Lewis-Lionti Sonata Concert
Monday, February 3, 2025
Hankin Auditorium, Westchester Community College, Valhalla, New York
The Lewis- Lionti Sonata Concert was established by the GWYOA Board in 1997. The concert provides outstanding Youth Symphony seniors an opportunity to perform a major concerto with full orchestral accompaniment. In addition to recognizing the musical accomplishment of our students, the concert was established to honor the many years of dedicated GWYOA service rendered by Dale Lewis, former director of Junior String, and Victor Lionti, former conductor of Youth Symphony.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) Creatures of Prometheus Overture, Op. 43
The Westchester Youth Symphony
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791) Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 I. Allegro
Reese Wang, violin, Rebecca Zhang, violin, Jason Cai, viola, Erin Suk, cello
CARL STAMITZ (1745-1801) Duet in E-flat Major, I. Adagio II. Allegro Moderato
Sophia Jimdar, violin, Alice Wu, viola
JOSEPH BODIN DE BOISMORTIER (1689-1755) Sonata No. 1, Gravement
Aadi Sethi, cello, Betty Gao, cello
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759) Allemande from Suite XVI in G minor
Sophie Tanios, flute, Haley Berger, clarinet
JAY UNGAR (b.1946) Ashokan Farewell
Lilianne Williams-Ameen, violin, Verity Chao, viola
SOON HEE NEWBOLD (b. 1974) Alpha and Omega
The Westchester Youth Symphony
Kathleen C. Feldman, now in her fourth season as conductor of the GWYOA Youth Symphony, is the director of orchestras at Horace Greeley High School in the Chappaqua School District. With nearly two decades of teaching experience district wide, she also teaches music theory, coaches chamber ensembles, and serves as district music coordinator. Feldman is on the WCSMA board of directors, currently serving her second term as President-elect. Additionally, she teaches at the Eastern US Music Camp at Colgate University.
Feldman performs as a violinist in local orchestras and has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. She has guest conducted for groups such as The Chappaqua Orchestra, Orchestra 914, and the Cortlandt Chamber Orchestra. Feldman has also conducted at All County Festivals in Orange County and Queensbury, NY, and has studied conducting at Julliard through their extension division and is currently a student of Dr. Mark Shapiro.
Feldman holds a violin performance degree from SUNY Purchase, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Manhattanville College, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from Boston University. She is proud to showcase and celebrate Youth Symphony and its graduating senior class.
Westchester Youth Symphony
Violin l
Reese Wang, Concertmaster*
Rebecca Zhang, Asst. Concertmaster *
Tiana Kaga, Associate Concertmaster
Lilianne Williams-Ameen, Associate Concertmaster*
Koh Ando*
Natalie Baccay
Alexander Bond
Andy Cao
Cindy Chen
Ariana Chung
Sara Driver*
Alice Enokida*
Albert Huang
Katie Hung
Aleah Inoue*
Avi Medar
Justine Pascutti
Gabriella Rubinfine*
Serina Tomioka
Alyssum Wong*
Ava Wu
Cello
Betty Gao, Principal
Zoe Yau, Assistant Principal
Camilla Browand
Emma Camillo
Lauren Capurso
Evan Gilliam
Scarlett Hartzman
Conner Kim
Trisha Iyer
Hannah Loges*
Richa Patil*
Sachin Sasidharan
Aadi Sethi*
Teddy Stern
Erin Suk
Shaleen Thaker*
Kian Vasudev*
Harp
Charlotte Dorr
Violin II
Rudolf Tseng, Principal
Sophia Jimdar. Assistant Principal*
Ari Bellman
Mira Bokil-Hepp
Penelope Conway
Amy Feng*
Raina Gu
Beatrice Hopper
Sara Jankovic*
Shawn Lin
April Hana Middleton*
Zoe Seltzer
Michael Shost
Brian Song*
Daniel Song*
Amir Thalappillil
Aadhya Vijil
Aditi Vijil
Caroline Wu
Avery Xu
Yuhan Zhao
Bass
Jake Siegel, Principal*
Rani Benslimane
Catherine Lynch*
Zion Park
Samira Phillips
Noah Rinke
Flute
Sophie Tanios, Principal*
Catherine Zhang. Assistant Principal
Isabelle Chacko
Yashica Balasubramanian
Piccolo
Yashica Balasubramanian
Percussion
Vivian Ellsworth
Alexa Frusciante
Cole Michelini
* Graduating Senior
Viola
Verity Chao, Principal*
Alice Wu, Assistant Principal
Jason Cai*
AbIgail Choi
Sameen Choudhary
Karissa Hinds*
Leila Ibrahim
Evan Kaplan
Christian Sanchez
Navin Vasudev
Charlotte Wilke-Olsen*
Oboe
TianTong Wang, Principal
Aanya Shetty
Clarinet
Sally Anderson, Principal*
Joseph Francois, Asst. Principal*
Haley Berger*
Sophie Greenslade*
Johannes Magtajas
Bassoon
Ayaka Utsumi, Principal*
Anton Aaman
French Horn
Natalie Lord, Principal*
Adin Triolo, Assistant Principal*
Olive Copeland
Sarah Trivedi
Trumpet
Chen Lei, Co-Principal
Colin Rubsamen, Co-Principal*
Bryce Cohen
Donovan Chung
Trombone
Evan Piccirillo, Principal*
Alexander Harra
Angelina Pineiro*
2025 Graduating Seniors
The GWYOA Board celebrates Youth Symphony seniors last season as orchestra members and welcomes them into the GWYOA alumni community.
The Victor and Vincent Lionti Scholarship
The Victor and Vincent Lionti Scholarship honors the legacies of conductors emeritus Vincent J. Lionti and C. Victor Lionti by awarding a scholarship to a graduating senior who are in good standing with the GWYOA and who plan on pursuing a major or minor degree in music performance, music education, or another music related degree. 2025 is the scholarship’s inaugural year.
2025 Victor and Vincent Lionti Scholarship Recipient: Sophia Jimdar
2025 Victor and Vincent Lionti Scholarship Recipient: Aadi Sethi
2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient: Dr. Katie Kresek
Dr. Katie Kresek is a distinguished musician and educator with a rich background in performance, creation, and education. Graduating from the Greater Westchester Youth Orchestras Association (GWYOA) in 1994, Dr. Kresek has since crafted a remarkable career, blending her love for music with an unwavering commitment to excellence.
The first American woman to win a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations, Katie Kresek’s dynamic career as performer, creator, and educator is defined by versatility and multi-genre musical artistry. She is currently the concertmaster and co-orchestrator of Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway, for which she has received both the 2020 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and a 2020 Outer Critics Circle Honor for Outstanding Orchestrations.
Drawing on a peripatetic upbringing steeped in classical, folk, musical theatre, pop, and tango, her arrangements blend her vast experience as a performer with an imaginative synthesis of compositional styles. Her collaborations explore a wide vocabulary of idiomatic techniques, instrumental timbres and textures. In addition to Moulin Rouge! The Musical, recent arranging projects include for Beck’s 2024 Orchestral Tour, The Met Gala, Sleeping At Last’s 2024 performance at Carnegie Hall, Jonathan Coulton's album Some Guys, Phillip Phillips Behind The Light, and Lana Del Rey's Body Electric on the Born to Die: Paradise LP which was nominated for a Grammy Award. She has also written arrangements for Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Trey Anastasio, Rosanne Cash, Jesca Hoop, Misterwives, Richard Marx, Five for Fighting, and many others.
As a recording artist, she has performed on albums with artists including Norah JoHow are you doing, my brother?nes, James Taylor, Paul Simon, and most recently with Sarah Jarosz on her album World on the Ground, which won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. During the Broadway shutdown, she joined Trey Anastasio at his eight-week virtual residency, Beacon Jams, as part of the Rescue Squad Strings. Recent tours include Adele 25 Live in both Europe and North America, Five For Fighting Live with String Quartet, Elbow, Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy Tour, Bright Eyes, Rod Stewart at Madison Square Garden, and in Europe, US, Japan, and Latin America as the lead violinist and strings arranger for Lana Del Rey. She served as the concertmaster of David Byrne's Contemporary Color, performing with St. Vincent, Tune-Yards, Lucius, and Nelly Furtado in shows in Toronto and New York. She has also performed and/or recorded with Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rufus Wainwright, Rosanne Cash, Diana Krall, Billy Porter, Pharrell Williams, Phillip Phillips, A Great Big World, Bastille, Jesca Hoop, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, Alicia Keys, Angelique Kidjo, O.A.R., Shakira, KD Lang, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Jewel, Lenny Kravitz, Joanna Newsom, Enya, Ayo, Maya Isacowitz, Misterwives, Frank Ocean, MNDR, She & Him, Amber Rubarth, Kishi Bashi, The Hot Sardines, Breaking Benjamin, Zayn Malik, RY X, Trampled by Turtles, Chromeo, Andrew Bayer, JViewz, Marc Almond, Sir Jacobsen, Adriel Denae, The O’Jays, and many others.
She is also a founding member of the XQuartet; a string ensemble dedicated to the art of singer-songwriter collaboration in the studio and on stage. Since its inception, the quartet has emerged as one of the leading ensembles of its kind.
Her work in television includes performances on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with Steven Colbert, American Idol, Bluegrass Underground, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Today Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, The View, CBS The Early Show, The Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting, and the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Her Broadway experience includes performances in the original New York production and Angelica Tour of Hamilton, The Cher Show, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, American Idiot, The Lion King, Chaplin, Follies, Cinderella, The Phantom of the Opera, Gigi, Honeymoon in Vegas, Matilda, Pippin, On The Town, A Minister's Wife, Giant, and Frozen.
As a music and talent coordinator, Katie has put together ensembles for numerous national and international film, television, recording and touring projects, including the 2014 Met Gala with Frank Ocean, Adele’s debut at the 2009 Grammy Awards, and Adele’s 2015 television special “Live at Radio City” on NBC.
Praised for her skilled teaching artistry, creative and original programming, and her intelligent, holistic approach to string pedagogy, Katie Kresek combines passionate performance practice with deep commitment to learning to illuminate musical worlds for students and concertgoers. For six years, she was an Adjunct Associate Professor at St. John’s University in the department of Core Studies, where she taught interdisciplinary courses that explore the intersection of the arts and social issues in New York City, in addition to serving as an instructor of violin and viola. From 2016 to 2021, she served as the Community Liaison for the Teaching Artist Community at Teachers College, where she mentored teaching artists on expanding their practice. As a co-creator of Teachers College’s Online Certificate in Responsive Pedagogy program, she has designed online arts learning experiences for numerous cohorts since 2016. Additionally, Katie has served as teaching artist for Lincoln Center Education, The New York Philharmonic, and many other cultural organizations.
Katie holds a B.F.A. in music performance, a B.A. in literature, and a certificate in arts management from Purchase College, an M.M. in music performance from The Mannes College of Music, and a Masters and Doctorate in music and music education from Columbia University. Additional studies are in arranging, orchestration, and scoring at Berklee College of Music and The Juilliard School.
Board of Directors
Victoria Kravitz, Chairperson
Elena Inoue, Vice Chairperson
Farhad Ameen, Treasurer
Jennifer Kaplan, Secretary
Paul Pak, Assistant Treasurer
Katrina Choi, Assistant Secretary
Iris Wong, Auditions Liaison
Sujatha Thalappillil, Digital Assets Liaison
Margaret Bond, Chairperson Emeritus
Westchester Elementary Strings
Bernard Klinger Conductor
Stephen Jacobsohn Co-Liaison
Min Lucy Luo, Co-Liaison
Franziska Winkler, Co-Liaison
Westchester Junior Strings
Jacqueline Stern Conductor
Katrina Choi, Co-Liaison
Victoria Kravitz, Co-Liaison
Ying Yang, Co-Liaison
Westchester Youth Symphony
Kathleen Coletta Feldman Conductor
Farhad Ameen, Co-Liaison
Candy Huang, Co-Liaison
Elena Inoue, Co-Liaison
Spring Gala Concert
May 4, 2025 David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
Open Auditions for the 2025-2026 Season
GWYOA welcomes new musicians and current members moving up to participate in another exciting season of inspiring music! Auditions for new musicians interested in joining Junior Strings and Youth Symphony will be Saturday, May 10, 2025. Auditions for new musicians interested in joining Elementary Strings, and graduating musicians of Elementary Strings and Junior Strings wishing to move up to the next orchestra will be held on Monday, May 12, 2025.
For complete information and to register, visit www.gwyoa.org
Greater Westchester Youth Orchestra is a non-profit organization providing excellent grounding in cooperation, helping young people to develop self-esteem, and promoting harmony of our ethnically diverse community through classical music training. GWYOA consists of three orchestras made up of students in grades four through twelve from Westchester County and surrounding counties in the Tri-State Area.