Category A: Joy Linyue Fan

Joy was born in China in 1998 and came to Fairbanks in 2000. She is currently a fourth grader in the Barnette Magnet School, where she enjoys taking various exploration classes.

Joy has a great love for music. She started singing in church at age three and joined the children's choir at four. She began taking violin lessons at the age of five from Dr. Gail Johansen, a certified Suzuki Method teacher. Dr. Johansen is dedicated to teaching students with high standards in all areas of musical proficiency with a loving approach. With many opportunities for both practice and performance in the Johansen Music Studio, Joy has progressed in both proficiency on her instrument and confidence in her musical presence. Joy has participated in Suzuki group lessons and attended the Fairbanks Suzuki Institute for the past four years. She began playing in the Fairbanks Youth String Orchestra in 2006; since fall 2007, she has been playing with the Fairbanks Youth Concert Orchestra. She appreciates the opportunity to play with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra during the holiday season and is greatly looking forward to it.

Joy has a very sweet and loving heart. She enjoys family time with her little sister, Emily, and her parents Xingang Fan and Lei Chen. She likes animals of any kind, though her favorite is the horse. She likes drawing and painting, and very much enjoys reading and writing. Her design of a loving heart was chosen as a logo for the 2006 Suzuki Institute t-shirt.

Category B: Sasha Bult-Ito

Sasha Bult-Ito, 9, began her piano studies with her mother at age 4. At age 7, she appeared as soloist with the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra as winner of its 2005 Competition. Currently she studies with Dr. Ilia Radoslavov. During her piano studies she has been privileged to get coaching from pianists Eduard Zilberkant and Shari Raynor and to perform in master classes given by pianists Steven Mayer and Peter Longworth. Sasha is grateful to the Fairbanks Symphony Association for the opportunity to play with its orchestra and is very much excited about it.

A Chinook Montessori Charter School student, Sasha enjoys her school life with wonderful teachers and friends. Sasha enjoys being a kid. Aside from listening to and making music, she loves playing with her cats, playing with her friends, taking long walks with her parents, swimming, biking, making up songs, drawing, and above all, reading and writing stories. When she is a grown-up, Sasha wants to be a vet, an artist, a scientist, a composer, a writer, a swimmer, or a musician.

Sasha is very grateful for all the support she gets from her teachers, friends, and the whole community, and hopes that they would enjoy her music as much as she does performing. Sasha is the daughter of Abel and Yuri Bult-Ito.

Zachary Spontak began his musical studies at age three with Jean Krause and currently studies violin and chamber music with Dr. Gail Johansen. He is a founding member of the Northern Lights String Quartet and is Assistant Concertmaster of the Fairbanks Youth Symphony, as well as a member of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra. Zach is a graduate of the Fairbanks School of Talent Education Suzuki string program and is now a three-time winner of the Fairbanks Symphony Association's Annual Concerto Competition. He has past associations with other teachers including Tom and Allegra Wermuth, Elisa Barston, Michael McLean, and Everett Goodwin. Musical endeavors have taken him to such places as Hawaii, New York, Chicago, and Germany.

Zach has earned a black belt in Shudo Kan karate and enjoys ping pong, reading, and watching Star Trek and Alfred Hitchcock films. Future plans include pursuing a career in music - violin performance, composition and history.

Shelah Moreno-Jones is a senior at UAF and will graduate in the spring of 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Music. She plans to continue her English studies with an M.A. in English and Applied Linguistics.

Shelah began her piano studies at the age of five with her mother and continued on to study throughout high school with Maria Allison, adjunct professor at Kenai Peninsula College. Shelah currently studies with UAF professor Eduard Zilberkant. She is also an active member of UAF’s University Chorus, Honor’s Program, and Phi Kappa Phi. She is a former member of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and UAF Percussion Program.

An excellent student, Shelah has been named to the Chancellor’s and Dean’s lists every semester of her attendance at UAF and is also an Alaska Scholar. She has received various academic awards, including the Pearl Berry Boyd Music Scholarship, the Fejes Music Scholarship, Talent Grant, and Usibelli Honors.

In addition to her studies, Shelah enjoys reading, walking her dogs, photography, traveling, and computer games. She is the daughter of Rodger and Marilu Jones.