Sending Love to Yangon, Myanmar
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The third world is a mysterious place for most of us. We hear the stories and see the pictures, but we can’t comprehend life without electricity, proper education, or even something as universal as a car. When two other GYP members and I visited the Joy Children Home in Yangon, Myanmar, we came face to face with that reality. The electricity goes down daily for hours at a time. The schools look more like prisons and are cursed with an atrocious government curriculum. Most egregiously, they don’t have the money for a vehicle. The caretakers have to walk to the village market and carry their food back. Compare that to stocking up our car trunks with boxes from Costco, and you start to get an idea of how difficult their lives are. I and other high school students are able to put our efforts into helping others less fortunate than us through GYP. As members of GYP, we are using our musical talents to raise money to donate. This year we are focusing our efforts into raising money so Joy Children Home can purchase a truck, which we feel would benefit them greatly. I am so thankful that I can help better other people’s lives, and I hope you will join us in our goal to make life better for children all around the world. Jason Dunn
GYP Event Chair |
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Visiting GYP members
(From left to right) Sean Young, Jason Dunn and Jocelyn Tseng
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| Event: | Fundraising Concert "Sending Love to Mynamar" | |
| When: | October 20, 2019 at 3PM | |
| Where: | Center of Performing Arts, Recital Hall, Santa Clara University (at the corner of Lafayette and Franklin) | |
| Address | 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, 95035-0341 |
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Back(L-R): Ishan Saharoy, Eugene Yoon, Andrew Wang, Pravin Agrawal-Chung, Alan Liu, Jason Dunn |
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Profiles of Team Members.
Alan Liu, Event Performer Alan Liu is a junior attending Basis Independent Silicon Valley. He has played piano for nearly ten years, attended the music competition USOMC, and is participating in GYP for his third year. Alan's passions include mathematics and physics, including leading Physics Circle at his school, and he enjoys playing chess, playing basketball, swimming, and hanging out with friends. With yet another opportunity as a GYP member, Alan hopes to help children in Myanmar in conjunction with his passion for the piano. Alexander Kao, Event Performer Alexander Kao is a sophomore at Lynbrook High School. He has been playing piano for 7 years and saxophone for 7 years. In addition to playing piano and saxophone, he likes to play basketball, participate in track and field, and eat different types of food. As a second year member of GYP, he hopes to help others through his love of music. Andrew Wang, Backstage Manager Andrew Wang is a sophomore attending Mountain View High School who has been playing piano since he was five years old. He has also previously played clarinet for school bands which he very much enjoyed. Along with playing music, he also plays tennis for school and enjoys conversing with his friends. Other more indoor hobbies that he likes is listening to music or watching movies. This is his second year with GYP, and although he is not performing, he is happy that he is able to work with the group. Austin Min, Event Performer Austin is a sophomore at American High School, a school all the way in Fremont. However, this long distance does not interfere with him coming to Kwan Music, as he believes nothing can stop a strong passion for music. In addition to playing the piano, which he has been doing for almost six years, Austin also enjoys playing sports, reading books, traveling around the world, and hanging out with his friends. Austin is in his school's water polo team, and he also participates in many different clubs. He also was the lead pianist for the Fremont Youth Symphony Orchestra. This is Austin's first year in GYP, and he is delighted to be a part of this amazing and talented group and he looks forward to helping others in need. Cynthia Feng, Event Performer Cynthia is a sophomore at Los Gatos High School and has been playing piano since she was five years old. When not practicing piano, she likes to read and play tennis. Music has been a big part of Cynthia’s life and she is excited to use it to benefit others. Elise Kwan, Event Performer Elise is a junior at Wilcox High School. This is her fourth year in GYP, and she has been playing piano since kindergarten. She has competed in competitions such as USOMC and had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall. She is also a pianist for her school's jazz band. Elise has participated in her school orchestra for four years and is a member of El Camino Youth Orchestra's Senior Symphony. Besides her music involvement, she runs cross country and currently serves as Wilcox's junior class vice president. Elise hopes that this concert emphasizes the joys of volunteering and making music not just for oneself but to help others. Elizabeth Szeto, Event Performer Elizabeth is currently a junior at The Harker School in San Jose and has been playing piano since she was five years old. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, playing tennis, and swimming. This is her third year in GYP, and she is excited to have this opportunity to help the orphanage in Myanmar. Emma Constable, Event Performer Emma is a sophomore at Lynbrook High School. She has been playing piano for ten years and flute for five. Besides music, Emma's passions include drawing, reading, and writing, and she has been dancing ballet since the age of six. She also enjoys volunteering outside of school and hopes to make a difference in the community. As a new member of GYP, Emma is grateful for the opportunity to be able to help children in Myanmar through her love for music. Eugene Yoon, Event Performer Eugene is currently a junior at Monta Vista High School and has been playing the piano for about eleven years. In addition to being a part of the Monta Vista Swim Team for about three years, Eugene likes to study chemistry and biology in his free time. This will be Eugene's second year in GYP, and he hopes to have another great, successful performance that can captivate the audience, Eugene is extremely honored to be a part of the GYP program and hopes that this concert will be able to help raise funds to support children in need across the globe. Grace Tan, Event Performer Grace is a 9th grader this year at Monta Vista High School and has been playing piano for over 7 years. Aside from piano, Grace participates in competitive robotics and is playing for the school tennis team. During her free time, she enjoys eating, drawing, hanging out with friends, and watching various videos and movies. As a first year participant of the GYP program, she is very excited about being a part of helping the orphanage in Myanmar. Helena Feng, Event Performer Helena Feng is a 10th grader attending Los Gatos High School who has been playing piano for ten years. In addition to playing piano, her interests include tennis and various academic subjects such as math and biology. This is Helena’s third year in GYP and she looks forward to attending this organization through her high school years. Iris Wang, Event Performer Iris is an 8th grader at Lawson Middle School. She has played piano for 8 years, since age 5. Aside from piano, she finds interest in drawing and playing badminton. Iris has an unimaginable sweet tooth, and loves to bake desserts with her friends. Although this is her first year as a member in GYP, she hopes to make a difference in the lives of the Myanmar orphans. Ishan Saharoy, Event Performer Ishan is a junior at Lynbrook High School. He is 16 and has been playing piano for almost 10 years and this is his 2nd year at GYP. Outside of playing piano, Ishan also plays water polo everyday competitively and is on the swim team. He also works as a swimming teacher at a nearby pool and lifeguards. In his free time, he likes listening to music, talking to his friends, and playing games with his brother. Jason Dunn, Event Chair Jason Dunn is a senior at Monta Vista high. He has been playing piano since he was 6 years old, and this is his 4th year as a GYP member. Besides piano, Jason also enjoys singing and watching sports. This summer, Jason traveled to Yangon, Myanmar to spend a few days with orphans living there. After experiencing a few days of their lives, Jason is proud to be leading GYP to help those in need. Jocelyn Tseng, Event Photographer Jocelyn Tseng is a senior at Monta Vista High School who loves dogs and enjoys playing trombone and tennis. This past summer, she, along with two other GYP members, visited Joy Children's Home in Yangon, Myanmar and spent time with the twenty-three children– played with the children, cooked for them, and talked to them about how their lives could be improved. She believes it was an unforgettable experience that opened her eyes to a completely different third-world community thousands of miles away from the Bay Area Bubble she lives in. She also looks forward to helping out with this year’s concert and fundraising to help the children in need. Madeline Cheng, Event Performer Madeline Clara Cheng is a 15 year-old composer, saxophonist, and pianist from Mountain View High School. Her compositions have won top awards in the National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers State Contest and the Music Teachers’ Association of California Composers Today Contest. She is also an alumnus of Berklee High School Composition Intensive. Recently, Madeline was selected as one of the five 2019-2020 Luna Composition Lab Fellows in the nation. Her compositions have been performed at international events such as the 2018 PianoTexas International Festival and the 2019 Sun Valley Music Festival. As an alto saxophonist, Madeline received the 2018 Frank Sumares Scholarship Award to study at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and she now plays in their award-winning Miles Ahead Big Band. In her free time, she is very active in community service and serves as president of her school’s Key Club. Pravin Agrawal-Chung, Event Performer Pravin is a 9th grader at Monta Vista High School and has been playing piano for 8 years. Other than piano, he also plays the violin at school. He also likes to cook and hang out with friends. Since this is his first year at GYP, he hopes to make a difference for the orphans in Myanmar. Sabrina Ning, Event Performer Sabrina Ning is a freshman at Lynbrook High School. She has been playing piano for almost ten years and flute for four years. In addition to piano, she enjoys dancing and hanging out with friends. She is looking forward to her second year in GYP and hopes she can use her passion of music to help less fortunate children. Sean Yang, Event Performer Sean Yang is a junior at Monta Vista High School. He has been playing piano for nearly a decade and has gone on the last two GYP trips. Outside of music, Sean's academic passions include physics and computer science. Additionally, he has been part of his school water polo team for the past two years. He is delighted to have the opportunity to play for GYP again, raising money for Myanmar this year!
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