MEMBERS

Cello / Co-Founder
Emily Seo
Emily Seo, 16, is a sophomore at Jesuit High School. She began playing the cello at the age of 5 and currently studies with Professor Hamilton Cheifetz. Emily is a member of the Camerata Ensemble and the Portland Youth Philharmonic, where she serves as assistant principal. She won the 2024 MetroArts Young Artists Debut! Competition and placed second in the 2024 OMEA State Solo Contest. In 2023, Emily was a recipient of the Monday Music Club Scholarship and earned an honorable mention in the Oregon MTNA Senior Strings Competition. Since her freshman year, she has been selected for the Oregon All-State Orchestra, and in 2025, she will take part in the All-Northwest Orchestra. During the summer of 2024, Emily served as principal cellist at the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute (NSO-SMI) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on a full scholarship. She also attended the Center Stage Strings summer program at the University of Michigan with a Merit Scholarship. In 2023, she participated in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Summer String Academy, where she received an Artistic Merit Award. Emily has had the privilege of performing for distinguished cellists such as Richard Aaron, Amir Eldan, Horacio Contreras, Norman Fischer, Peter Prosser, Dennis Parker, Danielle Cho, and Bion Tsang. Outside of music, Emily enjoys running and competing in cross country and track and field.

Viola / Co-Founder
Luke D'Silva
Luke D’Silva is a senior at Westview High School. His primary teacher is Andrea Hawkins and has been mentored by Peter Slowik, Li-Kuo Chang, Eric Nowlin, Kerri Ryan, Hillary Oseas, Annie Fullard, Sang Mee Lee, and Davis King. Luke has been named a 2025 National YoungArts Award Winner in Classical Music/Viola. He is also PYP’s Principal Viola and is the recipient of the PYP’s 2023-2024 Gershkovitch Award. In 2024, he attended Center Stage Strings at University of Michigan and was selected to be in the Advanced Chamber Music Program. He also served as the Principal Viola of 2023 Oregon All-State and All-Northwest Orchestras. Luke represented Oregon in NYO2 as Assistant Principal Viola in 2022 and as Principal Viola in 2023. In 2023, he joined OrpheusPDX’s The Pathways Program. He was also a winner of Cognizart’s 29th Young Artists Debut! and the 1st place winner of Eugene Symphony’s 2023 Young Artist Competition, 2023 & 2024 Oregon State Solo Contest for Viola. He was also a member of the Westview String Quintet that won the 2023 Oregon State Large String Ensemble Contest. Luke is a founding member of Euphonos Ensemble and the Co-Regional Director of Portland’s The Back to Bach Project. Luke is the Co-President of Westview’s National Honor Society and a Student Director of Science Ambassadors, a STEM program at Oregon National Primate Research Center. In his spare time, he likes to run and play basketball.

Violin / Co-Founder
Andrew Lee
Andrew Lee, a 17-year-old junior at Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon, has played the violin for 11 years and studies with Carol Sindell. Since joining the Portland Youth Philharmonic in 2021, Andrew has served as the assistant principal second violin, having previously held the position of concertmaster in the Portland Youth Conservatory Orchestra (PYCO). As a soloist, Andrew was featured in the Eugene Symphony Park Concert Summer Series and earned first place in the 2024 ASTA Senior Competition. His awards include third place in the 2023 Oregon State Solo Contest and the 2022 ASTA Junior Competition, as well as being a winner of the 2024 Jewish Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Andrew will also perform with the Jewish Community Orchestra in an upcoming concert. Additionally, he was named an alternate winner in the MTNA Junior String Competition and received an Honorable Mention in the MTNA Senior String Competition. Andrew is a 2023 National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute graduate at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where he studied with Jennifer Kim. His orchestral leadership roles include serving as associate concertmaster of the 2023 Oregon All-State Orchestra and being a member of the 2023 All-Northwest Orchestra. This summer, he attended the Center Stage Strings Institute at the University of Michigan, further honing his craft.

Piano / Co-Founder
Alex Tran
Alex, 16, is an 11th grader at Catlin Gabel School, and studies piano with Dr. Renato Fabbro. He is the winner of the 2024-2025 Oregon Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Senior Piano Performance Competition and the 2022-2023 Oregon MTNA Junior Piano Performance Competition. He was also the alternate winner in the 2022-2023 Northwest Division MTNA Junior Piano Performance Competition. In addition to his MTNA achievements, Alex has earned top prizes and scholarships in various piano competitions. Alex has performed jazz on piano with the Portland Metropolitan Youth Symphony (MYS) and plays piano for other organizations. He currently plays violin with MYS. He also plays the zither and clarinet and enjoys composing music. Outside of music, Alex has a strong interest in math, computer programming, and swimming. He is also recognized as a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar.

Violin / Co-Founder
Kaylee Nah
Kaylee Nah, 15, is a sophomore at Sunset High School and has studied violin under Hae-Jin Kim since the age of five. She has been a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) organization since 2018 and currently serves as co-concertmaster of the PYP orchestra. Kaylee was also selected as concertmaster for the OMEA All-State Symphony Orchestra for 2024 and 2025. Kaylee won first place in both the state and Northwest divisions of the 2023-2024 MTNA Junior String competition, advancing as one of seven national finalists. In 2024, she won first place in the Oregon ASTA solo competition, OMEA State Championships for both solo violin and chamber ensemble, and the Monday Musical Club Award Competition, where she received the Phillips Award for best instrumental performance. In the same year, she won the MetroArts Young Artists Debut! Competition and the Jewish Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Kaylee has performed for many renowned artists, including Ray Chen, Vadim Gluzman, Benjamin Beilman, and Jessica Lee. She attended the Heifetz International Music Institute and the Interlochen Arts Camp, where she served as concertmaster of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra on a full scholarship. In addition to her violin studies, Kaylee has been studying piano since the age of five.

Violin / Musician
Sawa Yamaguchi
Sawa, 14, moved to Oregon from Arizona, where she was studying under Jing Zeng in Arizona, and Carol Sindell in Oregon. She started violin at the age of four, and has won first prize in the 2024 Oregon Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), first prize in the 2024 Oregon Mozart Players Young Artists Competition, and second prize in the 2023 Arizona Musicfest Strings Competition. She also won first place in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Arizona Competition in 2022 and 2023. Over the past four years, Sawa has been concertmaster in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony of Arizona. Sawa has been playing as a soloist with several orchestras including the JCO and the OMP.

Violin / Musician
Yuri Yamaguchi
Yuri, 12, moved to Oregon from Arizona, is studying under Carol Sindell. She started violin at the age of four, and has been an award recipient in competitions including 2023 and 2024 Oregon Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Junior Competition, and 2022 American String Teachers Association of Arizona (ASTA) Junior Competition. She also was a finalist in the Oregon Mozart Players Young Soloist Competition and the Oregon ASTA Competition in 2024. Over the past four years, Yuri has been concertmaster and assistant concertmaster in the Metropolitan Youth Symphony of Arizona.

Piano / Musician
Sara Huh
Sara, 14, 8th grader currently attending the International school of Beaverton. She has been playing piano for almost 6 years, and won first in several OMTA piano festivals since 2019. She also won first place in the Tom O’Brian Junior’s scholarship competition and alternate winner in the 2023 Junior MTNA Competition. Her hobbies besides playing piano include singing, baking, and swimming.