Zhou Yi

Cello

Zhou Yi has been a guest performer soloist with the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra since 2014 and the New Century Chamber Orchestra since 2019. Ms. Yi divides her time equally between performing and teaching. She started her cello teaching studio in 2006; enthusiastically teaches all levels from kids to adults.

Ms Zhou Yi believes there is no age limit to learning music as long as the student enjoys music and is physically able to perform. While Ms Yi has an intense focus on technique, she also incorporates the context of each music piece and/or composer into her teaching. Thus students can create their own story and not become weary or disinterested in practice.

Ms Zhou Yi has participated in numerous music festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival, Yellow Barn Music Festival, Shanghai Spring International Music Festival and the Beijing Contemporary Music Festival as a soloist as well as a chamber musician. Furthermore, Ms Yi has performed as a soloist with the Mannes Orchestra at the Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center as well as the the Mannes Community Orchestra and St. Thomas Orchestra.

Ms. Yi received her masters degree in performance and graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory where she studied with Laurence Lesser, chamber music study with Roger Tapping. Ms Yi received first place in the “Elise Meyer Stiftung” competition while she studied at the Hamburg Conservatory of Music. She then received a full scholarship to the Professional Studies Diploma Program at the New School for Music, Mannes College where she studied with Marcy Rosen. Ms. Yi obtained her bachelors and masters degrees at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music under Min Cao’s guidance.

aziza musaeva

Violin, Piano

Ms. Musaeva was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she began studying piano at the age of five with Professor Tamara Papovich. Next, Ms. Musaeva began playing the violin at age six with Professor Gulnara Suleymanova through many state and national government grants. She received her undergraduate degree in violin performance and a piano minor degree at the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan in 2008. She moved to the United States in 2010 to pursue her Professional Performance Certificate at Lynn University, Florida with a full scholarship under Professor Carol Cole. Later, she began violin coaching at the age of sixteen to students of all levels. After teaching for some years, Ms. Musaeva realized her passion for teaching as well as her motivation to share her skills and knowledge with her students in order to see them grow in the field of music. Being a teacher for over ten years, Ms. Musaeva’s style of coaching is often seen by her students as creative and effective.

hirotsugu josh saito

Violin, Viola, Piano

Violinist/violist Josh Saito holds a Master of Music degree in violin performance from Ball State University, Indiana and a Bachelor of Music degree from Marshall University, West Virginia. He also studied piano as a secondary instrument throughout his BA and MA studies and accompanied several string students. He studied under Sherry Kloss, Leopold La Fosse and Elizabeth Reed Smith. Mr. Saito taught violin privately with students ranging from age five to adult. He performed with the Huntington Symphony, the Muncie Symphony and the Rio Hondo Symphony. Mr. Saito was a member of the graduate string quartet at Ball State University and the quartet played in the educational programs at various public elementary schools. He has been a resident of the Bay Area since 2010. Mr. Saito has a varied educational background including a master's degree in biology from Ball State University as well as a culinary arts certificate from Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary school in San Francisco.  

FAN HU

Violin, Viola

Fan has been teaching and playing violin / viola for over 25 years. He teaches Suzuki and other traditional methods depending on the student's level and interests. As a teacher, he seeks to connect with each student as an individual and adjust his curriculum to help them explore their areas of interest. He also prepare students for university, conservatory, exam and orchestra audition. Fan received his Bachelor Degree from Wuhan Conservatory of Music. After he moved to Bay Area, Fan continues study violin and viola performance with Wei He and Jay Liu. Since then, he was appointed as the Berkeley Symphony assistant principal viola by Kent Nagano. As a frequent performer, he has been played

with Opera San Jose,Monterey Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra. Fan has also accompanied Itzhak Perlman, Elmar Oliveira, Edgar Meyer, Yuji Wang, Lang Lang,

Anne Akiko Meyers, and the other well know musicians performed in concerts.

Satoru tagawa

Double Bass, Cello

Satoru Tagawa is a semi-professional bassist performing and teaching in the bay area. His musical interests covers a wide spectrum, and can be seen performing in genres ranging from Folk, Pop, Classical, Jazz, Latin, etc. A native of Japan, Satoru moved to Boston at the age of nine, when his father quit his job as an engineer to pursue Jazz studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. With the passion for music engraved deeply into his DNA, he studied piano as a child, moving on to guitar, electric bass, before eventually settling with the Double Bass. His main teachers include the classical Double Bass virtuoso Gary Karr, Karl Olsen of the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, and the electric bassist Tino D'Agostino. His main influences are Edgar Meyer, Scott LaFaro, Victor Wooten, 2cellos, and Yo Yo Ma. As a performer, his most memorable participation consists of touring in a production of the Broadway Musical "The Producers", sharing the stage with Arlo Guthrie at Carnegie Hall, and winning his High School's "Battle of the Bands" on solo electric bass.

He was a Double Bass Major in University of Colorado and also holds BA of Computer Science degree from University of Kentucky.