Season 53
2004-2005
Senior Orchestra Roster
Associate Orchestra Roster
Prep Program Roster
Seniors
November 2004 Senior Orchestra Concert
Concert Program Overview
The California Youth Symphony opened its 53rd Season with a series of powerful performances on November 14 and 21, 2004. Led by Music Director Leo Eylar, the orchestra took the stage at the Flint Center in Cupertino and the San Mateo Performing Arts Center to present a program of immense emotional depth.
The concert opened with the "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Richard Strauss’s opera Salome, a work famous for its "decadent eroticism" and "orgiastic climax". The orchestra then joined forces with a brilliant young soloist for Sibelius’s haunting Violin Concerto in D Minor. To conclude the afternoon, the symphony performed Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No. 5, a work that famously balanced political pressure with personal tragedy and ultimate optimism.
Featured Soloist: Ashley Lau
A highlight of the season was the performance of fifteen-year-old violinist Ashley Lau, who served as the orchestra's Assistant Concertmaster. An eleventh-grader at Saratoga High School at the time, Ashley was selected as one of the two winners of the 2004 CYS Young Artist Competition held at Stanford University. Her journey with the violin began at the age of four, and by the time of this concert, she had already established herself as one of the Bay Area’s most promising young musicians.
Ashley’s early career was marked by a remarkable string of accolades and solo appearances. She was a recipient of the Outstanding Musician Award from the San Jose Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Command Performance Award from the California Music Educators Association. Her competitive success extended to numerous local organizations, including the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, the Burlingame Music Club, and the Nova Vista Symphony. Furthermore, she was recognized as a laureate in the Junior Bach Festival and a finalist in the American String Teachers Association Solo Competition.
In these November performances, Ashley brought her technical mastery to the Sibelius Violin Concerto. The piece, which Sibelius intended to possess a "remote and detached" romanticism, demands both lyrical fervor and a "stunning display of virtuosity" - challenges that Ashley met with the poise of a seasoned artist.
Associate Orchestra Holiday Concert (December 2004)
Community Outreach: Junior Strings at Lytton Gardens
CYS’s commitment to community service was beautifully displayed in December 2004 when more than 30 members of the Junior String Ensemble performed a holiday concert for the senior residents at Lytton Gardens in Palo Alto. Led by conductor Kati Kyme, these young musicians—ranging in age from 8 to 13—shared their talents by performing challenging works by Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, and Handel. The evening was a heartwarming success, bringing holiday cheer to the seniors and providing the students with a meaningful way to use their music to give back to the community.
Associate Orchestra Winter Concert (March 2005)
The Associate Orchestra, also under the direction of Leo Eylar, played a vital role in the 53rd Season, providing young musicians with the opportunity to perform masterworks of the symphonic repertoire. On March 6, 2005, the ensemble took the stage at the Smithwick Theatre to perform a vibrant program that included Schubert’s Rosamunde Overture, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 2, and Borodin’s spirited Polovetsian Dances. The performance also featured Eric Coates’s London Suite No. 1 and Massenet’s Scènes Pittoresques, demonstrating the orchestra's versatility and growing technical command.
March 2004 Senior Orchestra Concert
Concert Program Overview
In March 2005, the California Youth Symphony presented its 53rd Season Second Concert series with two captivating performances at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center and the Flint Center in Cupertino. Under the direction of Leo Eylar, the program offered a dramatic journey through Romanticism and 20th-century storytelling. The concert opened with Franz Liszt’s Mazeppa, a grand tone poem depicting a legendary Ukrainian hero’s wild horse ride and eventual triumph. This was followed by Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, a work beloved for its "amazing technical virtuosity" and "beautiful and romantic melodic lines".
After the intermission, the orchestra explored the darker intensity of Samuel Barber’s Medea's Dance of Vengeance, which traces a sorceress's descent from tender emotion into a "frenzied" state of jealousy. The program concluded with the magical Suite No. 1 from Serge Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella. This suite vividly brought the classic fairy tale to life, moving from Cinderella’s quiet dreams of happiness to a "hair-raising" midnight scene where the ticking clock signals the end of the magic spell.
Featured Soloist: Juliann Ma
The featured soloist for this concert series was fifteen-year-old pianist Juliann Ma, the first-place winner of the CYS Young Artist Competition held at Stanford University. Juliann’s extraordinary talent was evident from a very young age; she began her studies at age four and won her first competition just one year later. Her early years were filled with prestigious milestones, including performing a Bach concerto with a string quartet at the age of eight and winning the El Camino Youth Symphony Concerto Competition at age nine.
Throughout her young career, Juliann earned a remarkable collection of awards, including first-place finishes in the state Bartok Competition, the San Francisco Young Pianists' Competition, and the MTNA state-level competition. She was also honored by the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra as their "Debut Artist" for the 2004-2005 season. Currently a student of Hans Boepple, Juliann brought both technical splendor and deep poetic feeling to her performance of the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1. When she is not at the piano, Juliann is a well-rounded student who enjoys reading, creating art, and spending time with her loved ones.
May 2005 Senior Orchestra Concert
Concert Program Overview
CYS concluded its 53rd Season with a pair of vibrant performances on May 15 and 22, 2005, at the Flint Center and the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. Under the baton of Music Director Leo Eylar, the orchestra presented a diverse and demanding program that spanned from the elegance of the classical era to the rhythmic energy of the 20th century.
The season finale in May served as a special tribute to the orchestra’s leadership, specifically through the Senior Soloist Competition. This annual tradition honors two graduating seniors by inviting them to perform as soloists with the symphony. The concert opened with Béla Bartók’s Dance Suite, a work celebrated for its "exotic, winding melodies" and "flamboyant rhythmic energy" inspired by various peasant folk traditions. The program then shifted to the virtuosic brilliance of Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto, featuring the orchestra's own principal trumpeter, Scott Cook. Following the intermission, the symphony performed Tchaikovsky’s legendary Violin Concerto in D Major, a monumental test of technical skill known for its "forthright blend of lyricism and dazzling virtuosity". The afternoon reached a powerful conclusion with Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront, a tightly integrated orchestral work based on his Academy Award-winning film score. This milestone celebrated their years of dedication and marked a proud conclusion to their journey with CYS.
Featured Soloist: Justin Ho
The centerpiece of the May concert series was a stunning performance by violinist Justin Ho, the co-concertmaster of the CYS orchestra and a winner of the CYS Senior Soloist Competition. Justin’s musical journey began at the age of five, leading him to study under prestigious mentors such as Shu Wei Liu, Jenny Rudin, and eventually Li Lin at the San Francisco Conservatory. By the time of this performance, he had already garnered an impressive array of accolades, including first-prize awards in the California Music Teachers' Association VOCE Senior Solo Competition and the Chinese Music Teachers' Association Young Artists Competition.
Justin’s artistry and leadership extended far beyond the local stage. He was selected as a full scholarship recipient for the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute at the Kennedy Center, where he served as concertmaster. A passionate chamber musician, he also co-founded the Appassianato String Quartet Club at Monta Vista High School, a group dedicated to bringing music to hospital patients and retirement centers. Despite his rigorous musical schedule, Justin remained a remarkably well-rounded individual, competing on his high school's varsity tennis team and earning awards in basketball, volleyball, and track and field. In these season finale concerts, Justin’s dedication was on full display as he tackled the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, a piece once famously deemed "unplayable", with the maturity and technical command of a true young professional.
