GET TO KNOW OUR TEACHERS
Jocelyn Wei
CELLO | PIANO
Master in Music - Cello Performance, Essen Folkwang Hochschule (Germany, 2003)
Performance 1998-2014:
Solo, chamber and concerto performances in Taiwan 2006-2012
Solo recital toured throughout seven cities in Europe, 2010 August.
1998-2003 Performed in chamber with world renowned cellist Rudolf Weinsheimer from Berlin Phiharmonie. Worked with internationally acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis, Ralph Kirschbaum, Wen-Sinn Yang and Prof. Alexander Hülshoff.
Teaching experience 2004- 2012:
2005-2012, appointed as the instrumental specialist for individual cello lessons at Stella Martutina Girl’s High School 曉明女中音樂班特聘, Taichung Taiwan.
Minshen Elementary School, Changhua Taiwan
Lavinia Chen
VIOLIN | CHAMBER
Master of Violin Performance, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Lavinia Chen performs violin for the San Francisco Symphony, presenting music educational shows to all the public elementary schools across San Francisco daily. Lavinia earned her Master’s degree in violin performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music after graduating from UCLA with a full scholarship. Over the past decade, Lavinia has actively prepared her students for AMRSM exams, competitions, recitals, and college auditions. Playing violin to Lavinia is like telling an exciting story, and her musical talents have been celebrated on stages across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. Recognized for her cheerful spirit and mature teaching style, Lavinia has become many students’ favorite teacher.
Lavinia speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.
Yongqi Lao
CELLO | PIANO
Doctor of Musical Arts in Cello Performance, Arizona State University
Master of Music in Cello Performance, Azusa Pacific University
Chinese-born cellist Dr. Yongqi Lao has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. Now based in the Bay Area, she is a Teaching Artist with the Oakland Symphony and part of the lecturer pool at San Jose State University.
She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts at Arizona State University, her thesis focuses on the adaptation of Chinese Southwestern folk music for Western string instruments. Recent highlights include the 2025 world premiere of Chen Yi’s Three Bagatelles from China West (for Cello and Piano) . Her training also includes advanced degrees in cello performance, along with minors in vocal arts, organ, and piano.
With over a decade of teaching experience, Dr. Lao has worked with students from elementary to collegiate levels. She debuted as a concerto soloist at 18, has received numerous academic and music awards, recorded for Hollywood-produced motion pictures, and is regularly invited to teach at international music festivals.
Maureen Subala
PIANO | VIOLIN | VOCAL | DRUM
Ms. Maureen is a highly accomplished multi-instrumentalist who began her musical journey at age 6 with piano and later mastered the electronic organ, drums, and violin. In 1998, she earned Recital Champion titles in Piano, Organ, and Drums Intermediate categories. From 2000 to 2008, she performed as a violinist in the Musar Music School Orchestra and has taught at Musar Yamaha Music School, producing champion students. She was also the keyboardist for the band Carpe Diem, winning the Baguio Battle of the Bands.
An active member of the Iglesia ni Cristo, Ms. Maureen serves as a choir member and organist. She balances her musical career with a profession as an Electronics and Communications Engineer and a passion for cake decorating. Originally from a musical family in Baguio City, Philippines, she spent time in Taiwan before relocating to the United States.
Sue Yang
VIOLA I ERHU 二胡
First Prize in the 2008 Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition
Wei-Yang Andy Lin, is recognized as one of the most promising and the only active performers who specialized in both western and eastern instruments. Praised by The Strad “The great Molto adagio…..elicited some of the night’s most sensitive work, especially from Wei-Yang Andy Lin on viola.” and New York Times “Taiwanese-born violist Wei-Yang Andy Lin..…is also a virtuoso on the erhu, and he gave a brilliant performance.” Andy came to the U.S. in 1997 to attend the Idyllwild Arts Academy and holds his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School with full scholarship, and received his Doctor’s degree in Musical Arts from SUNY Stony Brook also with fullscholarship. Andy has won numerous competitions including Taiwan National Viola Competition, the Idyllwild Concerto Competition, First Prize in the 2008 Juilliard Viola Concerto Competition and subsequently made his Lincoln Center solo debut at the Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) with the Juilliard Orchestra. He has also appeared as soloist with orchestras such as Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra, Orford Academy Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic, New York Classical Players, and Children’s Orchestra Society. In addition to his solo career, Andy is an avid chamber musician and is a founding member of the award winning string quartet, the Amphion String Quartet. The quartet was a winner of the 2011 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and was on the roster of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society CMS2 Program from 2013~2016. Andy is also a member of the Musicians of Lenox Hill and serves as principal violist of the New York Classical Players and the Solisti Ensemble. He has been invited to perform chamber music with Itzhak Perlman where The New York Times described “Mr. Perlman, playing first violin..… answered in kind by the violist Wei-Yang Andy Lin.” In addition to his accomplishments as a classical musician, he is also an active erhu player. He has recorded film music for a number of movies and short films, including “The Blood Brothers” and the award winning short film “Daughters” (Best Original Score at NYU Tisch Film Festival). He has performed the erhu solo part at the U.S. Premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ “Kommilitonen!” with the Juilliard Opera Production, as well as the world premiere of Jeeyoung Kim’s “Engraft” for solo erhu and string orchestra with Solisti Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. He also premiered Winnie Lan-In Yang’s “Fantasy for Erhu and Strings” with the New York Classical Players. He has recently performed an erhu concerto “Wild Grass” by Wenjing Guo with the Juilliard Orchestra at its Focus! Festival final concert at Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in which it was featured on the New York Times, this also made him the only person in the Juilliard history who performed concertos with the Juilliard Orchestra on both western and eastern instruments.
Sue Yang
PIANO | VOCAL | VIOLIN
Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Australia
Sue Yang, a virtuoso with a strong classical piano background, embarked on her musical journey at the tender age of 4. By the age of 9, she seamlessly added the violin to her repertoire, laying the foundation for a remarkable career in music.
Her prodigious talent shone brightly as she graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University in Australia with a Bachelor of Music at the young age of 18. Sue's exceptional abilities were further acknowledged when she clinched first place in the Australian National Singing Competition, propelling her into the limelight as a signed artist with Rock Records.
Under the tutelage of the iconic John Denver in Hollywood, Sue's singing career flourished. Her prowess extended beyond performance as she assumed roles as the Education System CD vocalist and head voice training instructor at the YAMAHA Music Education System in Taiwan. Simultaneously, Sue showcased her versatility as a demo vocalist and featured singer in the theme song of the online game "Star Dream 3 / 明星志願3"
Having spent a decade in performance, event production, and teaching, Sue made Sunnyvale, California her home. She served as a resident bilingual music instructor at the International School of The Peninsula in Palo Alto, where she played a crucial role in developing curriculum from nursery through 5th grade. In 2009, Sue established the Sue Yang Music Studio, a precursor to her founding of the First Movement Music Academy. In 2018, she enriched the musical landscape with the release of her first Mandarin children's music album, "Bam! Boo! Music."
As a devoted mother of two, Sue's expertise spans piano, voice, violin, and songwriting. With 22 years of experience seamlessly blending classical discipline, jazz technique, and contemporary music, she has crafted engaging curriculums tailored for students of all ages in the SF Bay Area. Sue's impact extends beyond the studio as she is the founder of the TAJCCNC National iSing singing competition with ETTV North America. She is an active contributor to the Taiwanese-American Chamber of Commerce (TACC), ardently promoting Taiwanese culture worldwide through the universal language of music
