Amanda Anderson

Vocalist 2017

At only 20 years old, soprano, Amanda Anderson has already performed in multiple operatic, musical theater and concert productions throughout Southern California and most recently participated in the OCAVA Young Artist’s Program in Rome, Italy this past July. Amanda graduated as Valedictorian from the famed Orange County School of Arts in Santa Ana, California and is now pursuing her Bachelor of Music Vocal Arts degree from the University of Southern California (USC) on full scholarship under the tutelage of renown baritone, Rod Gilfry. Currently, she coaches with Mark Salters (Cal State Fullerton), Ryan Reithmeier (USC) and her long-term voice teacher, internationally acclaimed operatic soprano, Robin Follman.

Amanda has been featured in a national radio campaign for Fantastic Sams, “Fantastic for All” as The Opera Singer as well as being selected as the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion’s Grand Prize Finalist in the Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Awards in 2014, Amanda has won several noted domestic and international competitions including the NATS-LA, Vo-Cal, Professional Opera Singer’s Association (POSA) and the Great Composer’s Competition.

Amanda was recently honored to perform at the Metropolitan Fashion Week for the Autism Speaks Gala at Waner Bros. Studio and was previously featured in a PBS SoCal LAaRT segment illustrating the importance that music and the arts have played in her life as an individual succeeding at life while managing her Asperger’s Syndrome Disorder.

Grace Bernard

Vocalist 2017

SCP is happy to present Grace Bernard, a very talented young soprano, as a vocal winner in the Artiste age group. She is a 15 year old sophomore attending the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA). Grace has only been studying classical voice for three years and started participating in vocal competitions a year ago. Prior to singing, Grace was an athlete, playing softball for seven years. It was her 6th grade choir teacher, Dalyn Shutts, who discovered that Grace had a natural ability to sing Opera. Grace now studies voice with Kathleen Martin along with coaches Bill Vindice in diction and Vera Calabria in acting. Grace has been in several musicals including Annie, The King and I, The Secret Garden, Sweeney Todd, Beauty and the Beast, Frankenstein the Musical, and the Wizard of Oz.

Grace is currently studying as Adele in Die Fledermaus. She sang for a short time with an A capella group, Minor 6, and competed in the Harmony Sweepstakes. This past year Grace’s competitions included: So Cal Vocal Association (SVCA) where at age 14, she placed 2nd in the 13-18 High School category; Spotlight 2nd round level, NATS-SEP 1st place Classical and 2nd place Musical Theatre, NATS Cal-Western Regionals 1st place Classical and 1st place Musical Theatre, qualifying for the National Competition in Colorado in July 2017. In addition to winning the opportunity to sing with the SoCalPhil, Grace is currently competing in Spotlight at 2nd level so far.

Grace would love to someday pursue a career as an Opera Singer and perform in Opera Houses all over the world.

Alen Cai

Vocalist 2018

Allen Cai, age 12, is currently in the 8th grade at Sierra Vista Middle School. He is an honor student and had skipped a grade. He has studied classical voice for 3 years with Kathleen Martin. He enjoys learning new songs and is quick to pick up new things. Previously, he has participated and received awards at various vocal competitions such as NATS Cal-Western, NATS, Hal Leonard, and POSA. One of his most memorable achievement was receiving first place at POSA in 2016. In addition to singing classical voice, Allen is also a very gifted swimmer. He began competitive swimming at the age of 7 and currently holds several SCS records, 2 national age group records, and places first in the entire nation in several events in his age group. Aside from singing and swimming, he also studied acting and chess.

Stella Chen

Violinist 2018

Stella Chen is a senior at Arcadia High School and has been playing violin since she was eight. Currently, she is studying with Andrea Byers. Stella has won multiple competitions throughout the years including Southwestern Youth Music Festival Solo Violin 1st place and Piano/Violin Duo 1st place. Stella is also the concertmaster of her school’s award-winning honors orchestra. This is her first time playing a concerto with an orchestra and she is very excited.

Besides solo violin playing, Stella is the first violinist in a quartet that she has played with for the past six years. They have won several competitions including Voce Regionals 1st place and Southerwestern Music Festival Quartet 1st Place. They also do volunteer gigs at hospitals, nursing homes, etc., and play paid gigs at weddings, parties, and so on.

In addition to playing violin, Stella has been playing the piano since she was five and in her free time, she likes to swim and read Peanuts comics. In college, she hopes to minor or double major in music and play violin in a college orchestra.

Michelle Fan

Pianist 2018

Michelle Fan is 12 years old. She started her formal music training under the guidance of teacher Ariel Yang beginning at age six. Michelle received First-place at the 2013 San Jose Russian Music International Piano Competition and has performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. She was also a First-prize winner at the 2014 and 2017 Glendale Piano Competition. In 2015, Michelle was a winner in the Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition in New York. She received first alternate for both the MTAC State Concerto (2016) and Solo (2017) Piano Competition. Michelle is the youngest winner of the 2016 biannual International Liszt Competition and was invited to represent the Liszt Society Los Angeles chapter to perform at the 2017 American Liszt Society Festival in Northwestern University, Chicago.

Angela Lee

Pianist 2017

SCP is pleased to present Angela Lee as the winner of the Prodigy age group (ages 1 to 12) in the 2017 Young Artists Concerto Competition. New York Concert Review writes Angela Lee “knocked everyone’s socks off and demonstrated the sensitivity , maturity, power and pianism that one often misses in pianists twice her age.” Angela, 12, is a 7th grade student at Orange County School of the Arts. She was privileged to receive the most promising junior Award at the 2015 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition. Since then, she was named the Evgeny Kissing Grand Prize winner at the Fourth Rosalyn Truck International Bach Competition.

On March 24th, 2016, Angele made her radio debut on New York public radio WQXR. She is also the first prize winner of numerous awards, including 2013 San Jose International Russian Music Piano Competition, Gold medalist at 2013 Seattle International Piano Competition, 2013 Glendale Piano Competition, 2015 MTAC State Solo for the State of California Piano Competition, 2016 CAPMT State Concerto for the State of California Piano Competition. Angela has had the privilege of working under Ann Schien, William Grant Nabore, and Stanislav Loudenitch in various masterclasses. Angela studies piano with Ariel Yamg at Opus119 Conservatory of Music in Orange County, CA.

Anne Liu-Artiste

Pianist 2018

Anne Liu is an instrumental winner in SCP’s 2017 Young Artist Con-certo Competition in the Artiste age category. 16 years old Anne is a junior at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, California.
Most recently she is named as National YoungArts finalist winner of 2018, the highest honor of the National YoungArts Competition. She was also the 1st Prize winner in the senior division of 2017 H.B. Goodlin Competition and recipient of Chet & June Schmidt Award. She received 1st place and Outstanding Gold Medalist award of the US Open Piano Competition in Palo Alto, 2nd prize at the 2016 Los Angeles International Liszt Competition and special prize for overall best performance of an “Opera Paraphrase or Transcription” award. Anne was the Bronze Medalist as well as the Special Award for the most outstanding performance of a composition by a Russian com-poser in 8th Bösendorfer and Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition in Arizona earlier this year.

Anne has soloed with the San Diego Great Chamber Orchestra, the South Coast Symphony, and will be performing with the La Jolla Symphony and the Southern California Philharmonic in the next sea-son. Last summer, Anne had a solo concert in China which was sponsored by Hailun Piano Co., Ltd..
Anne Liu is currently studying piano performance at Opus 119 Con-servatory of Music with Ethan Dong and Ariel Yang.
Her mentors include William Nabore of Lake Como International Piano Academy, Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, Stanislav Loudenitch, and Maestro Dmitri Bashkirov and Dr.Christopher Harding from University of Michigan.

Audrey Ma

Violinist 2018

Audrey Ma began her violin studies at the age of four with Mrs. Chika Wie using the Suzuki Method. For the past three years, Audrey has been a member of the Suzuki String Academy of the Community Youth Orchestra of Southern California (CYOSC). She has appeared as a solo performer with the CYOSC Sinfonietta and the St. Margaret’s Summer Music Festival Orchestra, both under the direction of Mr. Gene Wie. As part of her ongoing musical training, she has participated in performance classes taught by distinguished teachers including William Fitzpatrick, Kerstin Wartberg, Charles Krigbaum, and Eric Chin of the Telegraph String Quartet. Audrey is currently in first grade at Cypress Village Elementary School in Irvine, and her hobbies include piano, soccer, reading, and other visual arts.

Eilyssa Maclean

Vocalist 2018

Eilyssa Anne Maclean was born in Rancho Mirage, California in 2002. As a young child, Eilyssa enjoyed singing. Her father, a music connoisseur himself, marveled at her ability to sing on pitch and to stay on key. In 2011, she had the opportunity to sing at a choir celebration in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany, the hometown of her Grandfather. Ever since, every time Eilyssa visits her Grandfather, she is invited to perform at the festival.
It wasn’t until 2012, while attending a singing recital of a friend, that she began taking voice lessons. Sadly in 2013, her beloved father passed away suddenly, it seemed as if Eilyssa had suddenly lost all her passion for singing. However, in the summer of 2015, a friend made mention of a wonderful voice teacher in Laguna Niguel, Miss Kathleen Martin. Shortly thereafter, Eilyssa tried out for voice lessons with Miss Kathleen Martin. Right then and there, Eilyssa rediscovered her passion for singing.

Eilyssa has participated in several competitions since then, and has been quite successful. She is currently a sophomore at Aliso Niguel High-school, and sings every day at school. Eilyssa would love nothing more than to pursue a career out of her passion for singing.

Niko Mancera

Vocalist 2018

Niko Mancera is a senior at Santa Margarita Catholic High school. Niko was invited to participate in the elite chamber (honors) choir since his freshman year. He was actively involved in musical theater productions and played Rudy in Hello Dolly and Big Jules in Guys and Dolls. Niko frequently competes in classical and musical theater vocal competitions both locally and nationally. In 2016, he was a finalist in the prestigious Classical Singer competition. Niko plans to pursue a musical education in his college endeavors. Mentors that have greatly influenced Niko are his classical voice teacher, Kathleen Martin, and choir Director, Francisco Calvo. Niko has had the honor of studying with and being shaped by Bill Vendice and Vera Calabria. It is with great humility, that Niko acknowledges the role of God, teachers, mentors and his family in his current and future accomplishments.

Beata Preisiate

Flutist 2017

SCP is pleased to present Beata Preisaite as the instrumental winner in the Virtuoso Young Artist age category. Beata is a Lithuanian flutist currently studying at California State University, Fullerton, with well-known soloist and teacher, Jean Ferrandis. Beata was born in 1994 in Kaunas, Lithuania. She took her first flute lesson at the age of 10. After graduating from a music Gymnasium in her hometown where she studied with Ausra Lukoseviciute, she went to Saarbrücken, Germany to study with Belgian flutist and professor Gaby Pas Van Riet. During the 2015-16 concert season, Beata served as substitute principle Flute for the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 22, Beata has already appeared as a soloist with major Lithuanian orchestras and has played a number of concerts in Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia and Germany. She is also a winner of many national and international competitions including Musical Aquarelle Chamber competition, Pakalnis Wind Players competition in Lithuania, and the Kārlis Štrāls International Young Flutists competition in Latvia, to name a few.

Elvin Schlanger

Flutist 2018

Elvin Schlanger was raised in Wildomar, California, and began learning the flute in the 4th grade. In high school, Elvin was the recipient of Elsinore High School Wind Ensemble, Most Outstanding Musician award for four consecutive years, the Elsinore High School Wind Ensemble, Most Respected Band Member award, Elsinore High School Student of the Month award for March 2016, and the Elsinore High School Student of the Year award for the 2016/2017 school year. He won the 2014 Lake Elsinore Rotary Music Competition and then moved on to the district level and won the 2014 Rotary District 5330 Music Competition. He was appointed principal flute for several honor bands and received Command Performance ratings at SCSBOA Solo/Ensemble Festivals, both at local and regional levels. He has just completed his second season as the principal flute of the Orange County Youth Symphony Orchestra, with which he has performed the Reinecke Flute Concerto as a soloist, and toured Spain. His past teachers include Kate Prestia-Schaub, Cindy Anne Broz, and Cynthia Ellis. He currently studies with Dr. John Barcellona.

At CSULB, he has been awarded the Full Cole Scholarship and the Music Department Scholarship. He is the principal flute of the BCCM Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony and is a member of the University Wind Quintet. He is a member of the CSULB chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the San Diego Flute Guild, and the National Flute Association. During his spare time, he enjoys camping, arranging music, and caring for his bearded dragon, Toot.

Allison To

Pianist 2017

Alison To is an instrumental winner in SCP’s Young Artist Concerto Competition in the Artiste age category. Fifteen year old Allison To’s concert engagements include solo recitals for the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation and the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition. She has soloed at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Yamaha Salon in New York, and has appeared on NPR’s radio show “From The Top.” Allison will also solo with the Southern California Philharmonic and the Culver City Symphony this season. WQXR Radio Station and New York Concert Review calls Allison “one of the most refined and artistic players for her age and perhaps any age.” Allison received the Evgeny Kissin Grand Prize award at the Rosalyn Tureck International Back Competition and was a top laureate at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, Bösendorfer and Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition, and the San Jose International Piano Competition.

Allison studies piano at Opus 119 Conservatory of Music with Ariel Yang and Ethan Dong. She is a 10th grade student at Pacific Academy in Irvine, California. Her mentors include William Nabore of Lake Como International Piano Academy, Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, Stanislav Loudenitch, and Mary Ann Cummins from the Crossroads School. She has worked with Russell Sherman and Wha-Kyung Byun Form New England Conservatory, Menahem Pressler from Indiana University, Ann Schien from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, as well as Boris Berman from Yale University.