Home » Lexington Philharmonic welcomes 13 new orchestra members

Lexington Philharmonic welcomes 13 new orchestra members

Lexington, Ky. – The Lexington Philharmonic is proud to introduce 13 new musicians to the orchestra.

LexPhil’s new musicians came from an application pool of 188 representing 23 states.

New Lexington Philharmonic musicians: 

Flutist Arpi Anderson has been an active freelance performer in the Cincinnati area for over 15 years.  She has played with many of the local orchestras and ensembles, including the Cincinnati Symphony and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras. She is a member of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and performs regularly with the IRIS Chamber Orchestra in Germantown, TN. Ms. Anderson holds degrees in performance from UCLA and has done graduate work in music theory and performance at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. A native of San Francisco, Ms. Anderson is currently based in Cincinnati where she lives with her partner, pianist Joshua Nemith.

Andreas Oeste, oboe, was born and raised in the small town of Conway, Arkansas. His first instruments were clarinet and cello, but switched to oboe after his band director told him that he was “nerdy enough.” Andreas went on to study Oboe Performance and Composition at the University of Central Arkansas. During his time in Arkansas, Andreas performed with the Arkansas Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the Fort Smith Symphony. He won first prize at the Midwest Double Reed Society Young Artist Competition, and first prize in composition at the Francis McBeth Memorial Composition Competition. Andreas currently studies Oboe Performance with Dr. Nancy Ambrose King at the University of Michigan, as well as pursuing a degree in Chamber Music Performance. He currently hold the position of Principal Oboe with the Battle Creek Symphony. Most recently, Andreas performed Christopher Rouse’s Oboe Concerto with the University Symphony Orchestra.

Rajesh Soodeen, clarinet, began his studies at the University of Houston, where he performed with the University of Houston Wind ensemble and orchestra. After receiving his Bachelor of Music degree, Rajesh then attended the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. After receiving his master’s degree, Rajesh continued his studies at IU and started a Performance Diploma. He continues to play in the IU Philharmonic orchestra and has had the chance to work with conductors such as David Effron, Arthur Fagen, and Paul Nadler.

Alex Rosenfeld, horn, was selected as Assistant Principal Horn with the Lexington Philharmonic early in the 2014-15 season. He also currently holds positions with several orchestras in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sarasota Opera Orchestra.  Alex has performed regularly as an extra with the San Francisco Symphony and has appeared with numerous other orchestras throughout the country and internationally. In addition to orchestral playing, Alex currently teaches horn at Centre College in Danville, KY.  Originally from Philadelphia (where he started his musical training on the violin), Alex studied horn at Northwestern University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Before joining the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, active violinist Dr. DaeJin Bae has played in numerous orchestras such as the Huntington Symphony Orchestra, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Anderson Symphony Orchestra, and the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his orchestral experience, he has given many recitals and performances at universities in the US and his native South Korea. Dr. DaeJin Bae received his Bachelor of Music degree from Butler University in 2005 and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he won the Starling Competition and was a full scholarship recipient. Between 2010 and 2013 Dr. Bae was a commissioned officer and the music director of the military band at the headquarters of the Army in South Korea, as well as a committee member of the Orchestra at the Ministry of National Defense. Dr. Bae has also enjoyed conducting many church choirs in the US and South Korea.

Violinist David Goist is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). David studies with Timothy Lees, Concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and has also studied with Won-Bin Yim and Timothy Durbin. During his time at CCM, he has been a winner of the Clara and Bertha Baur Competition and a finalist in the Violin Concerto Competition.

Ingang Han, violin, is a tenured member of Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a former prizewinner of the Seoul National Symphony Orchestra Competition and the winner of the 2014 University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition.  He has been awarded merit scholarships at the Brevard Music Institute, the Colorado College Summer Music Festival and the Eastern Music Festival. Mr. Han is a native of South Korea, and is pursuing a Master’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Kentucky under the guidance of Daniel Mason.

Chang Ji, violin, holds Masters and Artist Diploma degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM). An active performer, Mrs. Ji enjoyed two seasons with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago playing under some of the world’s great conductors as well as being mentored by members of the Chicago Symphony. Mrs. Ji is a member of the Lexington Philharmonic, Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Kentucky Symphonies. She also frequently performs with the Dayton Philharmonic and the Springfield Symphony. Mrs. Ji has performed solo and chamber music recitals in Italy, Austria, Germany, China, and in many place across the United States. She currently teaches a course in string pedagogy at Wright State University and maintains a private teaching studio in the Cincinnati area.

Austin Han, viola, began his musical studies at age 15 under Catherine Van Hoesen of the San Francisco Symphony. He later earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and his master’s degree from Indiana University studying under Stephen Wyrczynski, where he also served as principal violist of the IU Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Austin has collaborated with Darrett Adkins, Elaine Douvas and Gilian Benet Sella, and has participated in masterclasses under Peter Salaff, Joseph Kalichstein and Yehuda Gilad. Currently, Austin freelances in Indiana and Kentucky.

As a recitalist and a chamber musician, Tzu-Hui Hung, viola, has appeared in venues such as the Corbett Auditorium, the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall, the Patricia Corbett Theatre, Watson Hall in Cincinnati, and the Taiwan cultural center in Taiwan. As an orchestra member, she has played in the Springfield symphony orchestra, the Kentucky symphony orchestra and several orchestras in Taiwan. Hung was born and raised in Tainan, Taiwan. She started playing piano at the age of four, violin at the age of five, and viola at the age of nine. She received her Master’s degree from College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati (CCM), and she is also pursuing her doctorate degree at CCM. Hung has won the First Prize at Mozart Sinfonia Concertante competition, the First Prize at Hindemith Der Schwanendreher Competition at CCM, and many other awards in Taiwan. As a student at CCM she is a recipient of numerous scholarships and a graduate assistant for the Ariel Quartet.

Violist Courtney O’Keefe currently studies with Dr. Catharine Carroll Lees and Masao Kawasaki at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She enjoys performing as assistant principal viola of the CCM Philharmonia and recently gave her senior recital, performing Bach, Bartók, and Hindemith. She has won several competition prizes, including third prize in the American Viola Society 2014-2015 Orchestral Excerpts Competition. O’Keefe has been the violist of the Ava Quartet and the Sul C Viola Quartet, among other chamber ensembles. She is an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School and Kent/Blossom Music Festival.

Eric Graf, cello, holds a Master of Music in Cello Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Graf is a newly appointed section cellist with the Lexington Symphony, and continues in his third season as principal cellist with the Mansfield Symphony. He has performed in numerous other orchestras in the Midwest. Graf has recently performed as soloist with the Long Prairie Chamber Orchestra and Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra. An avid teacher of all levels, he currently performs and teaches in the Cleveland, Ohio area.

Eli Raines, bass, Eli Raines is an up and coming bassist from Louisville, Kentucky. From middle school through the completion of his undergraduate degree at the University of Louisville, Raines studied with Sidney King. He then went on to earn a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University, where he was a student of Andrew Raciti. Since graduating in June, Eli has returned to Louisville and begun to establish himself as a player in the region. In addition to recently being hired by the Lexington Philharmonic, Raines has also been hired as a substitute by the Louisville Orchestra, Orchestra Kentucky, and West Virginia’s Huntington Symphony Orchestra.

The Lexington Philharmonic, founded in 1961, is the only professional orchestral organization in central Kentucky. Last year, LexPhil presented over 200 concerts and educational programs, including its Season Series, Holiday Concerts, Peanut Butter & Jelly Series for young children, Music Builds STEAM education programs, community programs and outdoor summer concerts. More information and tickets can be found at www.lexphil.org.