize winner in the AFAF International Concerto Competition 2014, for which she was invited to make her solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 2014. Additionally, she won first in the US Open Music Competition (USOMC) concerto division in 2013 and was a prizewinner in the 2011 and 2012 USOMC, 2013 VOCE State Competition, and 2014 International Youth Music Competition held in Stanford. In 2010, Helen attended the Music@Menlo summer camp and found the skills she acquired there invaluable in her later musical endeavors. Helen is a senior at The Harker School and has studied with Mr. Li Lin since she was 8 years old. In addition to music, Helen enjoys dance and is passionate about scientific research.

Janice Gho, Co-Principal Bass


Janice Gho began playing the double bass at the age of 13 and currently studies with Bruce Moyer. This is her third year with CYS, where she is the co-principal bassist. It is also her fourth year as principal bassist of the Monta Vista Chamber Orchestra. Janice has been principal bassist of numerous other orchestras, including the NAfME All-National Honors Orchestra, California All-State Honors Orchestra, KAMSA Youth Symphony Orchestra, and San Jose Youth Chamber Orchestra. Janice has participated in the Stanford Summer Symphony, UC Berkeley Summer Symphony, and Santa Clara County Honor Band as well. As president of Monta Vista’s Tri-M Music Honor Society and co-president of the MUSE Ensemble, she often performs at senior centers, hospitals, benefit concerts, and other community events. Janice is currently a senior at Monta Vista High School.

Powered by Firespring