Opus 17
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CWOTO Opus 17

Tickets: If you would like to reserve tickets, please click here to send a reservation request by email.

    Performance #1: FREE

    Performance #2: Tickets will be on sale in the lobby of the theatre, not the box office, one hour prior to the event.

    $20 general / $10 senior & student

Click here for a printable flyer for this event.

Performers and Their Pieces

The CWOTO Orchestra - Opus 17 Concert will be conducted by Burns Taft of Ventura College 

For more information on our guest conductor, click here.

J. S. Bach:  Violin Concerto in A minor - 1^st movement

Daniel Chien attends the 5^th grade in the First Baptist Academy ISP. He began learning violin at age seven with Shuwei Liu who has been instrumental in stirring his interest in violin. He has won first place in the Qualified Baroque competition categories for two consecutive years as well as the Qualified Age Categories for three consecutive years in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival.  He has also received Branch Honors for his participation in the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) sponsored Certificate of Merit syllabus examinations. He currently plays the violin in the Conejo Valley Preparatory Orchestra led by Mr. Bill Benson.  He is one of the winners of the CVYO’s concerto competition, which awarded him this performance opportunity.  Daniel had an inclination for music from the time he was very young.  When he was three, he loved to sing hymns.  Now, when he plays the violin, he is often told that his music reflects delight from his heart.  At least one loyal audience member, his brother Samuel, was so inspired that he has also now started to play the violin.  Other than music, Daniel also enjoys reading, science experiments, and outdoor adventures with his family.

Beethoven: Piano Concerto #1 in C Major

Greg Fleischman, 19, is a Thousand Oaks native who began his serious music studies as a college student. Moorpark College provided the tutelage and guidance needed for rapid musical development as both a pianist and composer. His concentrated studies began in a basic class piano course at the college.  Since matriculating at Moorpark College, he has gained experience in both solo and ensemble performance.  His teachers have included Dr. He-lyun Chung, Professors Joan Thompson, Carol Lancaster, and most recently Edward Francis, with whom he now studies. Greg will continue his work at Moorpark College, finishing the general education requirements while continuing to develop his knowledge of piano technique and repertoire.  He will also work to enhance his composition portfolio.  He would like to transfer to UCLA or another university where he could pursue a double major.

Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5  3^rd - movement

Maize Wang is a 15 year-old student at Oak Park High School, where she is currently attending tenth grade. She has made honor roll several times during her experience in middle school as well as in high school.

Maize first began piano with her mother, but was later taught by Marilyn Clemons.  Under the guidance of her current teacher, Mr. Peter Yazbeck, Maize has participated in the Gail Newby Concerto Competition of Antelope Valley, New West Symphony Discovery Artists Program, and Showcase for Young Musicians in Orange County.  She was a gold medalist of the MTAC Holiday Festival for the past five years.  Maize has also passed the Certificated of Merit Advanced Level.  She was selected to perform in the MTAC State Convention in Santa Clara in 2003 and in Los Angeles in 2006.

In 2004, Maize participated in the MTAC Concerto Competition and also in the Southwestern Youth Music Festival.  For the past four years, she has been selected as a regional winner of the Southern California Jr. Bach Festival.  She has performed in the Bach Showcase Concert in Santa Barbara and has competed in the Bach Complete Works Competition.  In April 2005, she performed as a young artist in the Ventura Music Festival, and in 2006, she was the first place winner of the Ann George Scholarship.  

Maize has previously performed with The CWOTO Orchestra and the Ventura College Community Orchestra.

Tchaikovsky Gabriel Fauré's "Fantasy" for Flute
 

Ty Fovell, age 17 and a senior at Westlake High School, has played the flute since the sixth grade.  In eighth grade, he was awarded the outstanding soloist title at Lindero Canyon Middle School.  He also received the Valley Cultural Center’s Most Promising Student Award that same year.  In ninth grade, he was one of only two incoming freshmen accepted into Westlake High School’s inaugural Wind Ensemble, their top band.  He was co-principal flutist in that ensemble his sophomore year, and became first in his junior year.

He has been a yearly participant in the SCSBOA local and regional festivals since he began studying the flute, and has received three Command Performance ratings.  He participated in the Ventura County Honor Band, the Northern California Flute Camp, the UCLA Summer Music Academy, the CODA All-State Honor Orchestra, and the Idyllwild Arts Symphonic Orchestra, as one of four flutes chosen by audition in 2006.

He has been a member of the Westlake Regiment (Marching Band) since his first year of high school, and was flute/piccolo section leader in 2006. He began studying the flute with Cece Worrall-Rubin, and in 2006 started with Toby Caplan-Stonefield.

Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto #1 - 1^st movement

Christy Kim is 16 years old and a junior at Westlake High School. She has continuously studied piano since the early age of 4. She has studied piano with Ornela Ervin for the last 7 years and has participated in numerous recitals and competitions. She passed the CM advanced level with honors, was selected as a winner in the Southern California Junior Bach Competition, and has played several times at the Civic Arts Plaza as a Contemporary Festival winner.

Along with piano, Christy also plays the flute and is studying currently with Toby Caplan-Stonefield. She will be appearing with the CWOTO orchestra at another recital as a winner of a concerto competition sponsored by CWOTO and the Conejo branch of MTAC. She plays with the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestra and is principal flutist with both the Westlake High Symphony and the CSUN Youth Orchestra. She has played in several master classes with some of the most distinguished musicians of our area. She also attended Idyllwild Arts Summer Sessions and UCLA Music Camp.

In her busy schedule, Christy still finds time to spend with her friends and family. She loves to go to the beach, attend yoga classes, watch movies, shop, and sleep - if time permits. In the future, she aspires to be a musician and is working towards becoming a flute performance major in college.

Saint-Saens: Allegro Appassionato

Giselle Chang, 17, is a senior at the Harvard-Westlake High School.  She started playing the piano at the age of ten and has been studying with her current teacher, Edward Francis for almost three years.  She passed her Advanced Level 10 Certificate of Merit exam with honors in as a sophomore and was a winner in both the Romantic Competition at Cypress College and several Contemporary Festivals sponsored by the Conejo Valley MTAC.  Giselle was also a regional winner of the Southern California Junior Bach Festival and performed in the Bach Showcase Concert in Santa Barbara.  She has been a scholarship recipient in the highly competitive Leni Fe Bland Foundation auditions, at the Music Academy of the West.  In addition to these activities, Giselle has also played as a soloist in one of Harvard-Westlake's classical concerts and also performed a Mozart concerto with the school symphony as a junior. She was a soloist with the CWOTO Orchestra in OPUS 14, and won honors in the New West Symphony’s Discovery Artist program.  She is also a member of the High School Piano Performance Honors Seminar at the Colburn School of the Arts in Los Angeles.  She was also a participant in the CWOTO Solo Project, a series of fundraising recitals to benefit the educational non-profit organization, earlier this month.

In her spare time, (after finishing homework for many AP courses and 2 foreign language courses) Giselle dances at the pre-professional level at California Dance Theater.  She recently competed with her Lyrical Dance Class at the Showstoppers Competition and took home a platinum award.  Giselle is also secretary of the Chinese Student Club at her school and is organizing a few community service projects to help benefit those in the Asian community.  At school her friends know her as one who's obsessed with the Lord of the Rings and can't get enough of reading fantasy novels during her free periods.  She also really loves her mother's cooking.

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto #2 - 1^st movement

Heidy Wang, 14, is a freshman at Agoura High School. She began playing piano at the age of six and a half, and has been studying with Edward Francis since 2003.  Over the course of 3 and a half years, she has won four gold medals at the MTAC Contemporary Music Festivals and played at each following Gold Medal Honors Recital.  In 2005, she was a winner of the Southern California Junior Bach Festival at the branch level, and in 2006, she auditioned and received a scholarship from the Leni Fé Bland Foundation at the Santa Barbara Music Academy of the West.  Heidy is currently taking an Honors Piano Seminar class at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in LA.

This is the first time that Heidy will be playing as a featured soloist with the Conejo Concerto Orchestra, and she is very thankful and excited that she has been given this wonderful opportunity.

Aside from playing piano, she likes to play tennis, draw, and help out in the kitchen.  She enjoys going to school and being with her friends, as well as getting straight A's in her honors classes.

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto - 1^st movement

Joshua Hong, 16, began studying the violin with Shuwei Liu.  Since 2003 he has studied with Joyce Osborn.  His many accomplishments on the violin include the following: achieved Advanced Level of the Certificate of Merit program of MTAC; first place winner at the MTAC Branch level as a violin soloist in the VOCE (Vocal, Orchestral, and Chamber Ensembles) competition for 2004 and 2005; was violin soloist on CWOTO Opus XI; in 2005 his string quartet won first place at the Branch level and second place at the State Finals of the prestigious MTAC VOCE Competition; and the quartet was a winner in the International Young Artists Peninsula Music Festival in Palos Verdes in 2005.  He won First Place in the Complete Works program of the Southern CA Jr. Bach Festival for Strings in October 2006.  In 2006 he was selected as a Discovery Artist with the New West Symphony and will perform with the symphony in 2007.  For the last two years he has performed on the Ventura Music Festival Rising Stars Program.  He has also received many scholarships for his musical endeavors from the Leni FeBland Foundation.

Since 1998, Josh has played violin in the Conejo Valley Youth Orchestras and is presently concertmaster.  His summer musical training has included the following: the Gold Coast Chamber Music Festival, Marrowstone Summer Music Festival in Washington State; the Midwest Young Artists program in Illinois, and Encore School for Strings.  In September 2005, he became a member of the American Youth Symphony.  He has performed in the Jascha Heifetz Society’s Master Class series with renowned violinists Ruggiero Ricci and Nai-Yuan Hu.  Other Master Classes have been with Tamara Chernak and Mitchell Newman of the LA Philharmonic, and Shuti Huang of Australia.

Joshua is a junior at Crossroads School.  He is also a serious student in classical piano.  He has been studying with Edward Francis for seven years, and has achieved the Advanced Level in Certificate of Merit.  He has also been a featured soloist with the Ventura College Orchestra in the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1.

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