What inspires you? What inspires a composer? While much of history’s music is absolute, inspired only by the imagination of the composer, many other works have been inspired by literature, art, politics, and events of the time. Join Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble on a journey of inspiration through exciting and breathtaking works, capped off by an inspiring performance by our concerto competition–winning soloist.
Program InformationRepertoire
CHEN QIAN: Ambush!
JENNIFER HIGDON: Percussion Concerto
Miko Yau (MM '25), marimba
FERRER FERRAN: Symphony No. 4, El Coloso
I. Oscuridad (Darkness)
II. Duerme (Asleep)
III. La Huida (The Flight)
IV. El Gigante (The Giant)
About the Artists
Miko Yau, marimba, is a percussionist, pianist, and music educator currently pursuing a Master of Music in marimba performance at Boston Conservatory, where she also serves as a piano accompanist. In 2024, she was awarded the Lawrence Chamber Music Festival Fellowship and won the Boston Conservatory at Berklee Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. As a member of Mello Duo, Yau earned second prize in the Chamber Music–Artist Group category at the 2024 American Virtuoso International Music Competition. In January 2025, Mello Duo premiered a newly commissioned work at Carnegie Hall. Yau received the Multi-Faceted Excellence Scholarship from the Hong Kong Government, which fully funded her undergraduate studies at the University of Hong Kong. She was also a recipient of the university’s R.C. Lee Hall Alumni Association Scholarship and the Talent Development Scholarship.
Matthew W. Marsit is an in-demand conductor, clarinetist, and educator who has led ensembles and performed as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout the United States. Currently serving as the chair of instrumental studies for Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Marsit also serves as the artistic director of the Charles River Wind Ensemble in Boston. He has previously held conducting positions at Dartmouth College, Ithaca College, Cornell University, Drexel University, Williams College, and the Chestnut Hill Orchestra. As a clarinetist, Marsit is a Selmer Paris Artist, performing on Selmer Muse and 10G clarinets, and has performed with many ensembles including the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Fairmont Chamber Orchestra. Marsit also has served as clarinet faculty at Plymouth State University, Cornell University, and Drexel University.
Ensemble
CONDUCTORMatthew M. MarsitMARIMBA SOLOISTMiko Yau, MM '25PICCOLOClaressa Castro, BM '28Mia Mravle, BM '27 FLUTEClaressa Castro, BM '28Dayna Dengler, BM '26Aaron Dore, BM '25Yuwen Ho, MM '26Rhea Karnick, BM '27Abby Leary, BM '25Teo Mondiru, BM '27Shion Suzuki, MM '26OBOEIsabelle Guevarra, BM '28Christopher Mavrogian, MM '25Coleton Morgan, BM '25JD Uchal, MM '26ENGLISH HORNJesse Myers, BM '26E-FLAT CLARINETJohnny Azpuru Jr., MM '25Andrew Coleman, MM '25B-FLAT CLARINETJohnny Azpuru Jr., MM '25Andrew Coleman, MM '25Elly (Hsuan-Hsun) Hsu, MM '25Jacqueline Huang, BM '27Huiyu Wang, MM '26Rose Lao, MM '26Andrew Lee, BM '25Alainna Pack, BM '25Jiahua Qiu, MM '26Mingxuan Song, BM '28Diego Tapia, BM '28Suning Yu, MM '26Rachel Wilensky, BM '27ALTO CLARINETNathan Soric, MM '26BASS CLARINETAnnika Pollock, BM '25Wesley A. Rivera, MM '25CONTRABASS CLARINETMichael Fascetta, MM '26BASSOONMatthew Gaudio, BM '28Max Li, MM '25 Lizzie Sylves, BM '25CONTRABASSOONCarson Saponaro, BM '26SOPRANO SAXOPHONEKeaton Shaw, MM '25ALTO SAXOPHONEXander Dawson, BM '26Wentao Luan, BM '29Keaton Shaw, MM '25TENOR SAXOPHONEBrian Esparza, BM '27Alejandro Taveras, Berklee College of MusicBARITONE SAXOPHONEKeaton Shaw, MM '25HORNHolly Fullerton, BM '26Anne Howarth*Drew Lingenfelter, BM '25Cam McCarty, BM '25Connor Strauss, BM '25Zachery Watson, BM ’27TRUMPETCharlotte Berube-Gray, BM '26Emily Dillon, BM '27Joe Foley*Cal Richards, BM '25Jackson Stahlman, BM '28Liz Jewell^CJ Waldrop, MM '25TROMBONEMikayla Frank-Martin, MM '25Kevin Smith, MM '26Brooke Thomson, BM '26BASS TROMBONEChristian Haymon, BM '28Zayden A. Morgan, BM '28Ben Pilon, MM '26EUPHONIUMCollin Good, BM '26Collin Hawkinson, BM '28Sum Ho Tsui, BM '27TUBAClayton Frank, BM '27Lowrider James, BM '27PERCUSSIONYuth Cañizalez, BM '28 Dustyn Carter, BM '27Lily Cooper, BM '28Jialu Du, BM '26Yunni Fu, BM '28Penghe Liu, BM '28Shixiao Shan, MM '26Yueyang (William) Shi, MM '25Dennis Smith, BM '27HARPChanling Bai, MM '25PIANO/CELESTESumi Kim, GPD '26CELLOTing Chen Chen, MM '25Madeleine Corrigan, MM '26Danielle Hall, MM '26Jenny Lee, MM '25YiHsien Lin, MM '26Xingyu Wang, MM '25BASSLeo Martinez, BM '25* Faculty member
^ Guest musician
Concert Services Staff
Assistant Director, Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Coordinator, Concert Services – Matthew CareyConcert Production Manager – Kendall FloydPerformance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran DaskalovPerformance Technology Specialist – Andrei Radu
Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 200 sheets of paper, 21 gallons of water, and 18 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.
