59th Annual Concerto All-Stars Concert features award-winning students

The 59th annual concerto performance will take place Sun., April 23 at 7 p.m. and will feature the La Sierra University Orchestra and all-star winners Yuayo Li on viola, Thomas Kim on piano, Elena Kim on violin, and Julian Jenson on piano. This concert is a part of the annual Alumni Weekend held at La Sierra.

Ma is a freshman enrolled in the performers certificate program. Li is a freshman enrolled in the performers certificate program. Thomas Kim is a sophomore majoring in music performance with an emphasis in piano. Elena Kim, no relation to Thomas Kim, is a senior majoring in music performance with an emphasis in strings. Jenson is a senior majoring in music performance with an emphasis in piano.

Ma was 5 years old when he began playing cello and had begun winning awards as early as age 7. He studied at the China Central Conservatory where he received many performance scholarships. He has performed as a soloist at the Beijing Concert Hall and was also invited to perform for the Russian Embassy. In 2015, he performed Antonin Dvorak's “Cello Concerto in b minor” with the China Youth Symphony Orchestra in Beijing.

In 1951, Marcia Specht was the first La Sierra student invited to perform as a soloist with the La Sierra College Orchestra then directed by Alfred Walters. After her death in 2006, her family and friends established the Marcia Specht-Guy Prize to honor her memory and encourage the student performance of classical music. The prize is awarded each year to the winner of the music department’s annual concerto competition.