Mei-Ann Chen, conductor

Innovation, imagination, passion and dynamism are the hallmarks of Taiwanese-American conductor Mei-Ann Chen. Music Director of the MacArthur Award-winning Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, Ms. Chen is Austria's Recreation Grosses Orchester Graz Chief Conductor, a post she was named to in fall 2021 after two seasons as the orchestra's first-ever Principal Guest Conductor (making her the first female Asian conductor to hold this position with an Austrian orchestra). Ms. Chen also has served as Artistic Director & Conductor for the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra Summer Festival 2016 - 2021 and as the first-ever Artistic Partner of Houston’s ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra).  A sought-after guest conductor acclaimed for infusing orchestras with energy, enthusiasm, high-level music-making and galvanizing audiences and communities alike, Ms. Chen is known as a compelling communicator. She has appeared with distinguished orchestras throughout the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, and continues to expand her relationships with orchestras worldwide (over 110 orchestras to date). Recent highlights include debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Austria's Tonkünstler in Vienna's Musikverein and engagements with Finland's Helsinki Philahrmonic, Ireland's Ulster Orchestra, Sweden's Norrlandsosper, Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Taiwan Philharmonic. Ms. Chen also served on the jury for the prestigious Malko Competition in 2021. Honors and awards include being named one of Musical America’s 2015 Top 30 Influencers; 2012 Helen M. Thompson Award from the League of American Orchestras; winner, 2007 Taki Concordia Fellowship founded by Marin Alsop; 2005 First Prize Winner of the Malko Competition (first woman to win in the history of the competition) and ASCAP awards for innovative programming.

Aaron Diehl, piano

Pianist and composer Aaron Diehl mystifies listeners with his layered artistry. At once temporal and ethereal, his expression transforms the piano into an orchestral vessel in the spirit of beloved predecessors Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner and Jelly Roll Morton. Following three critically-acclaimed leader albums on Mack Avenue Records — and live appearances at historic venues from Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Village Vanguard to New York Philharmonic and the Philharmonie de Paris — the American Pianist Association’s 2011 Cole Porter fellow now focuses his attention on what it means to be present within himself. His forthcoming solo record promises an expansion of that exploration in a setting at once unbound and intimate.

Mr. Diehl conjures three-dimensional expansion of melody, counterpoint and movement through time. Rather than choose one sound or another, he invites listeners into the chambered whole of his artistry. Born in Columbus, Ohio, he traveled to New York in 2003, following his success as a finalist in JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition and a subsequent European tour with Wynton Marsalis. His love affair with rub and tension prompted a years-long immersion in distinctive repertoire from Monk and Ravel to Gershwin and William Grant Still. Among other towering figures, Still in particular inspires Mr. Diehl’s ongoing curation of Black American composers in his own performance programming, unveiled this past fall at 92nd St. Y.

Mr. Diehl has enjoyed artistic associations with Wynton Marsalis, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Buster Williams, Branford Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Philip Glass and multi-Grammy Award-winning artist Cecile McLorin Salvant. He recently appeared with the New York Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra as featured soloist.

Mr. Diehl holds a bachelor of music degree in jazz studies from The Juilliard School. A licensed pilot, when he’s not at the studio or on the road, he’s likely in the air. Follow both his earthbound and aerial exploits via Instagram at @aaronjdiehl.

2022 NYO2 Members

Violin

+ Robert Aguila, Miami, FL
Antonio Avilés Figueroa, Toa Baja, PR
Sarah Biesack, Melbourne, FL
+ Ayi Ekhaese, Sugar Land, TX
Kai Freeman, Haddonfield, NJ
Brandon Garza, San Antonio, TX
Loren Gigi, San Francisco, CA
+ Airi Ito, Elk Grove Village, IL
+ Kaitlyn Kaminuma, Chelmsford, MA
Lisa Kazami, Hoffman Estates, IL
Ashley Kim, Anchorage, AK
Christy Kim, Mason, OH
Hanah Kim, Harker Heights, TX
+ Jaden Minjae Kim, Irvine, CA
Kate Sunny Kim, Marietta, GA
Olivia Oh, Fort Lee, NJ
Jaehyun Park, Oakland Gardens, NY
Sean Qin, Short Hills, NJ
Angelina Santana-Herrera, Miami, FL
Sydney Schneider, Birmingham, AL
Krystal Sun, Closter, NJ
Virgilio Vázquez Vázquez, Guaynabo, PR
Kyle Yang, Diamond Bar, CA
Nicholas Yoo, Ramsey, NJ

Viola

◊ Branden Cabrera, Miami, FL
Ian Chen, Plano, TX
Luke D'Silva, Portland, OR
Cuewon Kim, Vestavia Hills, AL
Juhee Kim, Palisades Park, NJ
+ Michelle Koo, Palo Alto, CA
+ T'Yara Lesueur, San Diego, CA
+ Audrey Lim, Reno, NV
Spencer Quarles, Los Angeles, CA
John David Sharp II, Lowell, AR

Cello

+ Sophie Deng, Stillwater, OK
Huisun Hong, Pleasanton, CA
Natalie Kwok, Fullerton, CA
Celina Lim, Honolulu, HI
Carlos Morales, San Diego, CA
Daniel Yim, San Jose, CA
+ Daniel Yoon, San Jose, CA
Jiin Yun, Irvine, CA

Bass

+ Anderson Bernal, Potomac, MD
Ella Marchetti, Tampa, FL
Tendekai Mawokomatanda, Atlanta, GA
Eleanor Ohm, Bethesda, MD
Nathan Puopolo, Fresno, CA
Simon Vazquez-Carr, Durham, NC
+ Bianca Wilson, Annapolis, MD

Flute

Julin Cheung, Philadelphia, PA
Sadie Goodman, South Salem, NY
Parv Gosai, Ashburn, VA

Oboe

Zachary Allen, Skokie, IL
Alyson Goodwin, Hoover, AL
David Kwon, Diamond Bar, CA

Clarinet

Tiffany Chang, Ridgewood, NJ
Santiago Del Curto, Queens, NY
Barak Dosunmu, Moorestown, NJ

Alto Saxophone

Caden Helmer, Blue Springs, MO

Bassoon

Jackson Bernal, Potomac, MD
Adam Tang, Exeter, NH
Cassandra Valenti, Las Vegas, NV

Horn

Paxson Amy, Conway, AR
Neha Bharadwaj, Irving, TX
Seth Corlew, Jacksonville, FL
Hayden Joyce, Middlebury, IN
Ryan Mash, Durham, NC

Trumpet

Diogo Muggiati-Feldman, New York, NY
Mia Nardi, McKinney, TX
Rafael E. Rodriguez Matos, Bayamón, PR
Jack Shimon, Colorado Springs, CO

Trombone

Edwin Osorio, Ann Arbor, MI
TJ Shistle, Jacksonville, FL

Bass Trombone

Calleigh Riordan, Dyer, IN

Tuba

Michael Toben, Sioux City, IA

Timpani and Percussion

Charles “C.J.” Butera, Missouri City, TX
Sophia Luong, Des Plaines, IL
+ Kevin Reyes Vega, Chicago, IL
Wanye Williams, Chicago, IL
Jonathan Yuen, Fremont, CA

Harp

Sophia Jho, Pittsburgh, PA

+ Prior NYO2 member
◊ Member of NWS’s 2021 Side-by-Side Ensemble

NWS Fellows and Alumni - 2022 NYO2

Violin

Sophia Bernitz
Luis Salazar

Viola

Peter Ayuso

Cello

Vivian Chang

Bass

Eric Windmeier

Clarinet

Julianna Darby

Horn

Denise Tryon, Associate Professor of Horn, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Trumpet

Billy Hunter, Jr., Principal Trumpet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Morgen Low

Tuba

Andrew Abel
Craig Knox, Principal Tuba, Pittsburgh Symphony

Percussion

Marc Damoulakis, Principal Percussion, The Cleveland Orchestra