Artists
Christine Choi
Artistic Director | Violin
Korean-American violinist Christine Choi enjoys a versatile career as both performer and educator. She made her concerto debut at the age of eleven and has appeared in concerts across the United States, Canada, Italy, and China, performing in major venues including Alice Tully Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and Jordan Hall. As a chamber musician, Dr. Choi has performed as a Guest Artist at Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony and was awarded a Fellowship at the Madeline Island Music Festival. In 2015, she became an artist member of the Music for Food concert series in Boston and has also appeared at the Mannes Festival in New York, The Beethoven Research Center at Boston University, and BU’s Center for New Music in collaboration with composer Joan Tower. Her orchestral experience includes performances with the Banff Festival Orchestra, Hwaum Boston Chamber Orchestra, Cantata Singers, and the Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Symphonies.
Born in Los Angeles, Dr. Choi began violin lessons at age six and entered the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division at age eight. She earned her Bachelor of Music from SFCM as a recipient of the Ruth and Jo Blackmore Scholarship, and her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music under Lucie Robert. She pursued a Professional Studies Diploma at Mannes College of Music before earning her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Boston University under Bayla Keyes. Her chamber music mentors include members of the American, Juilliard, and Muir Quartets.
An experienced educator, Dr. Choi has served as a teaching assistant to Bayla Keyes at Boston University and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and as an orchestral coach at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her students have earned top prizes in local and national competitions and have performed at Carnegie Hall. She is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Sora Music Society and maintains an active private studio in El Dorado Hills.
Shinae Kim
Piano
Pianist Shinae Kim is a frequent solo and collaborative performer. She debuted with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra at age 11 and has appeared as soloist with the Coro Symphony in Puerto Rico, the International Chamber Orchestra in California, and the Brevard Repertory Orchestra in North Carolina. As a collaborator, she has performed at the Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, and the Mondavi Center.
Dr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory, a Master's in Music Education from New York University, and a doctorate in piano performance from Stony Brook University. She attended the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Austria, where she studied Lieder intensively. As an educator, Dr. Kim has worked at LaGuardia Performing High School, Wagner School for Arts and Technology, and was an adjunct faculty member at New York University and Hebrew Union College.
In 2017, Shinae Kim founded the non-profit organization An die Musik NYC and served as its artistic director for three seasons. After moving to California in the summer of 2020, she has been part of the California music-making community. She currently resides in Sacramento, is a member of the Cyrus Piano Trio, and is a musician at Temple Or Rishon and Davis Lutheran Church. As accompanist, she plays regularly with Granite Bay High School Choir, U.C. Davis Choir, and Chanteuses.
Katie Youn
Cello
Dr. Katie Youn is widely praised for her passionate, imaginative, and colorful artistry. She has performed throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia in major venues including Boston’s Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall, Japan’s Suntory and Minatomirai Halls, Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre, and Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica.
Dr. Youn’s festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Centre, Beethoven Institute, Bowdoin, Orford, and the Kronberg Academy’s Cello Festival. She has collaborated with members of the Cleveland, Borromeo, Muir, and Arneis Quartets, and with artists such as Daniel Phillips, Barry Shiffman, Todd Palmer, Stephen Drury, and Bayla Keyes. She has studied with celebrated cellists including Aldo Parisot, Anner Bylsma, Bernard Greenhouse, Natalia Gutman, and Frans Helmerson.
She is a founding member of the San Francisco-based Shoreline Piano Trio and SAGE, ensembles that have performed across the Bay Area for organizations such as the Santa Cruz Chamber Players, Stanford Hospital Concert Series, Fortnightly Music Club, and The Sequoias Portola Valley. She also performs regularly with Chamber Music Silicon Valley, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Sonnet Ensemble.
Dedicated to music education and community outreach, Dr. Youn is a founding faculty member of the Boston String Project, a program offering string instruction to inner-city students at the Salvation Army Kroc Center. In 2015, she launched the Boston String Project Chamber Concerts, giving students the opportunity to perform alongside Boston University faculty and graduate students. She is also a member of Sound Impact, an organization committed to bringing music to schools, juvenile detention centers, and underserved communities.
Dr. Youn is on the cello faculty at Santa Clara University and maintains an active private studio in the Bay Area. Her students have served as principal cellists in youth orchestras and have won prizes in competitions such as the US Open Music Competition and the Junior Bach Festival. Her previous teaching roles include Boston University, Belvoir Terrace, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) String Quartet Seminar.
Born in Korea and raised in Canada, Dr. Youn began her cello studies at age seven with Judith Fraser at the Vancouver Academy of Music. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the New England Conservatory under Yeesun Kim, and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Boston University in 2013, studying with Michael Reynolds. Her doctoral thesis explored Balinese Influence in Benjamin Britten’s Suite for Cello, Op. 72.
Performs on a 1935 Oreste Martini cello and a custom bow crafted by Benoit Rolland in 2019.
Anita Fetsch Felix
Violin
Anita Fetsch Felix began her violin studies under the tutelage of her mother, violinist Nicholette Fetsch. She joined the Stockton symphony at age 16. Currently in her thirteenth season as the Folsom Lake Symphony’s concertmaster, Anita also is a member of the Sacramento Philharmonic and performs regularly with the orchestras of the Sacramento Opera, Sacramento Choral Society and Sacramento Ballet. She was formerly assistant concertmaster of the Stockton Symphony and concertmaster of the Gold Country Chamber Orchestra, and a member of the Omaha Symphony and Omaha String Quartet. Anita’s desire to perform the virtuosic violin and piano chamber music literature resulted in the formation of Duo Concertante with her pianist father, Wolfgang Fetsch. From 2008 to 2015, Anita performed as a member of the Sierra Ensemble, a trio consisting of violin, piano and French horn, with San Francisco Bay area musicians. Sierra Ensemble was invited to perform in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey, in 2013. Recently Anita has joined with Folsom Symphony oboist Curtis Kidwell and Sacramento State faculty member John Cozza in the ensemble Tres Musicos. An active chamber musician, Anita and harpist Beverly Wesner-Hoehn formed the Angelica Duo as a result of years of performing together in the Sacramento Gold Country Chamber Orchestra and the Sacramento Choral Society. Angelica Duo premiered Aqueous States by Boston composer Arnold Friedman on the Festival of New American Music at Sacramento State University in 2018, and was invited to repeat the performance in Boston. After completion of a master of music degree, summa cum laude in violin performance with Ian Swensen at Sac State in 2016, Anita was hired as adjunct assistant professor of violin at American River College. In 2023, Anita was invited to perform a recital for Violins of Hope, a touring exhibit of Holocaust instruments from Israel.
Jiamo Chen
Cello
Jiamo Chen is a cellist and dedicated music educator based in Sacramento, California. He holds a Bachelor's degree in cello performance from California State University, Sacramento, and a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has an extensive performance background as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player across North America and Europe.
In addition to his performance career, Mr. Chen is committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians. He serves as a cello instructor at the Pacific Institute of Music and manages J's Music Studio.
Recent performances include collaborations with pianist Kirsten Smith, featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, and Barber. Chamber music appearance includes piano trio with pianist Shinae Kim and violinist Anita Felix. He has also appeared with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, Bear Valley Symphony Orchestra, North State Symphony, Stockton Symphony, and the Sacramento Choral Society.