Jacqueline Levin is a first year graduate student at UC Davis in
Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology. She
received her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Lewis &
Clark College in Portland, Oregon but grew up in Marin
County. She has played in orchestras at Davidson Middle
School, San Rafael High School, and College of Marin.
Before moving to Davis she studied under Joanna Pinckney and now
takes lessons from Michael Sand. This is her first year
with UCDSO.
Vi Truong is a second-year undergraduate Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology major, Music minor at UC Davis. She began
playing violin at age 12, and currently studies under Jolán
Friedhoff. She is also an assistant at Louise Jackson’s soil
ecology laboratory. Her hobbies include reading, conducting
kitchen experiments, and taking things apart.
Andrew Davidson is a 4th year PhD student in the Computer
Engineering Department. He started playing violin at a young age
of 4, and played in a number of youth orchestras until high
school. While in Davis he has decided to pick up the violin
again, and return to an Orchestra. In his spare time Andrew likes
to read, travel, learn languages, go wine tasting, and play video
games.
Kevin Lee is a first year student at UC Davis. He has been
playing the piano ever since he was 5 and picked up the violin
when he was 13. However, due to financial reasons, his violin
lessons were cut short, but he kept playing and taught himself.
This is his first season with UCDSO. In his spare time he likes
to cook, play video games, and play badminton.
Rachel Ferris is a third year Wildlife, Fish and Conservation
Biology major and Spanish minor with plans to attend veterinary
school. She is from Mission Viejo, CA, and has been playing the
violin since the age of nine. She has played with the Four
Seasons Youth Orchestra and the Saddleback Community College
Orchestra, and also played with her high school chamber orchestra
at Carnegie Hall her sophomore year. In her free time she loves
to read, dance, and play with her Chinchilla Pichu.
Emily Crotty is a third year majoring in Music and Psychology, or
rather, a third year who spends her days in the music building
and occasionally goes to psych classes. She started violin at 4
years old with Lesa Zuehlke and now studies with Jolán Friedhoff.
Jason Lee has been playing violin for eight years, and studied
under Qiu Yu Liu. While in high school, joined the BLYSO, a
Buddhist-founded orchestra, and was lucky enough to tour Europe
and Taiwan. He spends his spare time listening to music, hanging
out with friends, rock climbing, and occasionally dozing off
wherever he may be.
Catherine Fu is a first-year Cell Biology major, Music minor.
This is her first year in UCDSO. She began reading music when she
was four and picked up playing violin when she was ten. On her
free time she enjoys reading and a good game of Super Smash Bros
or Mario Kart.
Lawrence Leung is a freshman majoring in Economics and planning
on minoring in Music. He is originally from Hong Kong and he has
only been in the US for two years, at Arroyo High School. He
started learning piano when he was four and he started learning
violin when he was six. He was a member of many string orchestras
in Hong Kong, but UCSO is his first symphony orchestra
experience.
Lisa Cheung is a senior majoring in Economics and minoring in
Music. This is her second season with the UCDSO. Her orchestral
performance experience began with the Peninsula Youth Orchestra
and the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra; both reside in the bay
area. She began piano at the age of six, and then abruptly
switched to violin based on her parents’ decision two years
later.
Amanda Decker is a first year mechanical engineering major who
has been playing the violin for 8 years. She is originally from
Vacaville, California, and played as concertmaster at her high
school orchestra as well as in the Solano Youth Symphony. Her
best memories come from playing in musicals with the Will C. Wood
Arts program, as well as performing with the Benicia Festival
Orchestra.
Christine Chang is a second year Neurobiology, Physiology and
Behavior major whose violin lay dormant after elementary school,
but jolted awake at the calling of UCDSO. This is her first time
playing in a symphony, and she’d do it all day if she could.
Christine’s bucket list includes witnessing a grand show of the
aurora borealis and camping out on a tree portaledge. She plans
to minor in writing—her dream job is to write for the National
Geographic magazine.
Shebani Dandekar is a second year biological sciences major. She
has been playing the violin since she was 9 years old and has
always loved to play. This is Shebani’s first season playing with
the UC Davis symphony orchestra and she is looking forward to
collaborating and performing with this group of amazing
musicians.
Francisco Ortega is a third year student at UC Davis. He is from
the nearby town of Yuba City, California, and previously received
instruction from Ingrid Gaston. He has participated in many
musical programs such as the Yuba Sutter Youth Symphony, the Yuba
Sutter Oratorio Society, and his own high school symphony. He has
enjoyed attending both Pacific Music Camp and CODA Music Camp. He
enjoys playing duets and quartet pieces with friends and hopes to
continue in music as he strives for his goal of becoming a
professor and researcher of chemistry at UC Davis
Pamela Tedjo is a first-year English major and this is her first
year in the UCDSO. She started playing the violin when she was
nine and was a member of the Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra
for three years and the Claremont Young Musicians Intermezzo
Orchestra for two years. She like to read, write, ride her bike,
and hang out with friends. She also like to eat, but is not a
good cook. When she grow up, she want to be a journalist or a
writer.
Sharon Inkelas is Professor and Chair of the Department of
Linguistics at UC Berkeley. Her PhD is from Stanford University,
where she played in the Stanford University Symphony for several
years. She has lived in Davis since 1999; her two children attend
Holmes Junior High and Da Vinci Charter Academy.
Morgan McMahon joined the UCDSO as a freshman in January of 2008.
The orchestra has always been a challenging and exhilarating
experience to help Morgan balance out a science heavy education.
Morgan graduated from UC Davis in June, 2011 with a B.S. in
Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry. She is now a
junior specialist in the University’s Walnut Improvement Program
and manages their walnut tissue culture lab. Morgan currently
takes violin lessons with Jolán Friedhoff.
Cynthia Bates, longtime concertmaster, has been
a member of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra since the fall of
1972. She earned a BA in Music and an MA in English as a poetry
student of Karl Shapiro and Sandra Gilbert. As a founding member
of the Early Music Ensemble, she played vielle, rebec, and treble
viol as well as violin; with that group she toured France and
England, returning to Winchester Cathedral in 1978 for
performances of the EME’s much admired production of The Play
of Daniel.
