Season 70
2021-2022
Senior Orchestra Roster
Associate Orchestra Roster
Wind Symphony Roster
Strings Ensembles Roster
70th Season: October 2021 Senior Orchestra Season Opener Concert Overview
On October 31, 2021, the California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra opened its landmark 70th Anniversary Season at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. Marking CYS’s return to the concert stage for its first live performance in over a year, the afternoon was an uplifting celebration of resilience and music under the baton of Music Director Leo Eylar.
The program opened with Hector Berlioz’s dazzling Roman Carnival Overture. Built on themes from his opera Benvenuto Cellini, the overture contrasts a warm, expressive English horn melody with the frantic, whirling pulse of an Italian saltarello, driving toward a brilliant finish powered by the brass and percussion sections. The orchestra was then joined by featured young soloist Emily Hwang for Carl Philipp Stamitz’s graceful Viola Concerto in D Major. Composed in 1774, this cornerstone of the viola literature showcases both charm and technical agility, moving from the sparkling passagework of the first movement to a lyrical, vocal-style slow movement and a spirited closing Rondo known for its early use of left-hand pizzicato.
The second half was devoted to Maurice Ravel’s masterpiece, Daphnis et Chloé Suites Nos. 1 and 2. Considered one of the greatest orchestral achievements in French music, Ravel’s score evokes an ancient pastoral world of lush scenery and tender romance. The performance guided listeners from the mysterious nocturnal atmosphere and fierce pirate dances of the First Suite into the famous, shimmering sunrise of "Daybreak" and the ecstatic whirlwind of the concluding "General Dance," providing an exhilarating return to live symphonic performance.
Featured Soloist: Emily Hwang, Viola
Sixteen-year-old violist Emily Hwang joined the orchestra as featured soloist in Stamitz’s Viola Concerto as a winner of the 2021 CYS Young Artist Competition. A junior at Gunn High School, Emily began playing viola at the age of eight under Sujung Seok and currently studies with Dimitri Murrath in the Pre-College Division at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Emily has earned top honors across numerous regional and national competitions. She was the California winner of the 2019 MTNA State Competition in Junior Strings and was named alternate winner for the MTNA National Competition's Southwest Division in 2020. She has also taken second prize at the Houston International Music Competition, the ENKOR International Strings Competition, and the ASTA San Francisco Solo Competition, and was selected to perform on NPR’s nationally broadcast radio showcase From the Top. As a soloist, Emily has appeared with both the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.
A dedicated chamber musician, Emily participated in the Music@Menlo Young Performers program as well as the Morningside Music Bridge festival in 2020 and 2021, where she had the opportunity to study with prominent artists such as Kim Kashkashian, Steve Tenenbom, and Hsin-Yun Huang. Outside of rehearsals and performances, Emily enjoys writing, studying ballet, and spending time with her family and friends.
December 2021 Holiday Concert Overview
As part of its landmark 70th Anniversary Season, the California Youth Symphony celebrated the festive season with its annual Holiday Concert. Led by Music Director Leo Eylar, the CYS Senior Orchestra brought warmth, joy, and the thrill of live orchestral performance to the community, pairing bold classical showpieces with timeless seasonal traditions.
The afternoon began with Aaron Copland’s iconic Fanfare for the Common Man, filling the hall with stirring brass calls and booming percussion. The program then turned the spotlight onto two gifted young soloists. First, thirteen-year-old violinist David Wang joined the orchestra for the energetic, fiery Finale from Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. He was followed by bassoonist Sonny Young, who showcased the playful agility and singing tone of his instrument in the opening Allegro of Gioachino Rossini’s Bassoon Concerto.
The second half of the concert embraced the holiday spirit with a collection of beloved winter classics. Audiences were treated to Leroy Anderson’s lively Sleigh Ride and grand A Christmas Festival, Irving Berlin’s warm and nostalgic White Christmas, and a festive medley of traditional Christmas favorites. Bringing the celebration to a close, the orchestra performed the enchanting "Waltz of the Flowers" from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, wrapping up the concert on a bright and joyful note.
Featured Soloists
David Wang, Violin
Thirteen-year-old violinist David Wang performed the vibrant finale of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. A resident of San Jose and a ninth grader at Los Gatos High School, David began playing the violin at age six and studies with Pat Burnham. Although he initially won the CYS concerto competition in the winter of 2019, pandemic disruptions delayed his solo appearance until this special anniversary concert. Outside of music, David enjoys origami, playing badminton, and video games.
Sonny Young, Bassoon
Nineteen-year-old bassoonist Sonny Young returned to the CYS stage as a featured soloist in Rossini’s Bassoon Concerto. Sonny studied with Yueh Chou and spent three years playing in CYS from 2018 to 2020, serving as principal bassoonist in both the Associate Orchestra and the Senior Orchestra. During his high school years at Palo Alto High School, he performed in the bands, led the pep band, and was named first bassoon in both the Santa Clara County Honor Band and the California All-State Honor Symphony Orchestra. During his gap year, Sonny played with the virtual Yale Symphony Orchestra and served as principal bassoon in the Stanford Summer Symphony. He currently studies Chemistry at Stanford University, where he continues to perform actively with the Stanford Symphony Orchestra and Stanford Philharmonia.
March 2022 "A Festival Afternoon" Concert Overview
On March 6, 2022, at 1:00 PM, the California Youth Symphony presented "A Festival Afternoon" at the Cañada College Theatre in Redwood City, spotlighting the CYS Wind Symphony, the CYS Intermediate Strings Ensemble, and the CYS Associate Orchestra. The concert delivered an engaging afternoon of maritime adventures, Classical masterworks, and beloved orchestral showpieces under the leadership of conductors Leo Eylar, Pete Nowlen, and Kati Kyme.
The concert began with the CYS Wind Symphony, conducted by Pete Nowlen. The ensemble opened with Helen May Butler’s spirited Cosmopolitan America March (arranged by James Lamb) and the evocative colors of Li Chan’s Folksong of Midu. They then embarked on William Francis McBeth’s dramatic five-movement tone poem Of Sailors and Whales, based on Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. Interweaving vivid band scoring with spoken word, the performance featured student narrators Olivia Park ("Ishmael"), Ryan Wang and Trisha Liu ("Queequeg"), Aniruddha Iyengar ("Father Mapple"), Eunsu Cho ("Ahab"), and Ishaan Chandra ("The White Whale").
Next, the CYS Intermediate Strings Ensemble, led by Kati Kyme, took listeners on a journey through the Classical era. The ensemble opened with the lively energy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio. They followed with the tender, melancholic warmth of the opening "Allegro ma non troppo" from Franz Schubert’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 29, before concluding with the brisk, sparkling wit of the "Allegro molto quasi Presto" from Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2.
The CYS Associate Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Leo Eylar, brought the festival afternoon to an exhilarating close. Launching into the adventure and brassy heroics of John Williams’s Raiders March, the orchestra set a thrilling tone before welcoming featured young violinist Kayla Lee to the stage for Henri Wieniawski’s Scherzo-Tarantelle. Lee navigated the work's lightning-fast runs and rhythmic leaps with technical polish and expressive flair. The orchestra then delivered the famous, fate-driven "Allegro con brio" from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, before sweeping the audience toward a climactic finale with the stirring pageantry of Hector Berlioz’s "Hungarian March" from The Damnation of Faust and the frantic, intoxicating dance rhythms of Camille Saint-Saëns’s "Danse Bacchanale" from Samson and Dalila.
Concert Program
CYS Wind Symphony
Pete Nowlen, conductor
Cosmopolitan America March…Helen May Butler (1867–1957) | arr. James Lamb
Folksong of Midu…Li Chan (b. 1981)
Of Sailors and Whales…William Francis McBeth (1933–2012)
I. Ishmael (Olivia Park, narrator)
II. Queequeg (Ryan Wang & Trisha Liu, narrators)
III. Father Mapple (Aniruddha Iyengar, narrator)
IV. Ahab (Eunsu Cho, narrator)
V. The White Whale (Ishaan Chandra, narrator)
CYS Intermediate Strings Ensemble
Kati Kyme, conductor
Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio…Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
"Allegro ma non troppo" from String Quartet in A minor, Op. 29…Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
"Allegro molto quasi Presto" from String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2…Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
CYS Associate Orchestra
Leo Eylar, conductor
Raiders March…John Williams (b. 1932)
Scherzo-Tarantelle…Henri Wieniawski (1835–1880)
Kayla Lee, violin
"Allegro con brio" from Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67…Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
"Hungarian March" from The Damnation of Faust…Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)
"Danse Bacchanale" from Samson and Dalila…Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
March 2022 Senior Orchestra Concert
On March 13, 2022, at 2:30 PM, the California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra took the stage at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center for the second major concert of its milestone 70th Anniversary Season. Conducted by Music Director Leo Eylar, the performance showcased an ambitious and expressive program exploring twentieth-century masterworks, vibrant dance rhythms, and two compelling young soloists.
The concert opened with George Gershwin’s energetic "Cuban Overture," inspired by the composer’s vacation to Havana in 1932. Driven by authentic Afro-Cuban percussion, including bongos, maracas, and claves positioned near the front of the stage, the work delighted listeners with its irresistible rumba pulses and rich orchestral swing. Featured violinist Andromeda Kepecs then joined the orchestra for Alexander Glazunov’s Violin Concerto in A minor. Played continuously across two large movements, the concerto unfolds with seamless Romantic lyricism, leading through a demanding solo cadenza into a joyful, high-spirited rondo finale driven by playful brass fanfares.
The second half began with Arnold Schoenberg’s brilliant orchestration of the fourth movement of Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25: "Rondo alla zingarese". Schoenberg expanded Brahms's exhilarating Hungarian "gypsy rondo" into a dynamic symphonic showcase, unleashing full orchestral color and driving percussion rhythms. The afternoon concluded with Leonard Bernstein’s monumental Symphony No. 2, "The Age of Anxiety," for Piano and Orchestra, featuring pianist Parker Van Ostrand. Based on W. H. Auden’s poem, the six-part symphony traces four lonely individuals searching for meaning and faith in the modern world. Guided by the piano protagonist, the score travels from introspective variations and a sorrowful twelve-tone dirge to the dizzying, syncopated jazz rhythms of "The Masque" before resolving into a radiant, affirming epilogue of hope.
Featured Soloists
Andromeda Kepecs, Violin
Eighteen-year-old violinist Andromeda Kepecs, a senior at Menlo School, appeared as soloist in Glazunov’s Violin Concerto as a winner of the California Youth Symphony Young Artist Competition. Andromeda began playing violin at age three under Joel Pattinson and currently studies with David Chernyavsky of the San Francisco Symphony. She has served as concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2019 and previously performed for many years with the Golden State Youth Orchestra, where she was a five-time concerto competition winner.
Andromeda’s accolades include top honors at the Fremont Symphony Young Artist Competition and a fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival and School. An active chamber musician, she was a prizewinner at the Galante Chamber Music Competition with the Atlas Quartet and currently performs as first violinist in Quartet Cabaletta. Her summer studies include the Perlman Music Program, where she worked closely with Itzhak Perlman, Li Lin, and Catherine Cho. She will attend Columbia University in the fall.
Parker Van Ostrand, Piano
Pianist Parker Van Ostrand performed Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety with CYS, continuing a long association with the orchestra that included touring Latvia, Estonia, and Finland as featured soloist in Gershwin’s Concerto in F during the summer of 2018. Parker began studying piano at four and currently attends Stanford University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying under renowned pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Jon Nakamatsu.
A recognized talent on national and international stages, Parker took Third Prize and the Best Sonata Prize at the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition in 2020. He was named a 2021 Presidential Scholar in the Arts and a 2021 National YoungArts Finalist in Classical Music, alongside winning first prize at the 2020 National Steinway Piano Competition and second prize at the 2021 Canada International Piano Competition. His previous solo appearances include performances with the Merced Symphony, Auburn Symphony, Camellia Symphony, and the Frost Symphony Orchestra.
Season Finale Concert of Associate Orchestra and String Ensembles
On June 5, 2022, at 1:00 PM, the California Youth Symphony brought its milestone 70th Anniversary Season to a close with a celebratory Season Finale Concert at the Cañada College Theatre in Redwood City. Highlighting the expressive growth and musicianship of young performers across multiple stages of the CYS pathway, the afternoon program featured the CYS Intermediate Strings, CYS Junior Strings, and the CYS Associate Orchestra under the leadership of Music Director Leo Eylar and String Ensembles Conductor Kati Kyme.
Conductor Kati Kyme opened the concert with the CYS Intermediate Strings, guiding the ensemble through a thoughtful journey across classical styles. The group began with the dramatic, driving counterpoint of the "Allegro" from Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2 ("Quinten"), followed by the vibrant energy of C. P. E. Bach’s Symphony in G Major, Wq. 182/1. They concluded their set with the lush romantic lyricism of the "Allegro moderato" from Alexander Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2.
The CYS Junior Strings took the stage next, presenting a delightful and varied set of dances and classical gems. The young players performed four characterful movements from Peter Warlock’s Renaissance-inspired Capriol Suite—the spirited "Basse-Danse," the solemn "Pavane," the lively "Bransles," and the sword-dance motifs of "Mattachins". They continued with the buoyant, folk-infused "Scherzo" from Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 and the crisp Baroque textures of Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor, RV 522, before finishing with the infectious pulse of the "Jig" from Gustav Holst’s St. Paul's Suite.
The CYS Associate Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Leo Eylar, delivered an exhilarating final chapter to the 70th season. Opening with Modest Mussorgsky’s dramatic Night on Bald Mountain, the orchestra created a tempestuous, supernatural atmosphere of swirling winds and brass fanfares. Featured soloist Apple Gao then joined the orchestra to perform "Untold Legends" from Sergei Golovko’s Russian Marimba Concerto, displaying virtuosic mallet agility and warm percussive resonance.
The program turned next to Sergei Prokofiev’s evocative ballet music from Romeo and Juliet, contrasting the menacing, rhythmic weight of "Montagues and Capulets" with the frantic, tragic urgency of the "Death of Tybalt". Flutist Evelyn Wang was featured in Cécile Chaminade’s elegant Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 107, balancing delicate French lyricism with sparkling technical runs. To conclude the anniversary year on a festive note, the orchestra performed Arturo Márquez’s beloved Danzón No. 2, captivating the audience with sultry Latin melodies, rhythmic brass grooves, and an irrepressible dance momentum.
Concert Program
CYS Intermediate Strings
Kati Kyme, conductor
"Allegro" from Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2 ("Quinten")…Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Symphony in G Major, Wq. 182/1…Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788)
"Allegro moderato" from String Quartet No. 2 in D Major…Alexander Borodin (1833–1887)
CYS Junior Strings
Kati Kyme, conductor
Selections from Capriol Suite (1. Basse-Danse, 2. Pavane, 4. Bransles, 6. Mattachins)…Peter Warlock (1894–1930)
"Scherzo" from Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88…Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor, RV 522…Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
"Jig" from St. Paul's Suite…Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
CYS Associate Orchestra
Leo Eylar, conductor
Night on Bald Mountain…Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881)
"Untold Legends" from Russian Marimba Concerto…Sergei Golovko (b. 1959)
Apple Gao, marimba
Selections from Romeo and Juliet (Suite 2: "Montagues and Capulets"; Suite 1: "Death of Tybalt")…Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)
Concertino for Flute and Orchestra, Op. 107…Cécile Chaminade (1857–1944)
Evelyn Wang, flute
Danzón No. 2…Arturo Márquez (b. 1950)
