California 9th Grader to Perform at Carnegie Hall —​ For the 3rd Time!

ALAMEDA, CA — Many talented musicians never get the opportunity to play at New York's famed Carnegie Hall. Isabelle Brown-Lyden has already performed there twice and has earned the right to play a third time. She will perform Bach on Nov. 26. And she's only in the ninth grade.

Isabelle has earned those performances by participating in an international competition, American Protégé. This year she placed second.

The talented musician took up the cello at age 4. Since sixth grade she has attended Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC). David Hoopes, the lead facilitator for ACLC, said, “Isabelle is a remarkable cellist, who is a tremendously strong learner and very well-rounded.”

Hoopes added, “She is the embodiment of the learner-lead atmosphere that ACLC fosters.”

Last year Isabelle placed second in the Alexander and Buono International Strings Competition. She was the only middle school cellist to place in that competition.

Her musical accomplishments also include performing in a competition at Merkin Concert Hall in Lincoln Center, where she won honorable mention.

Isabelle comes by her talent naturally. Her mother, Marcie Brown, is also a cellist. In addition to the instruction she receives from her mother, Isabelle takes lessons from Andy Luchansky in Oakland. He is the cello teacher at Sacramento State University.

Isabelle also plays with the Berkeley Youth Orchestra. Following her audition this year, she was placed in first chair — an accomplishment for a ninth grade learner in an orchestral group that has musicians through the 12th grade. If you're able to catch the orchestra's performance on Sunday, Nov. 13th, at 2 p.m., you'll be treated to a solo from Isabelle.

In her spare time, Isabelle plays tennis, designs and sews clothing, and plays with her dog, a golden doodle named Biscuit.

Alameda Community Learning Center is a charter school located at 1900 Third St. For more information about the school, contact Kelly Bitzer, director of marketing, admissions and technology, at 510-263-9309or kelly.bitzer@clcschools.org

— Images provided by Alameda Community Learning Center