Fremont Unified School District Students Give Back to Community Through String Music - Sunday, October 9 at 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

A Violin Benefit Concert presented by young musicians of Fremont has been scheduled for Sunday, October 9, to raise funds for the Fremont Education Foundation (FEF). FEF is a nonprofit, public charity in Fremont established to support the district’s public schools --- to provide and maintain consistently high quality educational opportunities for the children of the community served by the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD). All proceeds of the concert will be donated to support the After-School Band program, which makes instrumental music instruction available free-of-charge to all 27 elementary schools of the FUSD.

The concert features violinists Jerry Zhao, Jessica Chen and Kasey Yu, and violist Julian Tso --- all students of Mr. Ker Qi, a longtime Fremont resident and a renowned violin teacher. Mr. Qi graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and obtained a Master’s Degree for Musical Performance and a Master’s Degree in Music Education in the United States. For decades, he has provided rigorous and passionate instruction to students, many of whom have moved on to become professional musicians and winners in major competitions. Mr. Qi also imparts to his students the spirit of giving back to the community and of helping make the world a better place.

Jerry Zhao, 12, a seventh grader at Horner Junior High, started his violin career when he was only three years old. The youngest student of Mr. Qi, Jerry had a passion for violin, which led to his acceptance by the El Camino Youth Symphony at the age of six. He has performed in a benefit concert in Fremont for school fundraising and played background music at several Fremont Symphony Orchestra (FSO) concerts. Besides violin, Jerry enjoys playing piano and singing at Level 5 in Crystal Children’s Choir. He is also a member of Hoopsphere Basketball League.

Jessica Chen, 16, is a junior at Irvington High School. She discovered her passion for music in the second grade, when she first heard the soothing yet powerful notes of the violin from a friend. An avid violinist for eight years, Jessica currently enjoys her second year as a first violin of the California Youth Symphony’s Associate Orchestra. She loves performing at benefit concerts and senior centers, where she spreads the joy of music to a large number of people. She has participated in a school benefit concert to raise funds for Syrian refugees. Jessica spends her free time playing basketball and, of course, practicing violin.

A junior at Irvington High School, Kasey Yu, 16, has been actively studying violin under Mr. Qi for six years. During the 2014-2015 season, Kasey had the pleasure of performing as a guest violinist with FSO. In the past year, she has become a member of the San Jose Youth Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra and had the opportunity to play for Mr. Linquan Luo, the Consul General of China in San Francisco. Thrilled to share her love of music with others, Kasey has performed at various senior centers and strives to continue sharing her passion for music with the Fremont community.

A sophomore of Mission San Jose High School, Julian Tso, 15, has studied the viola for five years, and is now a member of the school orchestra, and of the California Youth Symphony’s Associate Orchestra. Just three years into learning the viola, he got accepted by the honor orchestra of the California Orchestra Directors Association, and was nominated to perform at the Winter Conference of the California Association of Music Education (Bay Section) as first chair. Julian enjoyed performing with professionals at FSO’s 2015-2016 season-opener. He attributes his desire to pursue excellence to the music teacher of his junior high school.

The repertoire at the Violin Benefit Concert ranges from well-known violin concertos of Beethoven, Mozart and Stamitz to Chinese pieces such as Butterfly Lovers Concerto. Pianist Dr. Anny Cheng will accompany our young musicians. Dr. Cheng holds a Master’s Degree from Westminster Choir College, a Degree in Collaborative Piano from Longy School of Music, and a Doctoral Degree in Collaborative Piano from Arizona State University. She has performed in several major U.S. cities including New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston, as well as Taiwan and Ireland.

Hosting the event will be Debra Watanuki, who has volunteered with FEF for over 10 years, and recently rejoined the FEF board of directors to serve as the Coordinator for the After-School Band program. She wholeheartedly believes in the value of music education at school and the fundamental role it plays in fostering well-rounded, disciplined and valuable young members of society. She is honored and thrilled to be part of the concert that raises funds to benefit and support students learning music, and appreciates all of you sharing in her personal passion.

Violin Benefit Concert 2016

Sunday, October 9, 2 p.m. -- 4 p.m.

South Bay Community Church

47385 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539

Tickets are available at violinbenefitconcert2016.eventbrite.com or www.youngmusician.org. We accept free-will donations by cash, check, or credit card at the concert. Checks may also be mailed to Violin Benefit Concert, P. O. Box 1073, Fremont, CA 94538. Please make check payable to “Fremont Education Foundation” or “FEF”, with “Violin Benefit Concert” on the memo line.