PAST INSTRUCTORS OF THE VYMA
Elina |
Elina Fu was a Grade 12 student at Killarney Secondary School who has grown to love the art of music ever since she was introduced to violin in Grade 3. With endless curiosity, she loves to explore new instruments, and has learnt guitar and ukulele through elementary school and youtube. In her leisure time, Elina loves listening to music, fencing, and admiring the sky. Elina has fallen in love with the way music can express emotions unexplainable through words, and hopes to teach and show students the possibilities music has to enhance their lives.
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Matteya |
Matteya was a Grade 12 student at Killarney Secondary School. They were introduced to the violin in the elementary school program. Ever since they began to pursue the violin further along with playing the piano. They picked up many instruments like guitar and ukulele for fun, and enjoy broadening their musical taste. In 2023, they were in Killarney's Honour Strings Orchestra. They hope to bring the same passion for music to young kids the same way it was brought to them at that age. During their free time they enjoy running, speed cubing, listening and making music, and reading.
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Andrew |
Andrew was a 12th-grade student at Killarney Secondary School. He was a part of Killarney’s Honour Strings Orchestra, and he has been playing the violin for 7+ years. Starting from private lessons and then to his elementary strings program in 4th grade, and Killarney’s Honour Strings. He hopes VYMA will allow him to share the valuable knowledge that he’s learned over the years as a violinist. Aside from playing violin, he likes to draw, paint, go out with friends and listen to music.
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Kayla |
Kayla was a grade 12 at Killarney Secondary School. Since kindergarten, Kayla has always been fascinated with music. She started off with playing the piano, going all the way up to RCM level 8. In grade 4, Kayla branched out to play the violin as well. Although sounding squeaky at first, she kept on practicing and improving. Since then, she has joined Killarney Honour Strings. Along with music as one of her passions, Kayla also enjoys programming. She has made video games and taught children how to make a website.
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Rachel |
Rachel Tse was a grade 12 student at Killarney Secondary School. First starting with piano, she moved to violin in grade 4 and has been playing ever since. In grade 8, she joined Killarney strings and made it to Honours in grade 11. Rachel enjoys teaching and wants to spread her knowledge of music to younger students. She is happy to be a part of VYMA and wants to be able to give opportunity to learn music. In her free time, Rachel likes baking and hanging out with her dog.
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Steven |
Steven was a grade 12 student at Killarney Secondary School. He has played the violin for three years until he switched to play the cello in grade 8. He has been part of the Killarney Strings orchestra since the beginning of high school. He hopes to help contribute to the school community by sharing the passion and knowledge of playing a stringed instrument to younger students. Besides playing the cello, Steven likes to play sports and enjoys cooking.
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Boris |
Boris was a Grade 11 IB student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary and played for his school's Senior Orchestra. He learned and played the violin while enrolled in the Strings Program at Dr. Annie B. Jamieson Elementary, where he made many fond memories from playing in school concerts and more. Participating in his Elementary School’s Advanced Orchestra in Grade 7, he played in musical events such as the Kiwanis Music Festival held at Kwantlen Polytechnic University for the year of 2018. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, listening to lo-fi music, and learning new languages. He hoped to advance in his musical skills, and to help students enjoy the art of music.
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Sofia |
Sofia was a grade 12 student currently in the IB program at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. She had been playing violin for 10 years, and received her RCM ARCT diploma in the summer of 2020. She was a member of the Senior Orchestra in the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. Aside from playing the violin, Sofia also enjoyed studying other aspects of music, such as music history and counterpoint. Sofia appreciated VYMA for giving her an opportunity to work alongside its wonderful mentors and students. In her free time, Sofia enjoys reading and crocheting. Sofia was a member of the Good Guys club and the Boxes of Hope club at Churchill as well, she enjoyed collaborating and learning with others. She looks forward to continuing her musical career and thanks the wonderful community at VYMA!
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Bella
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Bella Chan was a Grade 11 IB student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary and is greatly enjoying her first year as a member of VYMA. Bella has 14 years of piano practice under her belt and is passionate about sharing her music with others. As the piano accompanist for VYMA, her goal was to help each mentee experience have their violin melodies enriched with piano harmonies. Bella also plays the cello and had 3 years of orchestra experience. Although she is more familiar with the piano, she experiences great joy when playing with other musicians as an ensemble. She hoped mentees could also experience these same joys post-pandemic. She is eager to continue acquiring new musical knowledge and skills and gained this through partnering with mentees on their musical journey!
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Bryan |
Bryan Jiang was a grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. He began playing the violin at the age of 10. Bryan’s favourite aspect of the violin is meeting the talented people of the musical world whether they are competitors at a music festival or fellow members of an orchestra. Through connecting with others, Bryan grew to share a common passion for the violin. He learned greatly from his experiences and hoped to share his knowledge with his students. When he is not practicing, Bryan can be found working on his karate moves or watching in his favourite TV shows.
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Clarinda
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Clarinda was the president of 2018/19 - 2019/20 VYMA. She is one of the graduates of 2020, and is studying the Bioinformatics program at Langara college. She has a huge passion for music and has developed a lot of interest in playing in an orchestra and as a choir piano accompanist. Clarinda also played in various music ensembles such as quartet, chamber orchestra, strings ensemble, and symphony orchestra. She was a second violin principal of both HK Junior Chamber Ensemble and HK Youth Strings Orchestra as well as the concertmaster of SWC Senior Strings, she built strong leadership in music. VYMA gave Clarinda a lot of opportunities, and a chance to teach youth musicians; she was a recipient of the 2020 Ministry of Education District Scholarship - Fine Arts. Although her post-secondary major is not related to music, she will never stop playing violin and piano in her life. From all the music experiences she has had, she aims to give back to VYMA and continue to support them after graduation.
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Crystal
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Crystal was a grade 12 IB student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. She loves working with children and was part of VYMA since 2019. Crystal was part of her school’s orchestra since fourth grade. During her six years of orchestral experience she not only made many fond memories to look back on, but also met amazing people who continuously motivate her to be the best version of herself. Crystal strongly believes that every child deserves to have the same opportunity to learn music, and hopes that they will experience the joys of ensemble playing. Crystal was a proud member of Churchill’s Mental Health Network, Music Council, Champions of Change and ArtMag. In her free time she likes to bake, read, and make art.
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Harry
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Harry was a grade 12 IB student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. He had played violin for 12 years and his favourite piece is Devil’s Trill Sonata by Giuseppe Tartini. Harry’s favourite aspect of violin was ensemble playing and he greatly enjoyed playing in the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Delta Youth Orchestra. Through violin, he learned the values of dedication, practice, and teamwork. At school, Harry was a member of Churchill’s first aid team, student council, and Kitchen on a Mission club. Outside the classroom, Harry can be found boxing, playing badminton, and napping. In university, Harry plans to study neuroscience and biology. His favourite colour is purple.
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Jason
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Jason was a grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. He had been playing violin since he was 6 years old, and played in multiple orchestras including VYSO and Vanstrings Chamber music. Upon receiving his ARCT diploma, Jason wanted to give back to the music community through teaching new students. Besides the violin, Jason also practiced piano, French horn, and guitar. He especially loved delving into various contemporary and classical musical communities with his instruments, frequenting music production programs as well. As a career path, Jason planned to pursue architecture in the states while continuing to practice his instruments. Thanks to his beloved students and the VYMA community, the leadership and organizational skills he learned would go on to be a huge help in his university career!
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Jeffrey
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Jeffrey was a grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. He was an avid soloist and orchestral musician. He started playing the violin at the age of eight, and achieved First Class Honours with Distinction in both the RCM Level 10 and ARCT examinations. He was the assistant concertmaster of the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra (VAMSO), and played in VAMIS, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and Haw Par Summerfest Orchestra.
Besides being an award recipient for numerous music competitions and festivals, Jeffrey was also a proud proponent of giving back to the community, having also been the co-head of the Healing Harmonies initiative under Canadians for Youth Leadership and Action (CYLA), dedicated to performing at various elderly homes in the community. Jeffrey hopes to continue playing the violin and spreading love for the craft in his university years and beyond. Website: https://jeffreykwan.weebly.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjveNyPJy7dZ7a0nUYZ1c7Q |
Kathryn |
Kathryn Liu was a grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. She had played the violin since she was 7 years old and the piano since she was 4 years old. Kathryn was a part of the Fraser River Fiddlers for 6 years and the Richmond Delta Youth Orchestra (RDYO) for 4 years, where she was concertmaster. She played in the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra (VAMSO), where she was the assistant principal for 2nd violin. From her experiences with mentoring younger violinists, she enjoyed nurturing young minds and encouraging strong relationships within an ensemble. Aside from her musical hobbies, Kathryn loves to watch anime and many other TV shows and movies; she enjoys reading a variety of genres, including manga; she also finds joy in making jewelry, making art, swimming, and going on walks.
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Michelle
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Michelle Xu was a grade 12 IB student at Churchill Secondary and had been an instructor for VYMA since 2019. She began playing the violin in her elementary school strings program. After pursuing violin, she entered the Byng Arts strings program in grade 8, playing in a variety of orchestras such as the Lord Byng Senior Honour Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra and Senior Strings Orchestra. In grade 11, she received the ARCT certification for violin playing. Besides playing the violin, her hobbies include playing the piano, reading, and drawing. She loved teaching at VYMA and seeing all of the wonderful students grow as musicians.
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Sarah
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Sarah, who was a grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill, enjoyed mentoring throughout her first year with VYMA. When she's not playing the violin, she enjoys hiking with her family, watching The Office, and playing with her cat. She had been playing the violin and singing with her church choir for over nine years. From her experiences in musical environments, she learned the significance of sparking creativity within young minds and hoped to share her love of music with young musicians. She aimed to have a positive impact on the students’ attitudes toward playing in an ensemble and to build strong relationships in order to enhance the confidence of the mentees. She is excited to further advance her skills, and she had so much fun alongside the students!
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Trevis |
Trevis Wong was a Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. He had been playing Cello for 14 years, and received his ARCT diploma in 2020. As an experienced chamber musician, Trevis played with his quartet in concert halls around the world, notably in Hong Kong, Vancouver, and Banff. Trevis also competed at many local competitions both as a soloist and in a group, where he has received numerous awards. He hoped to create an enjoyable environment during his year at VYMA.
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Vivian |
Vivian was a mentor of VYMA from year 2018 until graduation at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in 2020. She is now a student at the University of British Columbia studying Food and Health Science. Vivian has been playing violin since she was 5. To her, music was not just an escape from the overwhelming school work, but also her best friend. She has built strong connections with VYMA students and team members through the process. With her experience, she hoped to share her passion and orchestral knowledge with younger students. Vivian got her driver's license and was very excited to return and visit VYMA! |
Wilson |
Wilson Li had been learning the violin since the age of seven. He grew extremely fond of playing in musical ensembles, with his two years at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music’s Strings ensemble under the tutelage of Carla Birston. He described his experiences as something “extremely special” and “irreplaceable”. Furthermore, he enjoyed working closely with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He is currently studying at the UBC SoM with Professor Jasper Wood.
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