Amy Villanova is the coordinator of instrumental music at Canyon Crest Academy, where she currently teaches wind bands and orchestras. She serves as a board member of both the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA) and California Band Directors Association (CBDA). She has traveled with her ensembles and as a guest conductor throughout Europe, China, and Cuba. Villanova is a proud Bruin, with her BA in music from UCLA, specializing in music education and flute performance. She received her teaching credential from SDSU and her master of music education from USC. She has received a number of awards, including the 2020 California Music Educators Association (CMEA) State Band Director of the Year.

Jens Lindemann is hailed as one of the most celebrated soloists in his instrument’s history and was recently named “International Brass Personality of the Year” (Brass Herald). Lindemann has played in every major concert venue in the world: from the Philharmonics of New York, Los Angeles, London, and Berlin to Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and even the Great wall of China.

His career has ranged from appearing internationally as an orchestral soloist, performing at London’s ‘Last Night of the Proms’, recording with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to playing lead trumpet with the renowned Canadian Brass and a solo Command Performance for the Queen of England. Lindemann has also won major awards ranging from Grammy and Juno nominations to winning the prestigious Echo Klassik in Germany as well as receiving an honorary doctorate.

Classically trained at the renowned Juilliard School in New York, Lindemann’s proven ability to perform as a diverse artist places him at the front of a new generation of musicians. He has performed as soloist and recording artist with classical stars such as Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Angel Romero, Doc Severinsen, Charles Dutoit, Gerard Schwarz, Eiji Oue, Bramwell Tovey and Jukka Pekka Saraste. Having recorded for BMG, EMI , CBC and the BBC, Lindemann is helping to redefine the idea of the concert artist by transcending stylistic genres and the very stereotype of his instrument by performing with “impeccable attacks, agility and amazing smoothness” (The Clarin, Buenos Aires).

A prodigious talent, Lindemann performed as a soloist with orchestras and won accolades at numerous festivals while still in his teens. A prizewinner at numerous competitions including the prestigious ARD in Munich, Jens also placed first, by unanimous juries, at both the Prague and Ellsworth Smith (Florida) International Trumpet Competitions in 1992. Since then, he has performed solos with orchestras including, the London Symphony, Philadelphia, Beijing, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Buenos Aires Chamber, Atlanta, Washington, Seattle, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Montreal, Toronto, national Arts Centre, Vancouver, Warsaw, Welsh Chamber, I Musici de Montreal, St. Louis, and Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center.

Heralded internationally as an outstanding artist, critics have stated: “He played with golden timbre and virtuosic flair” (New York Times)“, “a world-class talent” (Los Angeles Times), “it was one of the most memorable recitals in International Trumpet Guild history” (ITG), “performed brilliantly in the North American premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Concerto with the Toronto Symphony” (Toronto Star), and “he gave the virtuoso highlight of the evening with the Montreal Symphony”.

As one of the world’s most exciting trumpet soloists, Los Angeles based Lindemann is internationally endorsed by the Yamaha Corporation and performs exclusively on 24K gold plated trumpets.

The trumpet is capable of being played with the virtuosity of a violin, the tenderness of the human voice and the stylistic flexibility of the piano. It allows me an endless range of communication with audiences.” – Jens Lindemann

About
Canyon Crest Academy is a public high school in the middle of San Diego County that is home to the Envision Arts program. Envision is a highly collaborative program that celebrates dance, film, visual arts, theater, vocal and instrumental music, and the humanities. The CCA Wind Ensemble is an audition-based ensemble comprising students from ninth to twelfth grade. This ensemble has worked with many notable conductors and composers, most recently Michael Markowski and Rossano Galante, and has commissioned a number of works for wind band from composers such as David Maslanka, Giovanni Santos, and Adam Schoenberg.

Piccolo
Evan Martinez

Flute
Aditi Asuri
Celine Chiu
Jonny Guo
Emily Huang
Chi-Shiang Hwu
Lauren Ko
Maggie Liang
Mina Park

Clarinet
Quan Ho
Andy Wang
Dylan Kim
Sophia Kim
Jun Kim
Rachel Kwon
Hannah Lo
Isaac Stevens
Andrew Jahng

Bass Clarinet
Olivia Ko

Bassoon
Darren Hack
Henry Hobson

Alto Saxophone
Paaramita Asuri
Steven Chen
Evan Mu

French Horn
Nash Massura
Rohan Singh
Chris Ye

Trumpet
Derek Chen
Clare Cooney
Gloria Chen
Evan Kim
Hongting Liu
Ava Lo
Yuichiro Sano
Braylon Tanaka
Stuart Tomaney

Trombone
Andrew McPhie
Misha Schnaider

Euphonium
Ethan Yue
Maria Paraskevopoulos

Tuba
Karl Terry Lorenzo

Percussion
Onyu Kim
Macy Metallo
Yoyo Wu
Daniel Zhang
Mimi Zhao

Flute
Taj Aliotta
Emma Lee
Asher Komor
Ksenia Mezhenny
Sohee Park

Oboe
Emma Crawford
Emily Garcia
Dora Lee
Amelie Yap

Bassoon
Nico Andrade
Aaron Colon
Davis Lerner
Dani Santana

Clarinet
Michelle Benitez
Adam Gilberti
Christina Grandinetti
Sean He
Daniel Hernandez
Max Kaminsky
Esther Kim
Ria Rizo
Christian Santos
Damian Silvera
Maeve Urban

Saxophone
Teddy Benard
Brooklyn Bonsall
Catrina Currier
Austin Hailey
Yesun Lee
Qeanu Smith
Aidan Tatlongharioi
William Wu

Horn
Noah Arst
Julian Dohi
Em Ellis
Kazuki Iimura
Cameron Rhees

Trumpet
Emma Breen
Macrae Eckelberry
Morgan Michalik
Andrew Schult
Nick Washburn

Trombone
Madison Berchtold
Haiden Chase
Sebastian Martinez
Kenny Tran
Raphael Angelo Yap

Euphonium
Henry Morales
Ian Sun
Diego Vogel

Tuba
Bishop Plaza
Yiqiao (Peter) Wang

String Bass
Luca Lesko

Percussion
Demitrius Alleyne
Maddie Bottenberg
Tu Han Huynh
Isaiah Gilliam
Isaac Gonzalez
Julie Xiang

Piano
Terry Hsu

Harp
Nina Zipnick

Kai Herrick is originally a native of Los Angeles. Herrick is a San Diego-based music educator and trumpet and french horn player. Having started his musical journey in the Glendale Unified School District, Herrick went on to receive an associate of arts in music from Pasadena City College, bachelor of music in music education from San Diego State University, and is currently completing his teaching credential through San Diego State University at Canyon Crest Academy, with the guidance of Amy Villanova. Outside of school, Herrick holds membership with the California Music Educators Association and is a brother in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Brooke Farrar is an active conductor and music educator currently serving as a graduate teaching assistant in wind conducting at UCLA, where she is pursuing a master of music in wind conducting under the mentorship of Travis J. Cross. In her assistantship role, she supports the instruction and administration of the “Solid Gold Sound” UCLA Marching Band under Justin McManus and serves as a guest conductor for the UCLA Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Brass Ensemble. Farrar also works with Blue Devils Performing Arts and advocates for equity in music.

Andrew Fresquez is an educator, clinician, and adjudicator based out of Southern California. He is currently a graduate student at UCLA, pursuing a master of music in wind conducting, studying under Travis J. Cross. At UCLA, Fresquez collaborates with and serves as teaching assistant for the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and the “Solid Gold Sound” Bruin Marching Band. In addition, he also guest conducts the Brass Ensemble and uclaFLUX contemporary music ensemble. He received his bachelor of music in instrumental performance on bass trombone at California State University, Fullerton, with an emphasis in music education. Previous conducting instructors include Dustin Barr, Gregory Whitmore, and Jeff Malecki.

Jinzhe Zhang is a conductor and educator whose work bridges performance, pedagogy, and cross-cultural exchange. He is pursuing a doctor of musical arts in wind conducting at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music under Travis J. Cross. Before UCLA, he served as the director and lecturer of the Chengdu University Symphonic Band, leading concerts and developing educational collaborations across China. Over the past decade, he has conducted free wind music education programs in dozens of primary and secondary schools across China, with the aim of cultivating a new generation of musicians. His work continues to advance the wind ensemble tradition through teaching, scholarship, and performance.