ABOUT OUR TEAM

As President & CEO, Michael Remson leads all aspects of SDYS, including educational and artistic programs, development, marketing, communications, human resources, finance and collaborations with other organizations. Michael seeks to fulfill our vision to make music education accessible and affordable for all, collaborates with the Board of Directors and oversees a diverse team of high-performing staff and faculty.

An accomplished composer, author, educator and administrator, Michael has dedicated more than thirty years to his work as an artist, arts educator and arts advocate.

As a composer and librettist, Dr. Remson has received numerous grants, commissions and fellowships and his works have been performed throughout the United States and in Europe. His operas have been performed by Houston Grand Opera/Opera To Go, Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival, Houston Girls Chorus, Texas Tech University Opera, Abilene Collegiate Opera, and the New York City Opera “Showcasing American Composers” series. Other engagements include the installation SoundForge(with metal smith Gabriel Craig) at The Cameron Museum (Wilmington, NC), Museum of Contemporary Craft (Portland, OR) and the Center for Contemporary Craft (Houston, TX). Dr. Remson created the music for two ballets including Collapsible Rhythms with Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch. Dr. Remson also served as Composer-in-Residence with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as recipient of a prestigious award from the Americans for the Arts Foundation (ARTS-USA).

As an arts administrator, advocate and educator, Dr. Remson served for 17 years as Executive and Artistic Director of AFA, Houston’s largest non-profit provider of music education programs for young people. Prior to his service to AFA, Dr. Remson served as CFO and senior consultant at Downey Associates International, a consulting firm based in New York City. At Downey, Dr. Remson facilitated organization development interventions, authored training materials and co-authored human resources strategies for Fortune 500 organizations. As an advocate, he served on the leadership team of Arts Connect, Houston’s collective impact model working to bring arts education to thousands of Houston school-children. Dr. Remson served on the faculty of Houston Ballet Academy, the University of Houston Moores School of Music, Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Remson has published two books on American music, is a contributor to the Grove Dictionary of American Music and has written numerous encyclopedia entries and journal articles.

Dr. Remson grew up in New York City and completed doctoral studies in composition and libretto writing with Grammy Award winning composer Carlisle Floyd and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee. He is an alumnus of New York University, the University of Houston and Carnegie Mellon University.

Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra

Named Musical America’s April 2023 New Artist of the Month and internationally recognized for his “profound artistry” (The San Diego Union Tribune), Sameer Patel is one of America’s most exciting conductors. Equally at home conducting world premieres and traditional classical works, Patel’s infectious enthusiasm for music is felt by musicians, audiences, and students alike.

Guided by a passion for sharing a lifelong love for music, he is also the Artistic Director of the San Diego Youth Symphony – a transformational organization that reaches more than 3,000 students through its twelve ensembles, El Sistema-inspired community programs, and early childhood music classes. Patel is also the recently appointed Music Director and Orchestra Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus. Formerly, he served for six seasons as Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and held an acclaimed tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony, where he reinvigorated the orchestra’s programming and connection with its community.

Recent and upcoming performances include Puccini’s Tosca with Houston’s Opera in the Heights, as well as concerts with the orchestras of Chicago, Toronto, St. Louis, Detroit, New Jersey, Baltimore, Princeton, Sarasota, Florida, Phoenix, Omaha, Grand Rapids, Sacramento, Toledo, New Hampshire, Bozeman, Savannah, Fresno, Knoxville, Alabama, Naples, Reading, and Jacksonville. He has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, and has taught and performed at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Abroad, Patel has conducted performances with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, and the Leipziger Sinfonieorchester.

Patel’s impressive work has led to recognition from the Solti Foundation U.S., which granted him three consecutive Career Assistance Awards and an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with North Carolina Opera. He was recognized by Daniele Gatti as a top conductor at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, which led to his acclaimed debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo. Additionally, Kurt Masur, the late Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, recognized Patel’s talents with a prize from the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation, which allowed him to study with and assist Maestro Masur in his appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. That same year, Patel was one of only six conductors selected by the League of American Orchestras for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, which led to subsequent, multiple engagements with that orchestra.

Patel studied at the University of Michigan and furthered his training across Europe with some of the greatest conductors of our time, including Gianandrea Noseda, Daniele Gatti, David Zinman, Paavo Järvi, and the late conductors Kurt Masur and Bernard Haitink. Additionally, Patel has assisted and learned from leading conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Edo de Waart, Robert Spano, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Stéphane Denève, Jaap van Zweden, Thomas Wilkins, Larry Rachleff, and Mei-Ann Chen, among many others.

Proudly born and raised in Michigan, Patel makes his home in San Diego with his wife, Shannon, and two children, Devan and Veda. In his spare time, Patel pursues his passions for literature, languages, jazz, traveling, history, and tennis.

Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra

Named Musical America’s April 2023 New Artist of the Month and internationally recognized for his “profound artistry” (The San Diego Union Tribune), Sameer Patel is one of America’s most exciting conductors. Equally at home conducting world premieres and traditional classical works, Patel’s infectious enthusiasm for music is felt by musicians, audiences, and students alike.

Guided by a passion for sharing a lifelong love for music, he is also the Artistic Director of the San Diego Youth Symphony – a transformational organization that reaches more than 3,000 students through its twelve ensembles, El Sistema-inspired community programs, and early childhood music classes. Patel is also the recently appointed Music Director and Orchestra Conductor of the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus. Formerly, he served for six seasons as Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and held an acclaimed tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony, where he reinvigorated the orchestra’s programming and connection with its community.

Recent and upcoming performances include Puccini’s Tosca with Houston’s Opera in the Heights, as well as concerts with the orchestras of Chicago, Toronto, St. Louis, Detroit, New Jersey, Baltimore, Princeton, Sarasota, Florida, Phoenix, Omaha, Grand Rapids, Sacramento, Toledo, New Hampshire, Bozeman, Savannah, Fresno, Knoxville, Alabama, Naples, Reading, and Jacksonville. He has also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, and has taught and performed at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Abroad, Patel has conducted performances with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, and the Leipziger Sinfonieorchester.

Patel’s impressive work has led to recognition from the Solti Foundation U.S., which granted him three consecutive Career Assistance Awards and an Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency with North Carolina Opera. He was recognized by Daniele Gatti as a top conductor at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, which led to his acclaimed debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo. Additionally, Kurt Masur, the late Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, recognized Patel’s talents with a prize from the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation, which allowed him to study with and assist Maestro Masur in his appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. That same year, Patel was one of only six conductors selected by the League of American Orchestras for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, which led to subsequent, multiple engagements with that orchestra.

Patel studied at the University of Michigan and furthered his training across Europe with some of the greatest conductors of our time, including Gianandrea Noseda, Daniele Gatti, David Zinman, Paavo Järvi, and the late conductors Kurt Masur and Bernard Haitink. Additionally, Patel has assisted and learned from leading conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Charles Dutoit, Edo de Waart, Robert Spano, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Stéphane Denève, Jaap van Zweden, Thomas Wilkins, Larry Rachleff, and Mei-Ann Chen, among many others.

Proudly born and raised in Michigan, Patel makes his home in San Diego with his wife, Shannon, and two children, Devan and Veda. In his spare time, Patel pursues his passions for literature, languages, jazz, traveling, history, and tennis.

Anthony Do-Hoon Kim, Conductor
Sinfonia

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Anthony Do-Hoon Kim is a versatile conductor, music educator, and piano pedagogue, who has performed throughout North America. With a passion for inspiring the next generation of artists and a mission to make music education accessible to all, he joined the San Diego Youth Symphony as a conductor in 2013. Since then, he has directed SDYS orchestras at all levels, including the Prelude, Inspiration, Showcase, Ovation, and Community Opus Project. Prior to his time at SDYS, Mr. Kim served as Music Director of the Michigan Pops Orchestra and was the Founding Artistic Director of the Dead Composers Society at UC Santa Barbara. He appeared as a guest conductor with the University of Michigan Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, San Diego All-City Honor Orchestras, and Grossmont Union Honor Orchestra. He has additionally served on the conducting staff of the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, U-M Campus Orchestras, UCSB Symphony Orchestra, South Coast Reading Orchestra, and Santa Barbara Youth Symphony. As a clinician, he has conducted and worked with orchestral programs at the San Diego State University, The Colburn School, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Kadima Conservatory of Music, David’s Harp Foundation, Casa de Amistad of Solana Beach, Fortissimo Orchestra in San Marcos, and VAPA programs at the San Diego Unified School District.

As a Conducting Fellow, Mr. Kim studied at the Pierre Monteux School and the Conductors Institute at Bard College Conservatory of Music. Additionally, he has performed in masterclasses for artists including Leon Fleisher, Gustav Meier, Yuval Yaron, and the Juilliard String Quartet. As a featured performer, he has given live radio performances and led numerous world premieres of works by living composers. He is a recipient of multiple career grants from the Léni Fé Bland Foundation and has won first prize awards in piano from the Music Teachers National Association and Saddleback Symphony Young Artist competitions. Mr. Kim was awarded a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he studied under Kenneth Kiesler. He also holds both a Bachelor and Master of Music in Piano Performance from UC Santa Barbara, where he was a student of Charles Asche.

Concert Winds

Bio coming soon!

Philharmonia

Bio coming soon!

Concert Winds

Ms. Tamara Paige has been a music educator in the San Diego area for over 20 years directing a wide range of performance ensembles and creating collaborative experiences within the community. She also directs the orchestra program and co-chairs the music department at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts.

Over the years, Ms. Paige’s music programs have been recognized for their professional level of performance, have received top honors and national recognition, and have sent scores of students onto successful college and professional musical careers. In 2019 Tamara received SDYS’s Profiles in Music Education Award for her continued work with young musicians. As an alumna, she is proud to return to SDYS as a conductor.

Wind Symphony

James Sepulvado is a conductor, professor, published author, President and co-founder of San Diego Winds, and leader of a coalition working to rebuild music programs in San Diego’s east county. In addition to his work at SDYS, Mr. Sepulvado serves as Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Performing Arts Department at Cuyamaca College. He was also recently appointed Interim Director of Bands at Point Loma Nazarene University. Prior to his position at Cuyamaca College, Mr. Sepulvado served as the Instrumental Music Director at Point Loma High School.

His first book, The Joy of Listening to Music, was published by Great River Learning, a division of Kendall-Hunt, in the fall of 2020. James is a co-founder and President of San Diego Winds, a non-profit music education organization centered around a professional Wind Ensemble, one of only two in the nation. He is the camp director of the San Diego Summer Music Institute.

James performs as a freelance professional tuba player and has appeared with Seaside Brass, Westwind Brass, and the San Diego Winds. Mr. Sepulvado is a member of the American Federation of Musicians Union, Local 325. He holds a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Education from National University.

Symphonic Strings

 Debut Strings, Overture Strings, Music Discovery

Originally from the United Kingdom, Lowri Casimiro attended the Royal Welsh College of Music where she studied performance on viola and violin, graduating with a Bachelor of Music. She continued her musical education in London with Post-Graduate studies in performance at Trinity College of Music and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education from Roehampton, University of Surrey.

Since leaving the United Kingdom, Ms. Casimiro is grateful to have had the opportunity to travel the world, teaching music to students of all ages in prestigious international schools. Some of her favorite schools include Bluewater International School in Koh Samui, Thailand and Al Yasmina Academy in Abu Dhabi. Since settling down in San Diego five years ago, she has been a valued teaching artist at SDYS’ Opus Community Project.

Ms. Casimiro is an Orff certified teacher; her true passion lies in developing the musical minds of younger students and she now teaches within the Chula Vista Elementary School District. In 2015, she was the recipient of the VH-1 Save the Music Foundation, Music Educator of the Year, recognizing her commitment and dedication to her students.

 Debut Winds, Overture Winds

Valerie McElroy is a flutist, educator, music arranger, and multi-instrumentalist who has traversed the world of music in her teaching and performance. She is the founder and director of VM Studio, a private music education studio, and is a regular performer with San Diego-based professional ensembles Connessa (2021 Finalists in Chamber Music, The American Prize) and Flûtes de Salon (NFA Convention Performers, 2022).

As a sought-after flute clinician and collaborator, Ms. McElroy serves as the Flute Ensemble Director at Villa Musica, is a member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC), and formerly served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Flute Guild. A Chicago native, she studied at DePaul University with Mary Stolper, Hideko Amano, and Jennifer Clippert and has since worked with hundreds of music students in her educational career. Her pedagogy is centered around the development of the whole musician.

Beginning Strings

Marife Biares was born in the Philippines and grew up in a family of musicians. Her experience in orchestra performance began at the age of six as a violinist in the children’s orchestra Pasaknungan Philippines, and she is a graduate of the University of the Phillipines College of Music with a major in music education.

From 2000 to 2014 Marife taught violin at the University of the Philippines, College of Music extension program. She also taught violin class for beginners at the International School Manila. She was a mentor at the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth “Ang Misyon”, was is inspired by El Sistema with the vision of excellence in music performance.

In 2015, Marife joined the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) led by Musical Director Robert Shroder, with which she has performed at many venues and events across California.

For the past twenty-two years, Marife has been shaping the lives of children and young adults through music. She has been a long-time teaching artist with San Diego Youth Symphony, working with students throughout SDYS’ programs. In addition to her work with SDYS’ Opus Project in Chula Vista, Marife teaches at Sunnyside Elementary School. She is an advocate for all students to receive high-quality music education including students who attend school online.

Cole Andrade is a percussionist, composer, and music educator from the “City of Champions” Brockton, Massachusetts. While at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Cole studied with Nancy Zeltsman, Vessela Stoyanova, Richard Flanagan, Gustavo Agatiello, and Thomas Schmidt among other fabulous Berklee professors. He performed regularly with the Berklee Percussion Ensemble, Berklee Film Scoring Orchestra, Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, and Harvard Bach Society along with countless professional ensembles. He then traveled across the country to pursue a Masters in Composition from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. After graduating, he moved to New York City where he served as the music teacher at the Bronx Charter School for Excellence, launching the school’s music program. Andrade is thrilled that his career has brought him to San Diego and looks forward to sharing his love of music with his community.

Kaitlyn Korogy-Guarneros (she/her/hers) is a nonprofit arts leader working to cultivate authentic and affirming spaces for youth to create music. At the helm of The Opus Project at the San Diego Youth Symphony, she leads the vision, strategic design, execution, and expansion of community-based programming. She is also proud to serve on the El Sistema USA Board of Directors.

Born and raised in San Diego, California, she grew up in one of the largest public school systems in California at a time when the arts were seeing drastic cuts in public funding. Her career in leadership and advocacy unofficially began in her Sophomore year, when she successfully sought the restoration of her high school’s orchestra program.

She began her career as a private cello teacher and teaching artist. After joining SDYS’ faculty in 2012 to teach at the Opus Project, she ultimately found her biggest passion in arts administration and creative youth development. Kaitlyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from San Diego State University and a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from University of San Diego.

Ivelisse Dominguez is an administrator, proud San Diego native, and firm believer in the power of community organizing whose work centers critical social justice.

She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at CSU San Marcos while working as a Project Manager at local tech startup, Jamiak Inc. Upon returning to higher academia, Ivelisse taught as a Teaching Associate at Cal Poly Humboldt. She also worked as Managing Editor at the Humboldt Journal of Social Relations where she edited her first academic journal publication.

Ivelisse is completing her Master of Arts in Public Sociology at Cal Poly Humboldt, and her thesis highlights the works of local social organizers. Ivelisse is excited to offer administrative support to the Community Opus Project in providing our students with quality music education.

Camellia Aftahi (she/her) is an Iranian-American double bassist currently based out of Southern California. Her interests lie in the intersection between art, community, and self-exploration. From a background focused in classical music, Camellia now uses her skills as a bassist, musician, and teacher to engage in the performance and creation of original art, both hers and others’. 

As a POC, Camellia’s experiences in classical music have led her to put dismantling institutional and internalized racism within the art form at the forefront of her work. She was a fellow of the 2018-20 class of the CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship, where she earned her MM in Double Bass performance from CCM while regularly performing with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the mentorship of CSO principal bass Owen Lee. During her time in Cincinnati, Camellia received the opportunity to attend SphinxConnect as a SphinxConnect Fellow, attend workshops which allowed her to work one-on-one with such leaders as Vijay Gupta and Ed Barker, and begin engaging in truly integral conversations concerning racism in classical music. Camellia looks forward to a lifetime of work towards ensuring that classical music is accessible to all. Camellia earned her BM in Double Bass performance from San Diego State University while studying with Jeremy Kurtz-Harris and Jory Herman. Camellia is a strong believer in the power of organizing within one’s own community to achieve structural change. She is a founding member of the Project for All Gender Equality, a group that leads the conversation of gender equality among bassists, which presented a panel at the 2019 International Society of Bassists convention. In Cincinnati, Camellia became a founding member of the new music chamber ensemble New Downbeat. Led by bassoonist Dr. Caroline Sackleh, New Downbeat is a space that provides female-identifying musicians the opportunity to premiere new works and work closely with composers. Also during her time in Cincinnati, Camellia became acquainted with the El Sistema educational system while teaching at the non-profit MYCincinnati, which provides a free musical education to students from varied backgrounds. 

Other performing credits include performing with the La Jolla Symphony under the direction of Steven Schick, a summer with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra as a Diversity Fellow, the Colour of Music festival, and the Next Festival of Emerging Artists led by Peter Askim. In the summer of 2021, Camellia will attend the Bang on a Can Summer Music Institute at MASS MoCA as a Robert Black Double Bass Fellow.

Nasim Khorassani is an Iranian composer, sound artist, educator, founder of MOAASER, a free online music academy to support Persian students, and thrilled to become a part of the KeyNote team. Nasim’s music takes various approaches to visuality, emotional connection, and language. Her works have been performed by No Exit New Music Ensemble, Del Sol String Quartet, Patchwork Duo, Zeitgeist, OCAZEnigma, Loadbang, International Contemporary Ensemble, in^set trio, Silkroad Ensemble, Thin Edge New Music Collective, Cepromusic ensemble, and La Jolla Symphony Orchestra across the United States, Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Composers Now has also featured Nasim in the IMPACT Series in January 2023. Nasim is currently a PhD candidate in music composition at UC San Diego, working with Prof. Rand Steiger.

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Jusun Eo (Ms. Jusun) is a violinist in San Diego, California. She holds a Bachelor of Art degree from North Park University and a Master of Music performance degree from San Diego State University with a full scholarship. She is a performer, teacher, soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She is a nominated violin professor at Seminario San Pablo University and has performed in masterclasses.

Ms. Jusun has previously performed with the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra and with violin virtuoso Midori. She was the winner of the competition in Hoffman Estates, won first prize awards at the Mulwang Art Festival competition in South Korea, and performed solo in Anderson Chapel.

She currently performs as a soloist at the San Dieguito United Methodist Church and is Concertmaster of the San Diego Festival Chorus and Assistant Concertmaster of the Coronado Philharmonia Orchestra.

Alissa Maushardt is a Southern California based performer, educator, and writer adept on clarinet, saxophone, flute and piano. She studied classical and contemporary music at UCSD and since graduating, She has branched out into R&B, funk, big bands and jazz ensembles. Alissa has done musical theater, festivals and corporate gigs throughout the region. In her free time, Alissa enjoys skating, surfing and connecting with friends.

Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Charles Grosjean Perkes came from a strong musical family. While still in high school he auditioned and was accepted into the United States Army Band as a bassist. While in the Army he studied at the Department of Defense School of Music. After completing four years in the Army Band, he joined his wife in the Navy Band, where they completed a four-year tour of duty performing all over Europe and Africa. His next tour to Japan was for four years, performing all over Southeast Asia. Now settled in Chula Vista with his wife Laura and two daughters, Sofie and Pepper, he enjoys making art of all types. He has a unique and charismatic personality and is currently focusing on being a good dad, a good teacher, and a good friend.

Greg Perrin enjoys a versatile career as an orchestral and chamber musician. Currently a member of the South West Florida Symphony Orchestra, Miami City Ballet Opus One Orchestra, and Palm Beach Opera, he also served as Principal Viola of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra for four seasons and has performed as Acting Principal for the Miami City Ballet. In addition, he has performed with The Florida Orchestra, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, California Chamber Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has performed with the Palimpsest Ensemble, Classics 4 Kids, as well as performed in La Jolla Playhouse’s premiere run of the musical Lempicka.

A devoted teacher, Greg taught students of all ages at the Eastman Community Music School, where he also conducted the New Horizons Orchestra. As a teaching assistant at Florida State University, he taught music majors and minors in private and chamber music settings. He was a Guest Viola Faculty at the 2018 Miami ViolaFest where he gave a masterclass at the New World School of the Arts. In the summer of 2022, Greg taught at the International Youth Symphony. Currently, he is a Teaching Artist for the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory.

Greg began his musical studies on violin at the age of 12 and later earned degrees in both viola and violin. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music from Florida State University, and a Professional Performer’s Certificate from Lynn Conservatory of Music. In addition, Greg also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Rochester.

Marife Biares was born in the Philippines and grew up in a family of musicians. Her experience in orchestra performance began at the age of six as a violinist in the children’s orchestra Pasaknungan Philippines, and she is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Music with a major in music education.

From 2000 to 2014 Marife taught violin at the University of the Philippines, College of Music extension program. She also taught violin class for beginners at the International School Manila. She was a mentor at the Orchestra of the Filipino Youth “Ang Misyon”, was inspired by El Sistema with the vision of excellence in music performance.

In 2015, Marife joined the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra (FASO) led by Musical Director Robert Shroder, with whom she has performed at many venues and events across California.

For the past twenty-two years, Marife has been shaping the lives of children and young adults through music. She has been a long-time teaching artist with San Diego Youth Symphony, working with students throughout SDYS’ programs. In addition to her work with SDYS’ Opus Project in Chula Vista, Marife teaches at Sunnyside Elementary School. She is an advocate for all students to receive high-quality music education including students who attend school online.

Brooks T. Salloum (he/they) is a double bassist and music educator. Brooks attended the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music and holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in double bass performance. Brooks was a teaching artist at MYCincinnati youth orchestra for four years before working with KeyNote and is an avid freelance performer of a variety of genres.

 Debut Strings, Overture Strings, Music Discovery

Originally from the United Kingdom, Lowri Casimiro attended the Royal Welsh College of Music where she studied performance on viola and violin, graduating with a Bachelor of Music. She continued her musical education in London with Post-Graduate studies in performance at Trinity College of Music and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education from Roehampton, University of Surrey.

Since leaving the United Kingdom, Ms. Casimiro is grateful to have had the opportunity to travel the world, teaching music to students of all ages in prestigious international schools. Some of her favorite schools include Bluewater International School in Koh Samui, Thailand and Al Yasmina Academy in Abu Dhabi. Since settling down in San Diego five years ago, she has been a valued teaching artist at SDYS’ Opus Community Project.

Ms. Casimiro is an Orff certified teacher; her true passion lies in developing the musical minds of younger students and she now teaches within the Chula Vista Elementary School District. In 2015, she was the recipient of the VH-1 Save the Music Foundation, Music Educator of the Year, recognizing her commitment and dedication to her students.

Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Charles Grosjean Perkes came from a strong musical family. While still in high school he auditioned and was accepted into the United States Army Band as a bassist. While in the Army he studied at the Department of Defense School of Music. After completing four years in the Army Band, he joined his wife in the Navy Band, where they completed a four-year tour of duty performing all over Europe and Africa. His next tour to Japan was for four years, performing all over Southeast Asia. Now settled in Chula Vista with his wife Laura and two daughters, Sofie and Pepper, he enjoys making art of all types. He has a unique and charismatic personality and is currently focusing on being a good dad, a good teacher, and a good friend.