Camarades - Winter Vivaldi

Aidan Woodruff, Cello, a member of UCLA’s Cello Studio, studies under the direction of Sarah Koo and Yoshika Masuda.

Erin Tsui, from California is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance under the tutelage of Movses Pogossian and Ji Young An, and a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science at UCLA. She has won numerous awards in competitions such as the US Open Music Competition, Korean American Music Supporters Association Music Competition, and Junior Bach Festival. Having previously played in the California Youth Symphony, Korean American Music Supporters Association Orchestra, California All-State Symphony Orchestra, East Bay Chamber Music Festival, and attended the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Institute at the Kennedy Center, she desires to pursue a career in orchestral music and explore new colors and mediums in which an ensemble can create sound. Outside of the practice room, Erin enjoys understanding how others express themselves creatively through reading and discovering new films to watch.

Cello, a member of UCLA’s Cello Studio, studies under the direction of Ben Hong.

James Renk, grew up in a musical family. His parents are clarinetists in the San Diego Symphony, inspiring him and his brother to also pursue music. With the choice of the violin, he pursued music as a passion at the age of 7. He eventually switched to viola at the age of 12 because he found the rich and darker tone more appealing. He studied with the principal violist of the San Diego Symphony, Chi-Yuan Chen, for many years. He eventually chose to go to UCLA because he wanted to study with the renowned violist Brian Chen. Studying music has been part of his entire life, having many opportunities to perform in youth orchestras and chamber music competitions over the years. As he continues to pursue music, he strives to become a professional musician in a major orchestra or become a touring chamber musician.

Jason Chen, Presently, Jason is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music at the University of California Los Angeles. He currently studies the violin under Professors Movses Pogossian and Professor Ji Young An and is part of the UCLA Philharmonia Orchestra. In the past, he was the concertmaster of the Glendale Youth Orchestra and garnered top prizes in esteemed competitions like the Great Composers Competition, the US New Star International Strings Competition, the Tiziano Rossetti International Music Competition, Beethoven Young Musician International Competition, and the New York International Classical Music Competition.

Beyond his musical pursuits, Jason also plays a role as an arts administrator in the Back to Bach Project. As regional director of the San Fernando Valley branch, he holds tri-annual meetings to propose and discuss ideas for video production projects. Utilizing his skills, he edits and produces three projects yearly using iMovie, exploring diverse topics such as Music in the Baroque Era, The Orchestra, Music in the Contemporary Era, and Music in the Impressionistic Era. Jason is also the president of SCV Musicteers, a club passionate about bringing classical music to the community, performing monthly concerts in senior residencies. He hopes his arts administrative work can
help make the arts accessible to the greater community.

Johannes Eberhart, is a music education major at UCLA currently studying violin under Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian. Johannes comes from Rancho Palos Verdes and began studying violin in the 4th grade through his elementary school’s music program. Since then, he has been assistant principal second violin in the Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra under the batons of Christian Măcelaru and Roderick Cox, has participated in the SCSBOA Honor Orchestra, and has studied chamber music in the Colburn Community School of the Performing Arts under the coaching of violist Katherine Vincent.

In addition to the violin, he has a passion for conducting, currently studying with Dean Anderson and receiving guidance from Professor Neal Stulberg. Johannes has conducted the Palos Verdes High School Chamber Orchestra in several concerts, was music director for shows such as “Something Rotten” and “Peter and the Starcatcher”, and has conducted the Northern Illinois University Philharmonic Orchestra in a recent orchestral conducting symposium.

In additional areas, Johannes has studied jazz piano for several years and is very passionate about teaching, having taught violin and piano to several young students as well as working as a teaching assistant for the Amuse String Chamber Orchestra. He is very happy to be refining his understanding of music pedagogy and improving as a teacher under Dr. Lily Chen- Hafteck.

Leon Cho, is a first year Cello Performance Major at UCLA. Leon grew up in Irvine and have been studying Cello since the age of 7. Their background is filled with classical music as both of their siblings as well as their father all play a classical instrument. Leon is currently studying with Professor Koo as well as Professor Yoshika here at the UCLA Cello Studio. In the past Leon has participated in multiple music ensembles such as All State orchestra and JCM trio. They have also competed and achieved awards in multiple competitions such as ASTA (American String Teachers Association) as well as the Satori Summer Music festival.

Leon Simmans, Bass, a member of UCLA’s Bass Studio, studies under the direction of Chris Hanulik.

Mana Tatsuki, is a freshman at the University of Los Angeles pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance under the tutelage of Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian while also studying a Bachelor of Science in Physiological Sciences. Former music mentors include Jin-Shan Dai, Peter Marsh, Hana Kim, Martin Chalifour, Moni Simeonov, Dr. Mathew Ward, and Dr. Sakura Tsai.

As an experienced advocate for stage productions, Mana was a member of the L.A. Opera’s featured production of “On Gold Mountain” and recently won a seat with the California Young Artists Symphony. Her dedication and responsibilities as Assistant to the Music Director for gala, musical, ballet, and opera productions have informed her appreciation for all performing arts.

As a graduate of the California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley, Mana was a lauded leader in the Strings and Orchestra Program and Instrumental Music Conservatory where she acted as concertmaster of the CSArts-SGV orchestras and performed in the flagship chamber ensemble during her tenure. Mana has previously attended numerous summer programs including Interlochen Arts Camp Boston
University Tanglewood Institute’s Violin Workshop—Young Artists Orchestra program where she served
as assistant principal second violin.

With her colleagues, Mana also co-founded the non-profit organization group ARCK Chamber, which performs in hospitals and retirement centers and provides immersive musical experiences to those who have limited access to live classical performances.

Naohiro Nadahara, is currently a student at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, pursuing a Cello Performance BM under the guidance of Dr. Yoshika Masuda. With just over ten years on the instrument, he has enjoyed a wide spread of classical opportunities — from solo opportunities in the Cantus International Music Festival in Vienna to orchestral opportunities with the American Youth Symphony — that have only solidified his love and motivation in the music world.

Outside of the cello, Nao enjoys composition, the nerdy sciences, playing Phil soccer, Star Wars, and enjoying his first year at UCLA.

Nathan Robinson, is a freshman violinist studying with Movses Pogossian and Ji Young An, and he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Violin performance. He loves ensemble playing, especially chamber music, which his previous teacher introduced him to in his junior year of high school. Nathan grew up in San Diego and began playing at seven. After taking a several-year hiatus due to adversity to the instrument, he picked up violin again in his freshman year of high school, where he studied at San Diego Music Academy with Paul Wang. Nathan’s goal with his playing is to perform an interpretation he believes encapsulates the true spirit and potential of the piece, while also pleasing the audience.