REQUIREMENTS
Ninah Chan is 16 years old and a homeschooled 10th grader. She started cello lessons at the age of three with Jim Lee, continued her cello studies with Ana Maria Maldonado from 2020 to 2023, and is currently studying cello with Dr. Michael Kaufman at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. She first became a member of the CYMO Intermezzo Orchestra in the 2017-2019 seasons and has been a member of CYMO since 2019. She became associate principal cello of CYMO from 2020-2023 and this season holds the CYMO principal cello position. Ninah has had the opportunity to attend multiple summer music institutes and festivals including the Ascent Cello Festival. From 2019 to 2022, she participated in the cello ensemble at CSU San Bernardino where she won the junior-level CSUSB cello concerto competition in 2020. She has been a participant in multiple masterclasses where she had the opportunity to gain mentorship from Hans Jørgen Jensen and Alan Rafferty. Ninah plays in an advanced handbell choir and is a music director for one of the praise teams at her local church. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, making candles, attending concerts, and spending time with family, friends, and her three dogs.
Hanbo Xu is currently a junior at The Webb Schools in Claremont. He has been playing the clarinet since sixth grade and studies with Burt Hara, the associate principal clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Hanbo first joined the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra in his freshman year and has been the principal clarinet for the past three years. He enjoys making music with others and playing in honor bands. Hanbo has been part of the SCSBOA SoCal Wind Ensemble for the past two years and was the associate principal clarinet for the CBDA all-state Wind Symphony last year. In addition, Hanbo is a pianist of ten years and has won numerous competitions, including State Honors and Panel Honors as a Certificate of Merit Panel Auditions finalist last year.
