Guest Artists

Kayden is a 16-year-old violist from Belmont, California who joined Harmony Music Ensemble due to his love of orchestra and chamber music. Kayden plays in the Symphony Orchestra of Carlmont High School and the Senior Peninsula Youth Orchestra, and plays in a quartet called the Senore Bridge Quartet with a few of his friends. Kayden was a member of the Stanford Summer Symphony in 2025. In his free time, Kayden likes to hang out with his friends, eat food, and learn how to cook.​

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Léopoldine began playing violin at four years old. She made her solo debut at 12 years old playing with NYO Dubai. From 2023 to 2025, Léopoldine was a student at SFCM and she is now a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Léopoldine performed in masterclasses for Renaud Capuçon, Margaret Batjer and Fabiola Kim. She  participated in several summer festivals such as PIMF, Antwerp 32nd Summer Festival, Sounding Point Academy and Center Stage Strings. Léopoldine currently studies with Elbert Tsai.

Camille has been playing the harp for nine years and is a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. Her summers have been filled with music, including performing with the National Youth Orchestra 2, Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra, and Stanford Summer Symphony. In her free time, she enjoys reading science fiction, baking, traveling, and listening to Mahler symphonies.​

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Violist Daphna Raveh Glassman, 17, studies at SFCM with Professor Dimitri Murrath where she is also part of a piano quintet. Additionally, she is part of the Cosmos String Quartet of the Young Chamber Musicians program. Daphna currently served as principal violist for the Homestead High School string, chamber, and symphony orchestras. Daphna performed at Music@Menlo and Chamber Music Northwest in the summer of 2025, and will attend the Juilliard Summer Music Program in the summer of 2026. She is a prizewinner of the Northern California Viola Society Young Violists Competition 2026. Daphna attended multiple Perlman Music Program residencies in Israel and the United States between 2023 and 2025, performing in string quartets and quintets. She also played in piano quartets through the Jerusalem Music Center during 2023 and 2024. Daphna joined the Ra’anana Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2021 and served as principal violist until moving to the United States in 2024. She performed as part of the Young Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Lahav Shani and Paul Goodwin in 2024. She performed as a soloist in the final concert of Keshet Eilon Winter Course in 2023. Daphna has participated in masterclasses and programs working with renowned violists Kim Kashkashian, Carol Rodland, Matthew Lipman, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Caitlin Lynch, Wenting Kang, and others.

Milo is a senior at Palo Alto High School. He is currently studying percussion with James Kassis at the Community School for Music and the Arts, and studying jazz piano and arranging with William Susman. He is the percussion section leader in his school’s symphonic band, and he plays drum set, piano, and vibraphone in its jazz band. He also plays drum set in the Stanford Jazz Miles Ahead Big Band directed by Michael Galisatus, which travelled to New York last year to attend the Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival and Competition, a prestigious international jazz festival. He enjoys performing locally with the Dome Combo, a jazz group made up of Paly and Gunn students, and attending jam sessions at the Stanford coffee house. ​​​​​​​​​​​​

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Brandon Kang, 18 is a 12th grader at Gunn High School. He has studied cello for ten years and his current teacher is Jonathan Koh. He has also studied with Sarah Koo, a professor at UC Irvine, and Hans Jørgen Jensen a professor at Northwestern University. Brandon was selected to attend the Morningside Music Bridge festival at the New England Conservatory. Brandon was also selected to be the principal cellist in Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (NYO2) and performed in Carnegie Hall and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Meyerson Symphony Hall under the baton of Teddy Abrams. He is also currently the principal cellist in the California Youth Symphony Senior orchestra and has played with them for over 4 years. Brandon was selected to participate in the XI International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, was named a National YoungArts Winner, and won first place in USOMC and USIMC several times. He also won the Alvin Docker prize from Fremont Symphony’s 2020 Young Artist Competition. He has performed as a scholarship winner of the Music Teachers’ Scholarship competition and in Berkeley as a winner of the Junior Bach Festival. Brandon has also hosted and performed in fundraiser concerts with different organizations such as the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church and the Bay Area Music Project.

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Ivanka Kumar is a junior at Palo Alto High School and has been passionate about singing for the past nine years. She has performed in a wide range of settings, from Golden Gate Park and musical theatre productions to weddings and special events.
Ivanka earned second place in both the National and International Vocal Competitions in Kyiv, highlighting her dedication and talent as a vocalist. Beyond music, she is a member of Paly's Speech and Debate team and finds inspiration through painting, literature, and pilates.​​​​​​​​​

Ethan is a junior attending Saratoga High School. He has been playing bassoon for 4 years and currently studies under John Givens. In addition to being a member of Saratoga High’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, he is also a part of the California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra. Outside of music, Ethan enjoys playing basketball with his friends.​​​​​

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Lucas Wang, 17, is a high school senior in California. He started playing violin when  he was 6 under Sue Mann, and now studies with Berlin-based violinist Iskandar Widjaja and attends the San Francisco Conservatory of Music pre-college under Professor Chen Zhao. Lucas is currently a first violinist of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and a member of Young Chamber Musicians. He has previously played as a first violinist with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra, and Stanford Philharmonia. Lucas has been awarded many prizes including 1st prize in the U.S.  International Open Music Competition, Milano International Violin Competition, Charleston  International Music Competition, Muse International Music Competition, Radda Rise  International String Competition, and 2nd prize in the American Prodigy Music Competition,  New York International Young Musician Competition and Geneva International Music  Competition, Platinum prize in the Quebec Music Competition and Gold prize in the World  Classical Music Awards. Lucas was also the Grand Prize winner at the 2024 Young Talent  Student Music Contest. As a top prize winner, he was invited for solo performances at Carnegie  Hall multiple times and a solo recital at Barbro Osher Recital Hall at the San Francisco  Conservatory of Music. Recently, Lucas performed in Indonesia with the Surabaya Orchestra.  Lucas participated in the 30th Postacchini Violin Competition in Italy, the 2023 Aspen Music  Festival, and the 2024 Tanglewood Music Festival. Outside of music, Lucas is a competitive  water polo player and enjoys spending time with his family and friends.​