We have over 2,500 amazing alumni in our directory from AYS’ rich 56 year history. It is important to us that we keep our relationship going strong after your time playing with AYS. There are a few ways AYS Alumni can stay in touch.
Alumni Updates
Help keep our Alumni directory updated by completing this form and sharing your most updated contact information, success stories, and where you are today. You can find the form here.
Join the Community!
1. Join the AYS Alumni FB Group and connect with each other on music related opportunities, events, and conversations.
2. Receive the monthly AYS Alumni Newsletter. Sign up here.
3. Email us your favorite AYS Memory! We would love to hear from you and what you enjoyed about your time being in AYS. Email us at AYS@AYSymphony.org
Add Your Support
Consider making a monthly or one-time donation to AYS in support of musician stipends, community programs, and keeping our concerts free to audiences. Visit our “ways to give” page to learn how you can get involved.
AYS Alumni Trivia Night with Sheltered Trivia
Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 5:00pm Pacific
FREE! Registration Required. Hosted on Zoom.
The 56th Annual Gala Week celebration kicks off with a special event, exclusively for you. Gather virtually with friends and fellow AYS musicians for a fun night of trivia. Facilitated by Richard Londsdorf of Sheltered Trivia, small teams will work together to answer general trivia questions – competing against other teams to be the victor. Test your knowledge and meet and network with other AYS alumni and musicians.
Bring a drink and your savvy brain to this Alumni Night hosted on Zoom Thursday, May 27th at 5:00pm Pacific. Click the button below to register.
Alumni in Orchestras:
AYS Alumni have joined the finest orchestras, enjoy successful careers in recording, and are on the faculties of prestigious schools. Their success speaks to the impact of our training program. We value your updates to this incomplete list!
ALABAMA SYMPHONY
Richard Cassarino, bass
Brad Whitfield, assistant principal clarinet
ATLANTA SYMPHONY
Joseph McFadden, bass
AUCKLAND ORCHESTRA (New Zealand)
Sophia Acheson, viola
Jonah Levy, associate principal trumpet
Steven Logan, principal timpani
BERKELEY SYMPHONY
Franklyn d’Antonio, concertmaster & orchestra manager
Rene Mandel, executive director
Cheonho Yoon, principal trumpet
BOSTON SYMPHONY
Rachel Childers, horn
CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF PHILADELPHIA
Stephen Tavani, concertmaster
CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY Taylor Marino, principal clarinet Brice Burton, principal percussion
CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Philip Marten, assistant concertmaster
CHICAGO SYMPHONY
John Bruce Yeh, asst. principal clarinet
Karen Basrak, cello
CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
Stephen Tavani, asst. concertmaster Michael Sachs, principal trumpet
Richard Weiss, asst. principal cello
COLORADO SPRINGS PHILHARMONIC
Sergei Vassiliev, principal clarinet
COLORADO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Nicholas Recuber, asst. principal bass
DENMARK NATIONAL ORCHESTRA
Stanislav Zakrievski, violin
DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Bing Wang, violin
DETROIT SYMPHONY
Michael Ke Ma, asst. principal bassoon
Peter McCaffrey, cello
Shannon Orme, clarinet
Hang Su, viola
Robert Williams, principal bassoon
Johanna Yarbrough, horn
ENSEMBLE ORCHESTRAL DE PARIS
Joel Sultanian, viola
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY
Allan Steele, principal cello Anna Kolotylina, principal viola
GRAND RAPID SYMPHONY
Joel Schekman, bass clarinet
Hawaii Symphony
Anna Lenhart, principal horn
HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA
Tim Barr, principal bass
Nicole Bush, violin
Rose Corrigan, principal bassoon
Gregory Goodall, percussion
Armen Ksajikian, associate principal cello
Barry Newton, bass
Radu Pieptea, violin
INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Conrad Jones, principal trumpet
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
Maria Crosby, cello
Joseph Petrasek, associate principal percussion
Raymond Santos, principal clarinet
KITCHENER-WATERLOO SYMPHONY
Edwin Outwater, music director
KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Claire Chenette, principal oboe
Garrett McQueen, bassoon
LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Maia Jasper, violin
Armen Ksajikian, associate principal cello
Connie Kupka, violin
Damian Montano, bassoon
Searmi Park, violin
Steven Scharf, violin & personnel manager
David Washburn, principal trumpet
LOS ANGELES OPERA
Tamsen Beseke, violin
Ryan Darke, trumpet
Marlow Fisher, viola
Mary Gale, clarinet
Gregory Goodall, principal timpani
Jennifer Johnson, oboe & english horn
Jenny Kim, horn
Daniel Kelley, horn
William May, bassoon
Jayme Miller, violin
David Stenske, associate concertmaster
Andrew Ulyate, trumpet
John Walz, principal cello
Mark Zimosky, percussion
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
Kazue Asawa-McGregor, librarian
Raynor Carroll, percussion (retired)
Richard Elegino, viola
Jerry Epstein, viola (retired)
Barry Gold, cello
Michele Grego, bassoon
David Howard, clarinet
Matthew Howard, principal percussion
Ingrid Runde Hutman, viola
David Allen Moore, bass
Jeffrey Reynolds, bass trombone
Peter Rofe, bass
Brent Samuel, cello
Barry Socher, violin (retired)
Lawrence Sonderling, violin (retired)
Dennis Trembly, principal bass
Bing Wang, associate concertmaster
LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
Jack Pena, principal bassoon
MACAO ORCHESTRA (China)
Christian Goldsmith, principal trombone
Lu Ya, violin
MANCHESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Andrew Tang, viola
METROPOLITAN OPERA
Kari-Jane Docter, cello
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Ilana Setapen, associate concertmaster
Benjamin Adler, assistant principal clarinet
MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
Gregory Milliren, associate principal flute
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
James Zimmermann, principal clarinet
Patrick Kunkee, co-principal trumpet
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Paul DeNola, bass
NEW YORK CITY OPERA
Montgomery Hatch, percussion
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
Michelle Kim, assistant concertmaster
Roger Nye, bassoon
Cynthia Phelps, principal viola
Sheryl Staples, associate concertmaster
NORTH CAROLINA SYMPHONY
Sunrise Kim, cello
OREGON SYMPHONY
Silu Fei, viola Seth Bigolini, cello
PACIFIC SYMPHONY
Rose Corrigan, principal bassoon
Maia Jasper, violin
Marisa Sorajja, violin
PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
Brook Speltz, cello
PHOENIX SYMPHONY
Viviana Cumplido, principal flute
RENO PHILHARMONIC Makena Clark, violin
SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY
Marisa Bushman, viola
Martha Long, principal flute
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY
Benjamin Jaber, principal horn
Rose Lombardo, principal flute
Julia Pautz, violin Johanna Nowik, viola Yao Zhao, principal cello
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
Yun Chu, violin
Yun-Jie Liu, associate principal viola
Brian Marcus, bass
Bruce Roberts, horn
Daniel G. Smith, associate principal double bass
SANTA CRUZ SYMPHONY
Nigel Armstrong, concertmaster
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Eduardo Rios, 1st Assistant Concertmaster Sayaka Kokubo, viola Dana Jackson, 3rd Bassoon/ Contrabassoon
SHANGHAI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Julian Zheng, principal horn
SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Yu Ling Duan, violin
SPOKANE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Zhe Song, violin
ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY
Anna Spina, horn
SYMPHONY TACOMA Carrie Rexroat, horn
TORONTO SYMPHONY
Theodore Chan, bass
TUCSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Gabrielle Castriotta, oboe
Laura Odegaard-Stoutenborough, principal clarinet
Conrad Jones, principal trumpet
U.S. AIR FORCE
Christine Lightner, cello
U.S. ARMY FIELD BAND
J.G. Miller, principal horn
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
Ryan Zwahlen, principal oboe
VIRGINIA SYMPHONY
Gabriel Campos Zamora, principal clarinet
Alumni News:
Recent Accomplishments by AYS Alumni include:
Mariko de Napoli, first violin ’20: Accepted at Northwestern University for grad school
Mark Lillie, bass ’20: Aceepted to The Julliard School
Miles Mateus, contrabassoon ’20: Accepted to Glenn Gould School for grad school
Tatum Hodgson, cello ’20: Accepted to Cleveland Institute of Music
Johanna Nowik, principal viola ’20: viola section member for San Diego Symphony
Devan Jaquez, flute ‘19 won the 2nd prize for the 2021 Sphinx Excerpt Competition for the Woodwind Division
Sergio Coehlo, Principal Clarinet (2015-present):
Runner up in the Classics Alive Young Artists Auditions, and finalist in the 2018 Hennings-Fischer Young Artists Competition.
Adam Mendelsohn, violin ‘05 received his PhD in Bioengineering at UCSF/ UC Berkeley and founded a company (www.nanoprecisionmedical.com) which develops implantable devices that deliver medicine over many months for treatment of chronic diseases, starting with Type 2 Diabetes.
Coleman Itzkoff, cello ‘17 featured on NBC News in February 2021 for his virtual concerts with COVID-19 and Cancer patients with Project: Music Heals Us.
Garrett McQueen, Principal Bassoon ’11 hosted SiriusXM Symphony Halls Living American show in February 2021. Listen to Garrett weekly on his podcast, Trilloquy.
Geneva Lewis, violin ‘16 was awarded the 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Yvette Holzwarth, violin ‘08 released a new album Luka on Croatia Records in February 2021.
A significant number of alumni have joined the finest orchestras in the nation. Others enjoy successful careers in recording studios or on the faculties of prestigious schools. Their success speaks to the impact of our training program. Work on tracking our alumni is in progress. Please keep us informed by sending us a message. We value your updates!
“Though there are many factors that helped me achieve this next step in my career, the American Youth Symphony and all that are involved with the organization absolutely without a doubt started me on my journey to becoming a working professional musician.”
– Carrie Rexroat (Horn 2013-15)“That sense of communal risk taking within a safe laboratory probably shaped my approach to ensemble playing more than any other experience.”
– Allen Fogle (Horn, 2008-14), on discussing his time with AYS
ALABAMA SYMPHONY
Richard Cassarino, bass
Brad Whitfield, assistant principal clarinet
ATLANTA SYMPHONY
Joseph McFadden, bass
AUCKLAND PHILHARMONIA (New Zealand)
Sophia Acheson, viola
Jonah Levy, associate principal trumpet
Steven Logan, principal timpani
BERKELEY SYMPHONY
Franklyn d’Antonio, concertmaster & orchestra manager
Rene Mandel, executive director
Cheonho Yoon, principal trumpet
BOSTON SYMPHONY
Rachel Childers, horn
CHICAGO SYMPHONY
John Bruce Yeh, asst. principal clarinet
Karen Basrak, cello
CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA
Michael Sachs, principal trumpet
Richard Weiss, asst. principal cello
COLORADO SPRINGS PHILHARMONIC
Sergei Vassiliev, principal clarinet
COLORADO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Nicholas Recuber, asst. principal bass
DENMARK NATIONAL ORCHESTRA
Stanislav Zakrievski, violin
DETROIT SYMPHONY
Michael Ke Ma, asst. principal bassoon
Peter McCaffrey, cello
Shannon Orme, clarinet
Hang Su, viola
Robert Williams, principal bassoon
Johanna Yarbrough, horn
ENSEMBLE ORCHESTRAL DE PARIS
Joel Sultanian viola
FLORIDA ORCHESTRA
Natalie Hoe, principal clarinet
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Allan Steele, principal cello
GRAND RAPID SYMPHONY
Joel Schekman, bass clarinet
INDIANAPOLIS SYMPHONY
Conrad Jones, principal trumpet
KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
Maria Crosby, cello
Joseph Petrasek, associate principal percussion
Raymond Santos, principal clarinet
KITCHENER-WATERLOO SYMPHONY
Edwin Outwater, music director
KNOXVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Claire Chenette, principal oboe
Garrett McQueen, bassoon
HOLLYWOOD BOWL ORCHESTRA
Tim Barr, principal bass
Gregory Goodall, percussion
Barry Newton, bass
Radu Pieptea, violin
Kaila Potts, associate principal viola
HOUSTON SYMPHONY
Christian Schubert, clarinet
LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Maia Jasper, violin
Armen Ksajikian, associate principal cello
Connie Kupka, violin
Damian Montano, bassoon
Searmi Park, violin
Steven Scharf, violin & personnel manager
David Washburn, principal trumpet
LOS ANGELES OPERA
Tamsen Beseke, violin
Marisa Sorajja, associate principal 2nd violin
Ryan Darke, principal trumpet
Marlow Fisher, viola
Mary Gale, clarinet
Gregory Goodall, principal timpani
Jennifer Johnson, oboe & english horn
Jenny Kim, horn
Daniel Kelley, horn
William May, bassoon
Jayme Miller, violin
David Stenske, associate concertmaster
Andrew Ulyate, trumpet
John Walz, principal cello
Mark Zimosky, percussion
RECORDING MUSICIANS
Ronald Clark, violin
Drew Dembowski, bass
Marcia Dickstein, harp
Lisa Edelstein, flute
Michael Ferril, violin
Valeria Geller, violin
Jerome Gordon, viola
Justin Hageman, horn
Rhonni Hallman, violin
Dylan Hart, horn
Israel Heller, violin
Lars Hoef, cello
Ameena Khawaja, cello
Michele Kikuchi, violin
Katie Kirkpatrick, harp
Mary Ann Lakatos, cello
Roger Lebow, cello
Tawnee Lillo, horn
Ada Lis, flute
Horia Moroaica, violin
Barbara Northcutt, oboe
Grace Park, violin
Laura Pearson, viola
Ray Reinebach, violin
Geraldine Rotella, flute
Audrey Solomon, violin
Rodney Wirtz, viola
LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC
Jack Peña, principal bassoon
MACAO ORCHESTRA (China)
Christian Goldsmith, principal trombone
Lu Ya, violin
MANCHESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Andrew Tang, viola
METROPOLITAN OPERA
Kari-Jane Docter, cello
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Ilana Setapen, associate concertmaster
MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
Gregory Milliren, associate principal flute
Gabriel Campos Zamora, principal clarinet
NASHVILLE SYMPHONY
James Zimmermann, principal clarinet
NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Paul DeNola, bass
NEW YORK CITY OPERA
Montgomery Hatch, percussion
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
Michelle Kim, assistant concertmaster
Roger Nye, bassoon
Cynthia Phelps, principal viola
Sheryl Staples, associate concertmaster
OREGON SYMPHONY
Silu Fei, viola
PACIFIC SYMPHONY
Rose Corrigan, principal bassoon
Maia Jasper, violin
Marisa Sorajja, violin
PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
Brook Speltz, cello
PHOENIX SYMPHONY
Viviana Cumplido, principal flute
SAN ANTONIO SYMPHONY
Marisa Bushman, viola
Martha Long, principal flute
SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY
Benjamin Jaber, principal horn
Rose Lombardo, principal flute
Julia Pautz, violin
Yao Zhao, principal cello
SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
Yun Chu, violin
Yun-Jie Liu, associate principal viola
Brian Marcus, bass
Bruce Roberts, horn
Daniel G. Smith, associate principal double bass
SANTA CRUZ SYMPHONY
Nigel Armstrong, concertmaster
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Sayaka Kokubo, viola
SINGAPORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Yu Ling Duan, violin
ST LOUIS SYMPHONY
Anna Spina, horn
TORONTO SYMPHONY
Theodore Chan, bass
TUCSON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Gabrielle Castriotta, oboe
Laura Odegaard-Stoutenborough,
…. principal clarinet
Conrad Jones, principal trumpet
US AIR FORCE
Christine Lightner, cello
VANCOUVER SYMPHONY
Ryan Zwahlen, principal oboe
VIRGINIA SYMPHONY
Gabriel Campos Zamora, principal clarinet
