DIRECTORS:
Ming Luke
MING LUKE is the General Director of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony. He is also the Music Director of the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra, Director and Conductor of the Education Programs for the Berkeley Sympony Orchestra, Music Director for the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Modesto Symphony, and the Chorus Master of the Sacramento Opera. Prior to his appointment in Napa, he was a Staff Conductor for the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and helped prepared the choir for such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Andre Previn, Mariss Jansons, Michael Stern and Lucas Richman.
A passionate advocate for music education, Luke has been involved with numerous youth ensembles during his career and was president of the largest collegiate chapter of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC). He has experience with all of the major music education systems and methods including: Orff, Gordon, Dalcroze, Kodaly and Suzuki. He has served as faculty for many high school and middle school summer workshops teaching piano, conducting and music theater.
Ming Luke holds a Master of Fine Arts in Conducting from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Piano Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Mr. Luke served on the Grants and Cultural Committee of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and has served as a panalist for the National Endowment of the Arts.
Sabine Hirsohn
Sabine started her career as a teacher in graduate school at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, where she assisted her viola teacher Misha geller. Bitten by the bug she returned to her homeland, Ireland, upon graduating, and joined the Suzuki teacher training program. Sabine trained all over Europe and America with many of the leading Violin and Viola Suzulki Method teacher trainers. These included Felicity Lipman, Philipa Lees, Judy and Christophe Bossuat and Doris and Bill Preucil, Culminating in a 2 week trip to Japan to study with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki himself. Sabine comes from a family of musicians and her mother, Magsie Goor is one of Europe's most respected Suzuki teachers. Sabine has had the good fortune to teach and live in many parts of the world both as a workshop clinician and as a resident. In Ireland Sabine had the largest studio of accomplished Viola STudents in Europe at the time. In New Zealand Sabine worked as a Violin /viola teacher in the Auckland area but was invited to teach all over that country and in Australia at many workshops. In France Sabine had a violin studio with students ranging from beginner through Suzuki book 8. In Iowa Sabine was Faculty chair of the Cedar Rapids Symphony school, the sister school to the Preucil School of music in Iowa City. It was here that she designed the "violin for all 3rd and 4th graders" program. In California Sabine has had studios in Los Angeles, Fairfield and now Napa, where she plans on staying!
Yasushi Ogura
Yasushi Ogura is founder of the Napa Valley Festival Ensemble, Concertmaster of the Napa Valley Symphony and former Concertmaster of the Diablo Ballet. He often performs for Broadway shows in San Francisco, with Pocket Opera, and with ensembles in his native Japan. Yasushi has been working with the Napa Valley Youth Symphony since its inception and is a tireless educator. As Head Coach, he works with General Director Ming Luke each week to discuss artistic needs in the ensemble and which professional musicians on the NVYS call list should be called to address the specific problems needed.
Robin May
Oboist Robin May is the Co-Director of Wind Sinfonia, is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and Hastings College of the Law. He has been a member of the Oakland East Bay Symphony, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and the festival orchestras of Tanglewood, Cabrillo, and Lake Tahoe. Additionally he has performed with the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony and appears regularly in schools with the Five Chairs Wind Quintet. Mr. May teaches privately in Berkeley and for the past five summers has taught and performed in Levico, Italy.
Debbie Walden
Debbie Walden, Co-director of Wind Sinfornia, received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from California State University at Fullerton. She began her teaching career in the Capistrano Unified School District and currently teaches in the Napa Valley Unified School District. Debbie is the Music Director at American Canyon Middle School and also teaches band at Donaldson Way and Napa Junction Elementary Schools.
