The University of Washington School of Music presents the debut concert of the Oceana Quartet. Winners of the 2011 UW Strings and Piano Chamber Ensemble Competition, the ensemble features the collected talents of UW students Emily Choi and Rochelle Nguyen (violins), Romaric Pokorny (viola), and Sonja Myklebust (cello). Selections on their debut concert include Debussy's String Quartet,  Britten's First Quartet, and Mendelssohn's Capriccio in E minor, Op. 81.

PERFORMER BIOS
Oceana String Quartet

The Oceana String Quartet was formed in winter 2011 by violinists Emily Choi and Rochelle Nguyen, violist Romaric Pokorny, and cellist Sonja Myklebust, and currently serves as the official student string quartet of the University of Washington. The OSQ won the 2nd Annual Strings and Piano Chamber Music Competition at the UW School of Music, and was awarded the Alcor Scholarship. The quartet is coached by Melia Watras, violist of the Corigliano Quartet, and has also worked with Ronald Patterson, Elisa Barston, and members of Cuarteto Casals. Highlights of their inaugural season include their debut concert at Brechemin Auditorium, a performance at Daniels Recital Hall in downtown Seattle, and an appearance for Paramount Pictures for the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The Oceana was recently nominated by the UW School of Music to perform at HuskyFest, a school-wide event in April celebrating the university’s150th birthday. They will perform George Crumb’s Black Angels on the May 23, 2012 UW Contemporary Group concert.

Emily Choi, violin

Emily Choi is a scholarship recipient at the UW studying violin with Ronald Patterson, and is pursuing Bachelor's Degrees in both Violin Performance and Speech and Hearing Sciences. She began playing violin at the age of 5 under the tutelage of Larisa and Michael Miropolsky. Emily is a member of the Bellevue Philharmonic and the Seattle Chamber Orchestra, and has soloed with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra and the Garfield Symphony Orchestra.

Rochelle Nguyen, violin

Rochelle Nguyen currently studies violin with Ronald Patterson at the University of Washington, and previous teachers include Robin Sharp at Stanford University, and Daniel Kobialka in San Francisco.  She has worked with members of the St. Lawrence, Emerson, Cypress, Concord, American, and Corigliano string quartets.  Rochelle has attended several summer music festivals, including Music@Menlo, Youth Music International, and Tanglewood Music Center.  She is a graduate student in Bioengineering at the University of Washington.

Romaric Pokorny, viola

Romaric Pokorny is a student in Viola Performance at the University of Washington.  In 2007, he received his Diplôme Supérieur de Solfège at the Conservatoire de Musique de Aulnay-sous-Bois, France.  Romaric is an active orchestral and chamber performer around the Puget Sound area, playing in many of the region's orchestras and organizations. He currently studies with Melia Watras, a member of the Corigliano Quartet and the Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Washington.

Sonja Myklebust, cello

Sonja Myklebust is a second year master’s student in cello performance studying with Toby Saks. Sonja received her BA from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR. Sonja co-founded the indie cello group the Portland Cello Project which has played sold-out shows at Seattle's Triple Door, Portland's Aladdin Theater, participated in Austin's SXSW Festival and Musicfest NW. Sonja works for the UW World Series as their Education Program Assistant.