This Season's Featured Soloists (in order of appearance, with upcoming soloists featured first)
Kayla Chong, cello
Kayla Chong is a 13-year-old homeschooled 8th grader at Firm Foundation Christian Academy. She began her musical studies on piano and violin before discovering her passion for the cello at age 7. Kayla currently studies with Maggie Parkins, having previously studied with Lynn Burrows. She has been a member of the Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra for 3 years, as well as the Claremont Young Musician Orchestras for 3 years. Her musical experiences also include Junior Chamber Music (JCM), National Cello Institute, Los Angeles Suzuki Institute, band, musical theater, and choir. Kayla was named a 2024 National Gold Medalist by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) for cello, an honor that included a performance at Carnegie Hall. She also received the 2025 National Gold Medal for piano and was again invited to play at Carnegie Hall. For her multiple RCM State awards in both piano and cello, she has been invited to perform at USC and the Colburn School. In addition, she was awarded first place in cello and second place in piano at the 2025 John Child Walker Competition. In her free time, Kayla enjoys crochet, dance, playing guitar, volleyball, and spending time with friends. As the 2025 CYSO Concerto Competition co-winner, she will perform Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1, 1st movement.
Alexander Vance, piano
Alexander Vance is a sophomore at Claremont High School, and he has been a student of Dr. Barbara Durost at CCSM since 2018. This is also his second year in Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra as pianist and percussionist. Alexander has been taking piano lessons for eleven years and is a multiple-time Superior Rating recipient at the National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival. He has also performed at numerous Mayor’s Recitals for the Claremont Community School of Music and attained Second Place in three separate categories of the Charleston International Music Competition. In addition to his classical pursuits, he is the pianist for the Claremont High School Jazz Band and Jazz Band Combo. His dedication to music extends to giving back, having successfully conceptualized and performed two solo charity concerts, "The Battle of the Genres" and "The Battle of the Giants," raising over $4,500 in total for music education scholarships and to fund his Eagle Scout Project for CCSM. He is currently organizing his third solo charity concert “The Battle of Film Music” for 2026. His love for and discipline in his music studies extend to his academics, as well as to being a well-rounded citizen: in 2025 he earned his Shodan-Ho (Junior Black Belt) in Shotokan Karate at the Defense Arts Center in Upland. At the age of 13 he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and has continued volunteering in Troop 407 as a Troop Guide for young, incoming scouts. As the 2025 CYSO Concerto Competition co-winner, he will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3, Op. 37, 1st movement.
Nadia Shpachenko, Piano
A “gifted and versatile pianist” (San Francisco Chronicle) and GRAMMY® Award winner Nadia Shpachenko enjoys bringing into the world things that are outside the box -- powerful pieces that often possess unusual sonic qualities or instrumentation. Dr. Shpachenko’s concert highlights include recitals at Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, on the Piano Spheres and Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella and Chamber Music Series, and with orchestras in Europe and the Americas. An enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music, she has premiered more than 150 works by Zoltan Almashi, Armando Bayolo, Elliott Carter, Christopher Cerrone, Paul Chihara, George Crumb, Ian Dicke, Daniel Felsenfeld, Tom Flaherty, Annie Gosfield, Yuri Ishchenko, Vera Ivanova, Dana Kaufman, Leon Kirchner, Amy Beth Kirsten, Han Lash, James Matheson, Missy Mazzoli, Harold Meltzer, Evgeni Orkin, David Sanford, Isaac Schankler, Alexander Shchetynsky, Adam Schoenberg, Lewis Spratlan, Evan Ware, Gernot Wolfgang, Iannis Xenakis, Peter Yates, Pamela Z, Jack Van Zandt, and many others.
Described as “powerful… impressive… haunting” (Gramophone), Dr. Shpachenko's album Invasion: Music and Art for Ukraine features premiere recordings of music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan and art by numerous Ukrainian artists, with 100% of proceeds donated to Ukraine humanitarian aid. Her 2019 Reference Recordings album The Poetry of Places, featuring premieres of architecture-inspired works, won the Best Classical Compendium GRAMMY® Award. She can be heard on seven other internationally released albums of world premieres. Dr. Shpachenko holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Her principal teachers included John Perry, Victor Rosenbaum, and Victor Derevianko. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, she is a Steinway Artist, Schoenhut Toy Piano Artist, and professor of music at Cal Poly Pomona University.
Described as “powerful… impressive… haunting” (Gramophone), Dr. Shpachenko's album Invasion: Music and Art for Ukraine features premiere recordings of music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan and art by numerous Ukrainian artists, with 100% of proceeds donated to Ukraine humanitarian aid. Her 2019 Reference Recordings album The Poetry of Places, featuring premieres of architecture-inspired works, won the Best Classical Compendium GRAMMY® Award. She can be heard on seven other internationally released albums of world premieres. Dr. Shpachenko holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Her principal teachers included John Perry, Victor Rosenbaum, and Victor Derevianko. Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, she is a Steinway Artist, Schoenhut Toy Piano Artist, and professor of music at Cal Poly Pomona University.
Lyndon Taylor, Violin
Lyndon Johnston Taylor comes from a family of musical excellence. While his parents performed as duo pianists, he and his siblings concertized as the Taylor String Quartet, appearing extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad, including performances at over 50 colleges and universities, and on national radio and TV in Great Britain, Sweden, and Norway.
Dr. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and obtained graduate training in medicine and cell biology to prepare for a medical research career. However, after two years in an MD-PhD program, he recognized his passion for music and obtained a teaching position at the University of Redlands. He completed his Master of Music degree at California State University, Northridge, and his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the Juilliard School under the direction of Dorothy DeLay, where he received the Fritz Kreisler Scholarship.
Dr. Taylor has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, among them the Coleman Chamber Music Award, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago Soloist Auditions, the Joseph Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Rodolfo Lipizer International Competition (Italy), and the 2000 Adventist Alumni Achievement Award for the Arts. Dr. Taylor has taught at the University of Redlands, Andrews University, La Sierra University, the USC Thornton School of Music, and Occidental College. During the pandemic, Dr. Taylor returned to California State University, Northridge, to complete a BS in nursing. He continues at the University of Missouri’s DNP Family Nurse Practitioner program. Dr. Taylor’s orchestral career began as concertmaster of both the Redlands and Riverside symphony orchestras. From 2007 to 2011, Dr. Taylor served as Assistant Concertmaster for the New Zealand Symphony. He served as the Principal Second Violinist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic until 2024.
Dr. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and obtained graduate training in medicine and cell biology to prepare for a medical research career. However, after two years in an MD-PhD program, he recognized his passion for music and obtained a teaching position at the University of Redlands. He completed his Master of Music degree at California State University, Northridge, and his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree at the Juilliard School under the direction of Dorothy DeLay, where he received the Fritz Kreisler Scholarship.
Dr. Taylor has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, among them the Coleman Chamber Music Award, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago Soloist Auditions, the Joseph Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Rodolfo Lipizer International Competition (Italy), and the 2000 Adventist Alumni Achievement Award for the Arts. Dr. Taylor has taught at the University of Redlands, Andrews University, La Sierra University, the USC Thornton School of Music, and Occidental College. During the pandemic, Dr. Taylor returned to California State University, Northridge, to complete a BS in nursing. He continues at the University of Missouri’s DNP Family Nurse Practitioner program. Dr. Taylor’s orchestral career began as concertmaster of both the Redlands and Riverside symphony orchestras. From 2007 to 2011, Dr. Taylor served as Assistant Concertmaster for the New Zealand Symphony. He served as the Principal Second Violinist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic until 2024.
Thalia Moore, soprano
Thalia Moore is a native southern Californian with a love for the color pink, Black music, and her dog Lili Bou (short for Boulanger). Leading up to her spring graduation, Moore won first place vocalist in the CSUF Music Associates Concerto Competition, Third in the Redlands Young Artist Concerto Competition, and won an encouragement award at the George Shirley vocal competition. Once graduated in spring 2024 from California State University Fullerton, Moore wasted no time jumping into the professional scene. She has had the opportunity to perform in the chorus of San Francisco Opera’s Omar, as well as their production of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. She made her LA Opera Chorus debut in their production of Highway 1 USA and regularly works as a teaching artist with Pacific Opera Project. Moore’s passion for lecture-style recitals has given her an opportunity to present recitals based around Black music with Pacific Opera Project, First Presbyterian of Berkeley, and Opera League of Los Angeles.
Meghan Linnington, mezzo-soprano
Meghan Linnington is a 19-year-old award-winning mezzo-soprano based in Toronto, Canada. She studies with Adrianne Pieczonka at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, supported by a Temerty Foundation Scholarship. An accomplished young artist, she has appeared in over one hundred productions, concerts, and recitals with organizations such as Tulsa Opera, The Colburn School, Valley Opera and Performing Arts, Repertory Opera Company, San Francisco Opera Summer Conservatory, LA Opera Camp, National Children’s Chorus Vail Opera Camp, and the Salzburg Festival Opera Camp. Several of her roles include Spirit (The Magic Flute), Little Red Riding Hood (Into the Woods), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), and Shepherd Boy (Tosca). She is also an alumna of the Claremont Youth Symphony Orchestra, where she was a second violinist. Meghan has earned multiple first-place awards: Oberlin College; Classical Singer Magazine; Schmidt Vocal Arts; and LA’s Music Center Spotlight Awards. In 2024, she made her Carnegie Hall debut, performing and receiving two National Gold Medals from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
James Nathen Salazar, tenor
A true lyric tenor, James Salazar has become a prominent presence in Los Angeles’s independent opera scene, performing leading roles with many of the city’s most respected companies. His repertoire spans some of opera’s most iconic romantic and dramatic heroes, including Rodolfo in La Bohème, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Don José in Carmen, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, the Duke in Rigoletto, and the title role in Gounod’s Faust. He has recently expanded his accomplishments with acclaimed portrayals of Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Canio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.
As an actor, Mr. Salazar embodies the finest of the European operatic tradition, crafting a commanding heroic tenor persona while also delivering deeply sympathetic and nuanced romantic characters when the music and drama require it. His keen musical instinct, expressive phrasing, and thoughtful interpretation bring authenticity and emotional resonance to every role. Coupled with his effortless, ringing high notes, these qualities establish James Salazar as one of the most exciting and ascending talents in the Southern California operatic landscape.
As an actor, Mr. Salazar embodies the finest of the European operatic tradition, crafting a commanding heroic tenor persona while also delivering deeply sympathetic and nuanced romantic characters when the music and drama require it. His keen musical instinct, expressive phrasing, and thoughtful interpretation bring authenticity and emotional resonance to every role. Coupled with his effortless, ringing high notes, these qualities establish James Salazar as one of the most exciting and ascending talents in the Southern California operatic landscape.
Eric Castro, baritone
Eric Castro has sung as a principal soloist with professional orchestras and opera companies, including Los Angeles Opera in “On Gold Mountain." He has appeared multiple times at Walt Disney Concert Hall with California Philharmonic and with LA Lawyers Philharmonic and has also performed leading operatic roles in other major and diverse venues such as The Wallis Annenberg, Las Vegas Smith Center, and Redlands Bowl, and with Palisades Symphony, Mission Opera, VOLPA, Mesopotamian Opera, Nevada Opera Theatre, Capitol Opera, Celestial Opera, Las Vegas Opera, Opera Ala Mode, Los Angeles Met Opera, Redlands Bowl Opera, Marina Del Rey Opera, and Overtone Industries. His operatic roles have included Don Giovanni, Marcello in La Bohème, Escamillo in Carmen, Count Almaviva in Marriage of Figaro, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Amonasro in Aida, and Bob in Old Maid & the Thief. His oratorio performances include soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Handel’s Messiah, Rachmaninoff’s The Bells, Rossini’s StabatMater, Raphael and Adam in Haydn’s The Creation, and in the Mozart, Brahms, and Faure Requiems.
Also a classical actor, Mr. Castro has performed with professional Shakespeare companies in roles such as Claudius in Hamlet, Ford in Merry Wives, Friar Laurence in Romeo & Juliet, Oberon, Theseus & Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. His performance as Christopher Marlowe’s Faustus was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role by Broadway World.
Also a classical actor, Mr. Castro has performed with professional Shakespeare companies in roles such as Claudius in Hamlet, Ford in Merry Wives, Friar Laurence in Romeo & Juliet, Oberon, Theseus & Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. His performance as Christopher Marlowe’s Faustus was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role by Broadway World.
