Alumni - Meet our alumni & future community leaders

My time with the YAO was an amazing experience, a place where I could continue my passion for music in a professional environment outside of school. The YAO has let me play in a very talented orchestra, and as a wind player this experience has become a crucial part of my resume going into college, where I look forward to playing in similar ensembles. -Jaden Huppert, tuba (2020-2022)

Jaden Huppert

Beyond enriching my musical education, the YAO has proven an invaluable resource in developing my interpersonal and professional skills. YAO guided me in becoming a person of my own; through four seasons of concerts, showcases, and competitions, there is no other organization I can think of that is as empowering and beneficial to music students. In sum, the fact that the YAO provides such fine and honest music-making to Las Vegas — all while remaining tuition free — is a blessing I was glad to be a part of.
-Benel Higuchi, violin (2015-2019)

I was a part of YAO for about 2 years during my undergraduate degree at UNLV. I really enjoy my time during YAO because it really helped me with my professional development as a musician. YAO is a very unique environment where expectations are very high and trains young musicians on how to become professionals. Being able to work with musicians from across Las Vegas was real treat and hope a lot of young musicians get to experience this group! I graduated with a BM in Music Education at UNLV and will be pursuing a Masters in Trumpet Performance the Fall 2019 at the University of Utah with Teaching Assistant position. -Bronson Pascual, trumpet (2017-2018)

The Young Artists Orchestra has given me a consistent and high level orchestral experience week to week for the past three years, and I owe much of my orchestral and musical training to the orchestra. The YAO is an asset to the Las Vegas community. -Jordan Farber, bassoon (2016-2019)

Playing in the YAO for two years has not only enhanced my personal playing ability, but has exposed me to many wonderful and talented musicians throughout the city. The difficulty of music in the orchestra also pushed me to adjust to the pace and demand of college auditions and performances. The welcoming community created by my fellow Young Artists helped foster my own passion for music, leading me to continue my music career through college and encourage others to discover the joys of the music world. Overall, my time with the YAO has helped me grow as a musician and guided me on my daunting search for an inevitable college major. -Devin Lopez, cello (2016-2018)

The Young Artists Orchestra gave me opportunities that no other music programs have offered me. The high level of music performed, challenged us and pushed us to the next level of musicianship. I performed and interacted with many professional musicians as well as showcased myself in front of an audience. There was never a time where I felt like I wasn’t progressing as a musician; there was always something new to learn. -Joshua Riel, double bass (2015-2018)

I was fortunate enough to be able to perform with the Young Artist Orchestra of Las Vegas for two seasons and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to perform outstanding literature alongside some of the best young musicians in Las Vegas and with amazing world class musicians. The amount of growth I’ve seen from this organization is astonishing. I look forward to see the organization continue to flourish and provide the students of Las Vegas with an exceptional, incomparable musical experience. -Anthony Alcain, flute (2016-2018)

YAO was a fun, challenging, and professional program I am happy to have been a member of. Musical Director, Yunior Lopez, is a wonderful conductor and mentor. The repertoire chosen by him is always interesting. Being in YAO, I have gained many professional working relationships that have lead to new gig opportunities that I was able to pursue while in the orchestra as well as after having graduated from it. Overall my experience in YAO was a very good one and I am excited to see what they will do next! –Alexandria Pritchard, violin (2016-2018)

Flute

Elizabeth Hebing – Carnegie Mellon University
Jenna Allen – Northern Arizona University
G Pupkiewicz – UNLV
Sarah Phillips – (School)
New Townsend – UNLV
Alan Navarrete – UNLV
Anastasia Spinos – UNLV
Julian Aguilar – UNLV
Anthony Alcain – California State Fullerton
Alana Bronson – Univ. Nevada Reno
Jacob Cannon – UNLV

Oboe

Miriam Dayton – BYU Provo
Gabriella Gillespie – (School)
Madison Wilacey – University of Arizona
Leonardo Mendizabal – UNLV
Hansen Chang – Air Force Academy
Jonathan Chan – University of Michigan
Emma Cornelius – DePauw University
Marisa Davidson – UNLV
Alysia Bosnos – UNLV

Clarinet

Covin Carlson – UNLV
Lilly Robbins – UNR
Sonny Davis – (School)
Shane Herbert – Cleveland Institute of Music
Greco Neblina – UNLV
Emma Keller – (School)
Gweneth Tacan – University of the Pacific
Andrew Schmidt – (School)
Kie Watanabe – (School)
Ivan Ferguson – San Francisco Conservatory
Jay Savoy – UNLV
Ethan Blankfeld – UNLV
Katelyn Keeley – CalState Northridge

Bassoon

Jordan Farber – The Colburn School
Gabriel Lopez – School?
Hannah Murawsky – Univ. Oregon
Kayla Weigert – UNLV

Horn

Lucas Hoffman – UNLV
Andre Gentile – (School)
Mia Morgan – (School)
Logan McElroy – UNLV
MarcAnthony Decoy – University of Denver
Jeremy Kaminsky – CSN

Trumpet

Reno Villafuerte – UNLV
Jacob Zell – UNLV
Trey Temples – (School)
Miguel Dominguez – UNLV
Joshua Camper – Vanderbilt University
Matthew Wright – UNLV
Bronson Pasual – UNLV

Trombone

Thomas Tighi – San Francisco Conservatory
Aiden Winer – UNR
James Navarro – University of Utah
Joseph Church – (School)
Aaron Anderton-Coss – University of North Texas
Scott Odou – New England Conservatory / UNLV
Giovanni Lacala – UNLV
Nathan Russell – UNLV
Andrew Deibel – DePaul University
Matthew Miles – School?
Chandler Cison – UNLV
Allan Quan – UNLV

Tuba

Jacob Mast – UNT
Jadden Huppert – Vanderbilt University
Will Temples – Miami University
Cyrus Townsend – UNLV

Percussion

Vance Marazzi – UNLV
Cameron Ancell – Duquesne University
Wren Maramaldi – Duquesne University
Armando Romeu – CSN
Ethan McGraw – University of Denver
Zoe Farrell – University of California, San Diego
Jacob Desautel – UNLV
Gabryel Leser – School?
Zachary Torres – School?

Harp

Izabella Tu – Loyola Marymount

Violins

Jang Choe – Harvard University
David Siquiera – Arizona State University
Isabel Pinney – University of Oregon
Evyn Joseph – UNLV
Kelsea Au – Indiana University
Benel Higuchi – University of California Berkeley
Erika Dalton – University of Michigan
Rachael Wei – University of Pittsburgh
Josephina Romero – College of Southern Nevada
Alexandria Pritchard – Hunter College/UNLV
Andrew Thompson – UNR
Melody Woodward – University of San Francisco
Kyle Barbosa – US NAVY
Tracy Nguyen – UNLV
Deanna Chea – UNLV
Jacques Carticiano – UNLV
Cameron Battaglia – UNLV
Yestyn Griffith – UNLV
Amy Won Na – UNLV
Arturo Hernandez – UNLV
Waverly Tingle – UNLV
Angelica Clemente – UNLV
Katrina Pinili – UNLV
Justin Lopez – UNLV
Grace Kang – Yale Univ.
Angelica Padilla – CSN
Thomas Kyong – UPenn
Daniel Kyong – School?
Cecilia Winchell – UNLV
Jiani Zhi – UNLV
Alala Longmire – UNLV
Pearl Sung – UNLV
Nikki Onchengco – UNLV
Abigail Knox – Roosevelt University
Lana Vladic – UNLV
Amador Guerrero – UNR

Violas

Chloe Kim – Brown University
Ha Choe – University of Southern California
Lourdes Pinney – Cleveland Institute of Music
Ian Fackrell – Berklee College of Music
Shyler Macaggi – The Royal Conservatory of Music
Erik Garcia-Rojas – The Royal Conservatory of Music
Kenny Fuji – Cleveland Institute of Music
Tristan Macaggi – The Royal Conservatory of Music
Miguel Misa – Florida International
Joshua Roach – Southern Utah University
Bianca Ionescu – UNLV
Ella Duprow – UNLV
Steven Glover – Univ. Nevada Reno
Ian Parvin – Utah State Univ.
Chris Baltazar – Univ. of Seattle
Orei Odents – UNLV
Daja Robinson – Pepperdine Univ.
Samantha Capurso – UNLV

Cello

Payce Weight – UNR
Andrew Sundberg – UNLV
Julian Romano – UNLV
Carl Sheng – UNLV
Young Choe – (School)
Isaac Garcia-Rojas – (School)
Angel Scotch – UNLV
Ava Incera – UNLV
Joel Shimada – California Lutheran Univ.
Lesly Monroy – University of Denver
Kayla Quijano – UNLV
Ava Incera – UNLV
Angela Zhang – UNLV
Devon Zubka – Indiana University
Devin Lopez – Chapman University
Dana Hurt Jr – UNLV
Ryan Tingle – UNLV
Matthew Lazeroff – UNLV
Olivia Knock – UNR
Joshua Lawson – UNLV
Addison Bennet – (School)

Double Bass

Abraham Flannigan – UNLV
Emily Martinez – UNLV
Anthony Towels – UNLV
Hiram Garcia – UNLV
Jack Kotchka-Smith – Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
Sam Morgan – UNLV
Alyssa D’Anduono – UNLV
Sam Morgan – UNLV
Aidan Neuman – School?
Sergio Monroy – UNLV
Damien Gomez – UNLV
LeNaaya Williams – Green River College
Diego Suarez – Southern Utah Univ.
Josh Riel – UNLV
Michael Torres – Peabody Conservatory / Colburn
Jimmy Cisneros – UNLV
Trey Lawrence – UNLV
Daniel Skurski – UNLV

*ALUMNI – IF YOUR NAME IS MISSING OR INFORMATION IS INCORRECT, THEN PLEASE REACH OUT TO US.