Aaron Yoon (18, piano) started playing the piano at age six. His recent successes in piano performance include 1st Place at MTAC OC Theme Festival, 1st Place at MTAC VOCE Chamber Music Competition State Finals, and 1st Place at SYMF Chamber Music Competition. His other accomplishments include 1st Place at the CAPMT OC Contemporary Music Competition (2nd Place at the State Finals), 2nd Place at the Satori Young Pianist Competition’s Prodigy Category, Gold Medal at the MTAC OC Theme Festival, 3rd Place at the SYMF Chopin Category, and 3rd Place at the MTAC OC Concerto Competition. In summer 2018, he was invited to perform at the MTAC State Convention’s Friends of Today’s Music program, premiering the commissioned work by composer Bruce Stark. An avid chamber musician, he has participated in the Junior Chamber Music program for the past seven years. Prior to moving to California in 2016, Aaron lived in Alaska where he participated in the famous Nordic Ski Program for six years. He has also been doing Tae Kwon Do since five and has a Third Degree Black Belt. Currently a senior at Troy High School, Aaron enjoys reading, camping and playing video games. He has been studying with Dr. Minji Noh Lee for the past 6 years.

Aaron Kim (18, violin) is a senior at Valencia High School and has been playing the violin for ten years and has been in the JCM program for five years. He has won numerous competitions including Satori Strings Open Category, SYMF Open Category, MTAC VOCE branch and state finals for ensembles, along with the AFAF International Competition. Aaron made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in 2019, performing the Lalo Symphonie Espagnole. He has participated in multiple masterclasses with soloist Sumina Studer and the First Associate Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Nathan Cole. To further accentuate his passion for the violin, he has been a volunteer at St. Jude Medical Center for three years doing music therapy. He studies with Dr. Jinhee Kim and has been her student for five years. Aaron currently serves as the concertmaster for Valencia High School’s Sinfonia Orchestra and has been since his sophomore year. He plans to double major in violin performance and psychology at Vanderbilt University starting in Fall 2022.

Zara B'far (15, cello), sophomore at Orange County School of the Arts, has been studying cello since she was 4 years old. An avid chamber musician, she has been in the Junior Chamber Music program for 10 years, and has one 1st prize in the MTAC VOCE State Chamber Music Competition, 1st prize in the JCM Concerto Competition, 1st prize in the International Grande Competition in NYC, and has performed in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest on the JCM Honors Tour. In junior high, she was selected principal cellist in the Irvine Honors Orchestra and performed in Segerstrom Hall. Zara has studied cello with professor Joon Sung Jun for 10 years. Besides cello, Zara is an avid basketball player and weightlifter, having played varsity basketball her freshman year at Fairmont Prep. She loves the beach and spending time with her friends.