Concierto benéfico

Celicia Thendean, 18, began piano studies at age four with her mother and Prof. Anna Poklewski, later advancing with Ilana Vered. She has performed with the Brunensis Virtuosi Orchestra, Livermore-Amador Symphony, SEEN Orchestra, Palo Alto Philharmonic, Korea Seocho Philharmonia, and twice with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Celicia has earned top prizes in numerous competitions, including the Piano Texas International Festival Concerto Competition, Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, Claudette Sorel Piano Competition, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Philadelphia International Music Festival, and is a three-time MTAC VOCE State Winner. She was inducted into the prestigious Young Artists Guild in 2025 and received a scholarship from the Chopin Foundation in 2024. She has participated in esteemed programs including the Juilliard Summer Piano Program, Piano Texas, Music Fest Perugia, Southeastern Piano Festival, Philadelphia International Music Festival, Edward Auer Summer Workshop, and the Vivace Music Festival where she earned the Vivace Award in 2020, which led to a performance in Wilmington, North Carolina alongside Marina Lomazov, Joseph Rackers, and Ara Gregorian. In addition to piano, Celicia plays cello, oboe, english horn, and clarinet—reaching MTAC Panel Honors on cello and earning the position of concertmaster for the All-Northern Honor Band on oboe.

Chiara Thendean is a 16-year-old violinist from Pleasanton, California. She currently studies with Mrs. Wenyi Shih. She started playing violin at the age of 6 under a local teacher, Mrs. Lisa Xu. A year later, she was accepted into the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Program, where she participated for three years under the tutelage of Mr. Davis Law. Here, she was exposed to her first orchestral experiences playing in SFCM’s pre-college youth orchestra. In 2021, she won the Grand Prize at the Indonesian International Young Musician Competition. In 2022, she debuted playing the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Virtuosi Brunenses Orchestra at MusicFest Perugia in Italy. A year later, she had the opportunity to play the Bach Double Concerto alongside my former teacher, Chloe Kiffer, in the same festival. In middle school, she participated in the 2023 and 2024 California Junior High School All-State String Orchestra and Symphonic Band. As a freshman in high school, she was invited to be a guest conductor for Harvest Park Middle School’s Wind Ensemble in their performance at the California All-State Music Education Conference. In 2025, she participated in CODA’s Honors Symphony. Currently, she is in her school’s Wind Ensemble I. She played with the Kootenay Quartet at the Heifetz Music Festival, and at home, she has played with the Harmonious Three and the Dolce Trio. The Dolce Trio performed at the 2023 East Bay Chamber Music Festival and won first prize at the US Open chamber music competition.

Alanice Tam is a junior at Mission San Jose High School. She is a member of Golden State Youth Orchestra and has participated in a concert tour across France and Spain. She is a three-time participant in the California All-State Orchestra and holds ABRSM Grade 8 Distinction certifications in cello and piano. She has also been honored to receive recognition in competitions including the San Francisco Innovative International Music Competition, the American Virtuoso, and the United States International Music Competitions. Equally committed to music as a vehicle for community connection, Alanice volunteers weekly as a cellist at a hospital. Additionally, she performs solo recitals and provides bedside music for residents at a skilled nursing facility. At her high school, she serves as president of the music club, organizing rehearsals and leading outreach performances. She is also a programs manager for Art of the Heart, where she organizes monthly concerts at senior assisted living centers, recruiting volunteer musicians and curating engaging programs.

Mark impartió clases de orquesta, banda, jazz y coro durante 35 años en la preparatoria Amador Valley, la preparatoria San Mateo y la escuela intermedia Pleasanton. En la última década, las orquestas de la preparatoria Amador Valley se han presentado cuatro veces en la Conferencia Estatal de Educadores Musicales de California. El Sr. Aubel ha sido nombrado "Profesor del Año" en dos ocasiones, incluyendo el reconocimiento local del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Pleasanton. Ha tocado con Jamey Aebersol, Lou Rawles, Clay Aiken y muchos otros. Actualmente, participa activamente en todo el estado como director invitado, jurado, músico profesional, compositor publicado y mentor de nuevos profesores de música.

Ewen Tsai comenzó sus estudios musicales a temprana edad, aprendiendo piano y violonchelo en Taiwán. Posee una doble maestría en Interpretación Musical y Educación Musical por la Universidad de Illinois en Urbana-Champaign, EE. UU., y obtuvo su licenciatura en Música por la Universidad Estatal de Washington con honores. Ewen cuenta con más de 20 años de experiencia docente, ha formado parte del profesorado de instrumentos de cuerda y educación musical en diversas instituciones, y ha recibido premios por su investigación sobre el Currículo Musical Integrado. Sus arreglos se han interpretado internacionalmente, incluyendo el Concierto del Centenario del Violonchelo en Taiwán (2020) y Cello Paradiso en el 49.º Festival de Música de Estambul (2021). Sus alumnos han obtenido los máximos honores en numerosos concursos, evaluaciones y audiciones de orquesta. A Ewen le apasiona interpretar todo tipo de música y colaborar con diversas expresiones artísticas, como la danza y las exposiciones. Para seguir impulsando su carrera musical, Ewen participó activamente en clases magistrales y talleres, incluyendo los de Mischa Maisky (violonchelo), Jennifer Culp (violonchelo), Forrest Kinney (composición) y Pablo Ziegler (composición). De 2012 a 2019, representó al norte de California en la convención anual de la MTAC. Entre 2016 y 2020, fue elegida presidenta de la filial de la Asociación de Profesores de Música de California durante dos mandatos, y organizó y coordinó conciertos, concursos, recitales de estudiantes, clases magistrales y conferencias. (La Asociación de Profesores de Música de California®, constituida en 1897, es una organización profesional dedicada a la excelencia en la educación musical. Con más de 6000 profesores, el Certificado de Mérito® (CM) es el programa de evaluación musical con mayor participación en Estados Unidos).

Fonny Chandra started playing piano at the age of four. She gave her first performance at that age in a children’s television program. By the age of nine, she had appeared in many concerts and television programs. In the same year, she joined Yamaha Junior Original Concert (JOC), an organization that teaches music composition to talented young musicians. She composed several pieces while studying in JOC. She made several appearances throughout Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. In 2004, she won Notre Dame de Namur Concerto Competition and performed Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Redwood Symphony. In summer 2006, Ms. Chandra was invited, and attended Bosendörfer Piano Academy in Vienna. Ms. Chandra has over 17 years of teaching experience in piano lessons. Some of her students have been accepted in music conservatories in China. In 2002, she gave a piano workshop to piano teachers in Surabaya, Indonesia, and became one of the co-founders of Quatro Music Education School there. In 2007, with her teacher Ms. Anna Poklewski, and her colleague Ms. Bianca Roesli, she founded the Anna Poklewski Academy of Music. https://www.annapoklewskiacademyofmusic.com/piano-instructors

Daniel Su, de 18 años, es oboísta y percusionista originario de Pleasanton, California. Comenzó a tocar el piano a los ocho años, luego el oboe en la escuela secundaria y la percusión en la preparatoria. Daniel estudia oboe con Elizabeth Henderson y ha participado como percusionista en la banda de música y en el programa de percusión de invierno de la preparatoria Amador Valley durante cuatro años. En su penúltimo año de preparatoria, estudió con el oboísta James Moore en el programa preuniversitario del Conservatorio de Música de San Francisco y tocó con la Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil de Los Ángeles.

Amador Valley High School and Harvest Park Middle School musicians comprise the Strand Symphony. In addition, The Livermore Choir will perform vocal selections. The talent and dedication of these artists is a gift to our community.