Camarades - Winter Vivaldi

Candice Lee began studying violin at age nine in Taiwan and soon joined the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra. After moving to California in the ninth grade, she joined the Orange County Youth Symphony, where she served as concertmaster for multiple seasons, won the Concerto Competition, and participated in music education and community outreach, including a performance and live broadcast at Seacrest Studios at CHOC Hospital. Her former private instructors include Tangent Tang and James Stern. Candice currently studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music under the guidance of Movses Pogossian and Madalyn Parnas Möller.

Sina Kalkan, born in 2007, is a Bay Area violinist who began studying at age three at the Crowden School with Robert Donehew. Since fourth grade, he has been deeply involved in chamber music, performing extensively as both a violinist and violist. By twelve, he entered the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Joseph Maile, Hegine Boloyan, and Zack Grafilo, and presenting frequent recitals. Now an undergraduate at UCLA under Varty Manouelian and Movses Pogossian, Sina has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral leader in major international venues, earning numerous awards and festival acceptances through his expressive and versatile playing.

Lucas Nguyen, 19, has been captivating audiences with his violin playing since age four. After studying with Michelle Park for fourteen years, he is now under the mentorship of Ji Young An and Movses Pogossian at UCLA, honing his highly expressive style. Lucas has previously served as Concertmaster of the Irvine Honors Symphony Orchestra in Orange County, and principal violin in the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. His accolades include being selected for the California All-State Symphony Orchestra in 2024, a semi-finalist for the Orange County Artist of the Year Award, and top honors at the Satori Music Festival, VOCE, ASTA, and the American Protégé International Concerto Competition.

Aerin Lee began studying violin at the age of 8. She has studied with Margaret Lysy and Henry Gronnier from Colburn Academy. She has been involved with many chamber and orchestral groups, serving as concertmistress of her high school orchestra for 2 years. She is now an undergraduate student at the Herb Alpert School of Music, studying under Varty Manouelian and Movses Pogossian.

Eliana Tang is a first-year undergraduate at UCLA. She began playing violin at age three and studies with Varty Manouelian and Movses Pogossian. A seven-time prizewinner of the U.S. International Music Competition, she has also earned top prizes at the Asian International Youth Art Festival and U.S. Open Music Competition. Her training includes the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Indiana University’s Summer Academy, Shkolnikova Academy, and the Young Chamber Musicians program. Eliana also performed for four seasons with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She was previously mentored by David Chernyavsky, Chen Zhao, and the Alexander String Quartet.

Lucas Liu, born in 2007, grew up in Vancouver, Canada. He began learning the violin at the age of 6 under the guidance of his mother, Lili Lu, and is currently continuing his studies at UCLA with Professor Ji Young An. Throughout his years as a musician, Lucas has participated in the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he was the co-concertmaster of the Intermediate Ensemble before joining the Senior Ensemble. He also participated in the Vancouver Kiwanis and Richmond Music Festivals, where he would earn gold awards annually. Aside from music, Lucas likes playing poker with his friends, listening to music, and going shopping.

Joseph Kim is a first-year violinist from Denver, Colorado who began studying the violin at the age of five under the guidance of his mother. He continued studying with her until his freshman year of high school, when he began studying with James Maurer. Joseph served as concertmaster of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, where he won the Young Artists’ Concerto Competition in 2023, performing the complete Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. In 2024, he won the Lakewood Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Concerto Competition and performed the full Barber Violin Concerto. He has also been recognized in several other competitions, placing second in both the 2024 Loveland Symphony Young Artist Competition and the 2024 Broomfield Symphony Young Artist Competition.

Joshua Kim grew up in Diamond Bar, California and has been playing the violin since he was in middle school. He has studied with Linda Rose, Susan Kim, and Joanna Lee, continuing his studies with professors Movses Pogossian and Ji Young An. Joshua attended Diamond Bar High School, participating in both the Symphony Orchestra and the Performing Arts Academy, where he gained his passion for ensemble performance. He has gained recognition from numerous programs, including first place at the JCM Chamber Music Competition as well as CalAsta. Outside of music, Joshua enjoys community service for animals, going to the gym, and listening to Korean music.

Charlie Hong is a Freshman in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In his spare time, he does all things active: running, swimming, and biking. His favorite composers are Rachmaninoff and Saint-Saens.