In Sun Jang, violin

Newly appointed Concertmaster of Santa Cruz Symphony, violinist In Sun Jang is also a first violinist with the San Francisco Symphony and a former Concertmaster of the New World Symphony. A top prize winner at the International Henryk Szeryng Violin Competition, she has performed as soloist with Santa Cruz Symphony, New World Symphony, Puchon Philharmonic Orchestra, and Nanpa Festival Orchestra, among others. She made her Korean recital debut at Kumho Art Center in Seoul and her Japanese recital debut before sold-out audiences in Fukuoka and Shiida.

By special invitation of Isaac Stern, Jang performed at Carnegie Hall as part of the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop. She has collaborated with leading artists including Menahem Pressler, Thomas Adès, and the Orion String Quartet. Her chamber music engagements have brought her to renowned venues and festivals throughout Asia and the United States, including Jordan Hall, Yellow Barn, the Aspen Music Festival, Miyazaki Prefectural Arts Center, Seoul Arts Center, and LG Arts Center.

A native of Seoul, Korea, Jang began studying violin and piano at the age of four. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory and serves as a coach for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Christine McLeavey, piano

Christine McLeavey completed her masters at the Juilliard School of Music. An avid chamber musician and audience favorite, she resides in Portola Valley. She was an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. In 2006, she was awarded the Coup de Coeur Prize at the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition and was featured on Radio France and France TV. She is particularly interested in Human/AI musical collaborations. She holds a masters in neuroscience from Stanford, and graduated as valedictorian of Princeton with a degree in physics.

Christine has performed in such venues as Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, the Banff International Keyboard Festival as a featured soloist in a concert for Canada's Governor General, and the Tanglewood Music Festival. She has also worked as a rehearsal pianist for the New York Philharmonic. She studied most recently with Sharon Mann and Julian Martin.

SERENE, Pianist and Computer Scientist 

She never attended music conservatory, but Serene brings piano concerts to the world's stages. She is an endorsed Bösendorfer Artist, and Paris Review said her solo performances was a “spectacle to match the New York Philharmonic.” She presented her Bösendorfer debut concert at the Vienna Konzerthaus, with Rachmaninoff and Scriabin piano concertos. Serene collaborates with artists of diverse genres, from composing for Kanye West’s Opera, to her collaborations with Grimes, using music-technology innovations.

Previously, Ms. Serene was a computer scientist, engineer, senior research fellow at Berkeley ICSI, and creator of open-source projects, authoring the censorship-circumvention protocol Snowflake. Her work helped people communicate during the Ukraine War despite blockages, having a global impact on internet freedom. She later founded technology company Snowstorm and the evolution of Snowflake.

OMARI TAU, Vocal Artist and Master of Ceremonies 

Well-known at the Symphony’s Youth Concerts, Omari Tau received his Bachelor of Music Education at Michigan State University and his Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Houston, Moores School of Music. There, he studied with mezzo-soprano Katherine Clesinski. He was director of opera theatre at Sacramento State University before transitioning to Cosumnes River College, leading the Vocal Studies Program. 

His vocal styles include classical, jazz, musical theater, pop, and R&B. Mr. Tau is a composer, performance artist, conductor, and director. He has explored the voice in avant-garde musical styles at Fondation Royaumont’s Voix Nouvelle, and he played a nasty hyena in the touring company of Disney’s The Lion King.

Jaron Zepel Lanier, guest composer

A true Renaissance man, Jaron Lanier is an American computer scientist, visual artist, computer philosophy writer, technologist, futurist, and composer of contemporary classical music. As a musician, Mr. Lanier has been active in contemporary classical music, sometimes known as "new classical," since the late 1970s.

He is a pianist and a specialist in many non-western musical instruments, especially the wind and string instruments of Asia. He maintains one of the largest and most varied collections of actively played rare instruments in the world. Mr. Lanier has performed with artists as diverse as Philip Glass, Ornette Coleman, George Clinton, Vernon Reid, Terry Riley, Duncan Sheik, Pauline Oliveros, and Stanley Jordan. 

Considered a founder of the field of virtual reality, Mr. Lanier and Thomas G. Zimmerman left Atari in 1985 to establish VPL Research, Inc., the first company to sell VR goggles and wired gloves in the late 1990s. In 2006, he began to work at Microsoft, and from 2009 has worked at Microsoft Research as an Interdisciplinary Scientist.

Pearl de la Motte, viola

Violist Pearl de la Motte is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Hsin-Yun Huang. She is the second of eleven children in a musical family and began playing the violin at the age of two. She later switched to viola when she was ten. After being inspired by the viola’s deep and expressive tone, she decided that she wanted to pursue a career in music while honoring God with her playing.

Pearl received first place in the 2024 Klein International String Competition, first place in the 2021 American Viola Society National Competition, and third place in the 2024 Stulberg International String Competition. Pearl has participated in multiple projects during her time at The Juilliard School. In 2023 she was invited to perform Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s piano quintet in “The New Series” and has regularly participated in the “If Music Be the Food...” concerts benefiting food pantries.

Pearl has collaborated with many artists including Samuel Rhodes, Anthony Ross, Aaron Boyd, Masumi Rostad, Bion Tsang, Yura Lee, Daniel Ching, Matthew Zalkind, and Desmond Hoebig. She is a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School.

Dr. Carlin Truong, Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus Director

Carlin Truong 張希 (he/him) is the Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Cabrillo College and a Lecturer at San José State University. An educator and conductor whose mission is to make music education more accessible to all, Dr. Truong is known for curating student-centered, innovative, and expressive concerts that engage people on both sides of the stage. As an advocate for social change through the arts, he has directed concerts that address LGBTQIA+ rights, mental health, women’s suffrage, criminal justice reform, and immigration policies. Since his early career, Truong was involved with pop a cappella ensembles, and is known for programing nontraditional repertoire in addition to the beloved canon. He’s presented and led performances at state and regional conferences throughout the United States.

Prior to his appointment at Cabrillo College, Dr. Truong directed ensembles at Clear Creek Middle and High School in Colorado, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Arkansas Tech University, University of Houston, Clovis East High School in California, Crystal Children’s Choir, and University of Ghana. He also served as an assistant conductor for the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston and as a chorus preparer and co-chorus manager for the Houston Symphony Chorus. Dr. Truong is a proud alumnus of Crystal Children’s Choir, San José State University, and University of Houston.

Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus

Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus has earned a stellar reputation at home in the Monterey Bay and around the world by performing in the finest concert halls in the USA and Europe—including years of transcendent performances with Santa Cruz Symphony. The group consistently evokes a sense of beauty and wonder with the lushness and fluidity of their technique.