Meet the Orchestra

Nicholas Bailey, 17, started playing clarinet at age 11. Nicholas also enjoys playing baritone sax, alto sax, bass clarinet, tenor sax, trombone, and tuba.  He is currently in 12^th grade at Katy High School and in his third year at Virtuosi. Before moving to Katy, TX in 2020, Nicholas was a native to Ft. Worth, TX where he was alternate chair for the Fort Worth Philharmonic Orchestra 2020. He has been a member of the Katy High School Marching band, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz band for 4 years under the direction of Terence Gorton. He is Clarinet Section leader for the 2023-24 and 2024-2025 Katy High Band year.  Nicholas has been a member of the All-Region Band Region 23 for 3 years and Region 30 for 1 year. He also consistently receives superior ratings for Texas UIL Solo and Ensemble contests the last 6 years as well as receiving exceptional results at All Region Band.  He has received a Division 1 Texas State Gold Medalist for Solo Region 23 in 2023 & 2024.  He has received a Division 1 Texas State Gold Medalist for Ensemble Region 23 in 2024.  Nicholas was a member of the Musical Horizons International Orchestra where he performed across Europe in Summer 2024.  Nicholas has performed at Disney and the Katy Jazz Festival.   He currently studies clarinet and saxophone with Mr. Chester Rowell. When he is not practicing, he enjoys mission trips and camps with his youth group at Cinco Ranch Church of Christ, helping other band students master music, hanging with his friends and spending time with his niece and nephews. Nicholas plans on pursuing Music Education, Performance and Composition at university after he graduates High School.

Daniel Bain, 16, began his musical journey at the age of 10 when he started learning the clarinet in his middle school’s honors orchestra. Now attending DeBakey High School, he is a member of the orchestra program under the direction of Jordan Stewart. Daniel studies clarinet with Chester Rowell and has been with the Houston Youth Symphony for three years. In the High School UIL Solo and Ensemble competition, Daniel earned a top rank of 1 and advanced to the state level, where he received a 1 and was named Outstanding Performer. His accomplishments include winning the 2023 AFA Concerto Competition as its 26th grand prize winner, which led to a performance of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the AFA Symphony Orchestra. He was also a finalist in the prestigious Juanita Miller Concerto Competition. Outside of music, Daniel enjoys participating in various clubs such as HOSA, DECA, and Jazz Club.

Dominic is seventeen and has been playing the violin since the age of nine, studying first with Melissa Williams and currently with Dr. Matt Lammers as part of the Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Program at Rice.  He is a Junior at Cathedral High School.  This is Dominic’s third year with Virtuosi, before which he played with the Houston Youth Symphony for three years.  Dominic also has played in quartets and trios with AFA and currently plays with Opus 1 Chamber Music School.  He has participated in the AFA Summer Music Festival, Texas Strings Festival, Opus 360 and the Stringwood Chamber Music Festival.  His hobbies include basketball, soccer and working out.

Nathaly Bonilla is age 16 and a junior in J. Frank Dobie High School. She is a Violist and has played Viola for 7 years. She also plays multiple more instruments like the Violin, accordion, guitar, electric bass, and ukelele. She won her first scholarship in her ninth-grade year from the Black Violin Foundation. In her first UIL Solo and Ensemble contest in 8th grade, she played a grade 3 solo and got a 1. In her 9th, 10th, and 11th grade year she played a grade 1 solo and won the superior award. She also auditioned for the TMEA Region 19 Orchestra and for her first-time auditioning, she earned fourth chair. In her second year of auditioning, she earned first chair. In her third year, she played first chair for the symphony TMEA Region 19 orchestra. Nathaly is also currently part of the Dobie varsity high school orchestra which is under the instruction of Angela Badon, Stephen Payne, and Tam Doung. She is also currently studies Viola privately with Sarah Mason. She has studied with her for 1 year. When Nathaly is not practicing, she likes to write, research, garden, volunteer, and exercise.

Avangeline “Ava” Cossé is 17 years old and is from Houston, TX. She began playing violin at 2 ½ years of age, and currently studies with Mrs. Lisa Shihoten at the Rice University Music Preparatory School. Ava is a senior at J. Frank Dobie High School performing in the Chamber Varsity Orchestra under the direction of Angela Badon, Stephen Payne and Tam Duong. This past summer, Ava attended the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Colchester, VT. She has also attended Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Sphinx Performance Academy at Curtis and Cleveland Institutes, and The Texas Strings Festival in Austin, TX.  She consecutively earned positions in the TMEA Region 19 Symphony Orchestra since 2017. She is a 2023 Texas All-State Orchestra member. Ava is a member of the safety ambassador’s organization at her school. She is a two- time recipient of the Black Violin Foundation Scholarship.   

Addison Evans, 14, has played violin and piano since she was five and is a sophomore with BYU-OHS. A student of Dr. Kirsten Yon, Associate Professor of Violin, University of Houston Moores School of Music, Addie previously studied with Cornelia Crappell, a graduate of the Hochschule fuer Musik Nuernberg-Augsburg and LSU. Addie performed with Katy Youth Symphony from 2019-2024 and served as concertmaster since 2022. She participates regularly in STXSA/HASPA Ribbon Festivals, UNT ISMI camp (2023-2024), and various orchestra and church high adventure camps. In 2023, Addie earned second chair in the TMEA Region Symphony Orchestra, and a 1 rating in both Region and All-State TPSMEA Solo and Ensemble contests. A National Honor Society member, Addie is earning a veterinary assistant certificate through Texas A&M University, volunteers at memory care facilities, animal shelters and a non-profit fine arts organization’s beginning strings program weekly. Addie enjoys writing, embroidery, camping, and drawing.

Leonardo Fazzini, 16, is a junior at Cypress Woods High School, where he plays the viola with the Varsity Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Kristin Isaacson and Logan Thoeni. He started playing in 6^th grade, and he has been a member of both the middle and high school TMEA Region 27 symphony orchestras. Leonardo participated in several orchestra camps in Houston, and in Majano, Italy, where he played for the “Centro Ricerca Divulgazione Musicale”. Additionally, he earned top ratings at UIL Solo and Ensemble for four years, and he achieved a Division 1 Rating at UIL State Solo and Ensemble in May 2024, with the help of his private lesson teacher, Laura Cividino. Lastly, Leonardo was born in Italy, and he loves to play soccer while also volunteering with his friends for Key Club.

April Guo is a fifteen-year-old harpist born in Calgary, Canada. April had started playing the harp since she was in sixth grade and has been playing the piano since she was five. In the past, she qualified as the first chair harpist in the Symphony Orchestra and earned a bronze and silver medal for the Solo and Ensemble contest in 2022. She transferred to the Awty International School as an eighth grader and joined the Virtuosi of Houston, where she continues to play her instrument to this year as a sophomore. She is learning the Harp with the help of Mrs. Susanna Wang and studying piano with Dr. Yan Shen. Aside from her musical studies, April lives in a household that loves traveling with two dogs and plays volleyball competitively.

Sara Helmick, a Senior at Cleveland High School began playing the flute at 11 years old. Sara
has been taking lessons from Amy Wiggs since 2022. Sara is currently playing in the Cleveland
High School Wind Ensemble led by Director Danny Diosdado. She performs regularly at First
Methodist Church in Cleveland Texas and has also performed with the Houston Flute Choir.
Sara was the Runner up for the Denise Jenning contest in 2021 then Won with a trio in 2022,
she has gone to State for UIL solo and ensemble for flute and baton twirling and was an
all-region player in 2023. Sara has participated in the University of Houston band camp for the
last 2 years. Sara has also participated in livestock showing and been a part of numerous
competition teams with the FFA. After high school she plans to study music education at The
University of Houston.

JD Johnson is a 17-year-old senior at The Woodlands High School. His orchestra is directed by
Aaron Michaelson and Christian Ponce. For most of his musical career, he was taught privately
by Gaven Krase, but since 10th grade, he’s branched out to other teachers, such as Jarret Bastow
and Robin Kesselman. JD started by playing violin in 5th grade, but in 6th grade found his true
passion for double bass. Now, he’s been playing bass for 7 years, and is currently the principal
bassist in the Woodlands High School orchestra program. He has participated in various
programs, such as AFA and mariachi. He has placed in Region IX ensembles every year since 7th
grade. Other achievements include CISD Honor Orchestra, top ratings in UIL Solo and
Ensemble, and being a TMEA All-Stater. Outside of music, he enjoys playing roller derby and
building Lego.

Santiago Lopez is 16 years old and plays the Cello. He began playing the cello when he was in 5^th grade, and he currently attends J. Frank Dobie High School as an 11^th grader. An orchestra summer festival that Santiago was a part of is the Texas Strings Organization that took place in Austin, TX. Santiago has received all 1’s from his UIL solo performances for the past 3 years and has also made 3^rd chair in 2022-2023 All-Region and 2^nd chair in his 2023-2024 year. He currently takes lessons from Bing Wei and Angela Badon is his orchestra director. Santiago likes to play a fair share of basketball when he has time and enjoys playing with his brothers. He also likes to watch shows and play video games with his brothers and has 3 cats named Eevee, Mia, and Yuki. Santiago would like his full name to appear above his bio.

Faith Alexis Maxian, age 16, began playing the violin when she was 4. She currently studies under the direction of Korinne Hamblin, located in Nashville, TN. In addition to learning the violin, Faith takes piano lessons and has been playing for a number of years. She has played in chamber music groups with both violin and piano at the Opus 1 Chamber Music school. She is currently in 12th grade and attends Oxrose Online Academy, but is also taking classes at Memoria Academy. When not practicing or studying, Faith enjoys drawing (especially landscapes, animals, and people), reading (poetry and fantasy), writing, listening to music, being outdoors, and spending time with friends and family. She is new to Virtuosi and is excited for the coming season!

Grace Marie Maxian is an 18 year old violinist and pianist. She started taking violin lessons at the age of five, and is currently studying under Korinne Hamblin, located in Nashville, TN. Grace has been playing piano for 6 years and takes lessons from Annette Chan. She graduated this past May from Oxrose Online Academy and is now focused on working and continuing her numerous music endeavors. In addition to Virtuosi, she is a part of the Houston Youth Symphony and Opus 1 Chamber Music School. She also plays gigs frequently and teaches five violin students. She recently started working for Crumbl Cookies and is enjoying her job there. Along with her passion for music, she also enjoys travelling, baking, painting, and spending time with family and friends. Grace loved her first year in Virtuosi and is thrilled to be returning this season! 

Kelvin Nguyen, age 15, started playing the Double Bass when he was 10. He is also in a small band where he plays the bass guitar. Previously, Kelvin studied the Bass under Michael Bonas for 1 year (Now retired); Currently, he has been studying under Bryan Dawn. Kelvin placed 4^th chair in 7^th grade, 3^rd chair in 8^th grade, and 1^st chair in 9^th grade for the TMEA Region 19 auditions; He is preparing recordings for the TMEA state orchestra and to re-audition for the Region 19 Orchestra. In addition, he has competed in the UIL Solo & Ensemble since 7^th grade. Kelvin has recently attended the UNT Bradetich Bass Masterclass Camps for lessons on technique. He currently attends J. Frank Dobie Highschool as a sophomore and is in the varsity orchestra under the instruction of Angela Badon, Tam Duong, and Stephen Payne. In his free time, he enjoys things such as volunteering, playing GeoGuesser, Chess, and reading light novels.  

My name is Kenechukwu Obiekwe (Kenny for short). I actually play tuba and cello. I am located in the Richmond, Texas area where I go to school at George Bush HS. I am the principal tuba player in our school’s top band (GBHS Wind Ensemble). I have participated twice in the TMEA  All-State Process in which I have advanced to area. I started playing tuba in middle school as a 7th grader I sat as principal tuba in our school’s full orchestra. I was also involved in my school’s  ASBDA Region 5 concert where we traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana from Richmond, Texas to play concert music in front of an audience of 100 or so band directors. At the regional level, I participated in Region 13’s orchestra and band ensembles under the direction of multiple directors at the high school and College level.

Olivia Owen, age 17, is a senior at Seven Lakes High School in Katy ISD. This is her third year playing the horn with Virtuosi of Houston. Gavin Reed (University of Houston) and Billie Wilbanks are her private lesson teachers. Currently, she performs with the Seven Lakes Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John Mays and Desiree Overree. Olivia has consistently placed in top ensembles for local UIL region and AREA contests, earning a spot in 2023 and 2024 at TMEA All-State. When she is not playing her horn, Olivia volunteers for local organizations as a member of the National Honor Society at Seven Lakes and as a member of the National Charity League Lady Bird Chapter. In her free time, she enjoys playing the piano and spending time with her family and friends.

McKenna Petersen, age 12, is from Fulshear, TX. She began taking violin lessons at age 3 with Danette Warren and currently studies with Dr. Mauricio Oliveros. McKenna is a seventh grader at Dean Leaman Junior High where she is concertmaster of the varsity orchestra. She is a member of Houston Youth Symphony’s top orchestra under the direction of Dr. Michael Webster. In 2023, McKenna performed with the Houston Civic Symphony as the junior winner of the Young Artists Competition. She was also selected as the associate concertmaster of the TMEA Region 13 Junior High Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, she placed second in the Virtuosi of Houston Concerto Competition. She has attended Institutes and Music Festivals in Oregon, New York, Tennessee, and Texas. McKenna is also a two-time National Champion Fiddler and holds state titles in Colorado, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, reading, swimming, rock climbing and playing piano and mandolin.

Cristopher Sanchez, age 16  is a junior at J. Frank Dobie High School. He plays the violin and began at the age of 11. He plays a few other instruments such as acoustic/electric guitar and the ukelele. In eighth and ninth grade he attended AFA summer music festival in their high school symphony orchestra. In the summer of tenth grade he attended the Texas strings music festival in Austin. In his first UIL solo and ensemble contest in his 8^th grade year, he played a grade 2 solo and received a 1. In his 9^th grade year and up he  has received a 1. He also auditioned for  the TMEA Region 19 Orchestra in 9^th grade and got concertmaster for their philharmonic orchestra, additionally the next year he earned principal 2^nd violin in their symphony level orchestra. Cristopher is currently part of the Dobie varsity orchestra which is under the instruction of Angela Badon, Stephen Payne, and Tam Doung. He also currently studies privately with Medea Guldedava . He has been studying with her since his 9^th grade year. In his free time he enjoys collecting vinyls and playing guitar. 

Kalea began playing the violin at age 3½, and has played just about daily ever since.  Beginning at age 5, she has participated in two to three competitions yearly in Taipei, Taiwan – most notably the Excellence Music Open Competition of Taiwan and the Taiwan Music Competition – consistently taking home 1st prize.  Most recently, she achieved 2nd prize in the 15th Academy of Taiwan Strings Junior Violin Competition – the youngest ever to place in the top three for this prestigious competition.  Kalea is currently studying with violinist Richard Lin, a graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard School.  Her favorites in her repertoire include Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E-minor.

Kalea is attending the 4th grade at Colony Bend Elementary School in Sugar Land.  In addition to the violin, she has also studied piano for a number of years.  In her free time, she enjoys sports, drawing, and riding her bike.

Vanae has been playing the violin for the past 9 years, beginning at the age of 6.  This season will be her second with the Virtuosi of Houston.  She is currently studying with Mrs. Cindy Ahn, a Rice University alumnus having studied with Mr. Paul Kantor.

Vanae is currently attending her freshman year at Clements High School in Sugar Land.  She is a fluent Chinese speaker, is involved in her school’s theater club, and is participating in the Clements choir.

Oliver Tran is a double bassist with five years of experience, currently studying under Andrew Moritz. He is currently a Junior at Jersey Village High School and plays in the JVHS Chamber Orchestra, led by Matthew Beland. This year, Oliver is a member of the inaugural JVHS Jazz Band.  In 2024, Oliver earned a seat in the TMEA All-State Philharmonic Orchestra, showcasing his dedication to his craft. He has also enriched his skills by attending the AFA Summer Music Festival since 2021. This past summer he attended the Bradetich Master Classes at The University of North Texas. In his spare time, Oliver enjoys spending time with his family and rooting for Houston’s hometown teams.

Theodore Villarreal, age 16, is a junior at Dobie High School in Pasadena ISD. He has played cello since 6th grade and piano since he was 5 years old. He has placed 4th chair in 8th grade, first chair in 9th and 3rd chair in 10th grade in TMEA regions. He also has competed in UIL solo and ensemble contests since 7th grade. He is currently a part of Dobie varsity orchestra under the instruction of Angela Badon, Stephen Payne, and Tam Duong. He had studied cello with Bing Wei for a year. In his free time he competes in Rubik’s cubes tournaments and does astrophotography.

TBD