ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Cindy Ellis, Flute. Flutist Cynthia Bueker Ellis is a member of the Pacific Symphony, playing solo piccolo since 1979. The symphony recently returned from a triumphant debut at Carnegie Hall and an international tour to China in the 2017-2018 season. Her performance credits also include Los Angeles Music Center Opera, Pasadena Chamber Orchestra and the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California. She has also served as the principal flutist for touring ballet companies on their Orange County stops including the Royal Ballet of London, American Ballet Theater, Stuttgart Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. In January of 1995, she was appointed Principal Flutist with the Opera Pacific Orchestra, a position she held until the company’s closing in 2009. She has recorded with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as well as on several major motion picture and cartoon soundtracks.
Ms. Ellis received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with Honors from California State University, Fullerton, and was chosen as Music Associates Outstanding Student of the Year upon completion of her work in 1983. Her many scholastic honors include membership to the honor societies of Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi, and membership and listing in Outstanding Young Women of America for 1983. She was named as one of O.C. Metro Magazine’s “Ten Women Making a Difference” in March 2002 for her work in the field of music education. She has been published in Flute Talk magazine, a international educational journal, and was appointed editor of the “Let’s Talk Picc” column in May 2003. Frequently published in other journals, her most recent article was seen in the Spring 2020 California Music Teacher MTAC journal. She won the John and Mary Virginia Foncannon Chamber Music Scholarship from the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation in 2007, as well as the Pacific Symphony Chairman of the Board “Orchestra Hero” award.
Chamber music credits include performances in the Pacific Symphony Orchestra Chamber Music Concerts and American Composers Festival Chamber Music Concerts, the Corona del Mar Baroque Festival, the Sonora Bach Festival, Fullerton Friends of Music Series and live broadcasts on KUSC’s Sundays Live! Concert Series. In March 2000, her chamber trio, Les Amis Musicalles, won first place in the National Flute Association Chamber Music Competition. The group has performed at NFA annual conventions in Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, and San Diego, California. The trio commissioned several composers for new works, among them, Arni Egilsson, Bruce Broughten, and James Hopkins and released their first CD, “Beyond Beethoven” on the Centaur Label in February 2006. She currently performs as a member of the flute and harp duo Arioso, with Michelle Temple and their debut CD “Petite Delights: Romantic Music for Flute and Harp” was released in May 2016 on the Centaur label. Synergy, her trio with Jung-A Lee, piano, and David Chang, clarinet, concertizes frequently and will be the featured chamber music artists at the MTAC Convention, 2021.
Music education is an important facet of Cindy’s career. She served as instructor of flute at California State University, Fullerton, where she held a lectureship position and coached chamber music from 1985 to 2011. In October 2003, Ms. Ellis performed the world premiere of Stephen Maphar’s Sonata for Flute, Wind Ensemble and Women’s Choir, “The Celestial”, at CSUF. In addition, Cindy is an instructor for Pacific Symphony’s nationally recognized “Class Act” education and outreach program. She has served on the National Flute Association Pedagogy Committee and is a member of Mu Phi Epsilon. She was the Program Chair for the NFA’s annual convention held in Anaheim, CA, in 2010. In 2011, she was named Music Director of the Laguna Flutes, a 25 member flute ensemble which concertizes throughout Orange County. Cindy is currently on faculty at Vanguard University and Saddleback College. She was part of the teaching artist faculty at the International Piccolo Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2013 and has also lead masterclasses in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She was the master teacher for the MTAC virtual convention Flute Panel Master Class in July, 2020.
She was also a featured flute artist at the 2021 MTAC virtual convention and hosted several live lectures/masterclasses and gave a virtual performances with Synergy.
Ms. Ellis is a Powell Flutes artist.
Rong-Huey Liu, Oboe. Taiwanese American oboist Rong-Huey Liu is a California- based high demand multi-faceted artist. As soloist she has performed concertos of Bach, Corigliano, Daugherty, Ferran, Kalliwoda, Lebrun, Marcello, Mozart, Navarro, Saul, and Strauss.
As a Hollywood recording studio musician, Rong-Huey has collaborated with celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Chris Botti, Andrea Bocelli, Spinal Tap, The Who, and Weird Al. Her cinema credits include “Star War VIII”, “Lady Bird”, “Ferdinand”, “Agents of SHIELD”, and “A Jazzman’s Blues”, to name a few.
As an orchestral player, Rong-Huey is the principal oboist and faculty at the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico Music Festival, and the Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy (FOOSA). She holds the principal oboe positions in the Long Beach Symphony, Los Angeles Ballet, Fresno Philharmonic and Riverside County Philharmonic.
Deeply committed to music education, Rong-Huey builds a diverse oboe studio with students from various cultures and frequently serves as guest artist at numerous institutes. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. She is currently the oboe professor at California State University Fullerton, La Sierra University, and Riverside City College.
David Chang, Clairinet. David began playing the clarinet in Korea at age 8. At age 13 he moved to the United States and attended Idyllwild Arts where he studied with Yehuda Gilad. He then went to USC to study with Mitchell Lurie and attended the Curtis Institute of Music where he received his B.M. Later, he received his M.M. at Temple University. In addition to playing with Pacific Symphony since 2009, David has played with Pittsburgh Symphony, National Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom he had the opportunity to tour Asia and Europe. In 2012, David was invited by the Seoul Philharmonic to perform as a principal clarinet under Myung-Whun Chung. His summer residencies have included Vail Bravo Festival, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Edinburgh International Festival, Grafenegg Music Festival, and BBC Proms with the Philadelphia Orchestra. As a chamber musician he toured Japan with principals of Vienna Philharmonic. He also enjoys playing chamber music with his brother and friends.
Aside from playing professionally, David also enjoys teaching and currently gives private music lessons. His students have been accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, USC, and other prestigious music schools. One of his students won the Albert M. Greenfield competition and earned the honor of performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Andy Klein, Bassoon
Stephanie Stetson, French Horn. Stephanie Stetson grew up in the Seattle area and while there studied with Anna Cloud and Christopher Leuba. She moved to Los Angeles and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Horn Performance from the University of Southern California. While there she had the privilege of studying with Jim Decker and Vincent DeRosa. She has been a free-lance musician in Los Angeles ever since. Stephanie regularly performs with the Pacific Symphony, LA Philharmonic, LA Opera Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony and the Long Beach Municipal Band. She has performed in numerous Broadway shows at the Schubert, Ahmanson and Pantages Theatres such as: Wicked, Lion King, The Producers, and Phantom of the Opera. She also has extensive studio recording experience in TV, radio, audio recordings and motion picture soundtracks. Some most recently: Terminator, Charlie’s Angels, Lion King, Deadpool 2, Alita, and Greatest Showman.