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Name
Kyle Sonon, Ryan Ye, Grace Lipinski
Instrument
Kyle: Viola
Ryan: Violin
Grace: Violin
Current Teacher
Kyle: Adriana Linares
Ryan: Sylvia Ahramjian
Grace: Kimberly Fisher
High School
Kyle: Fleetwood Area High School
Ryan: Conestoga High School
Grace: Lenape High School
College / Major
Kyle: Oberlin College and Conservatory / Double Degree Program – Music Performance and Computer Science
Ryan: Cornell University / Computer Science
Grace: Vassar College / English on the Pre-Law Track
How long have you been a member of the PYO Music Institute and in which ensembles did you participate?
Kyle: 1 year in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra
Ryan: 5 years (PYO, PYAO, and YMDO)
Grace: I have been a member of PYOMI for five years. I was in YMDO for a year, then PYAO for three years, and PYO for my last year.
If you’re not majoring in music, what role might music play during your college years?
Ryan: I will continue playing violin in the Cornell Orchestra. I plan to take music lessons and hope to minor in music.
Grace: I will continue my musical journey through my college’s music program. There, I can take private lessons, participate in the symphony orchestra, and play in chamber ensembles.
Do you have any plans or activities planned for the summer?
Kyle: I plan to volunteer at the Reading Symphony Orchestra Junior Strings Summer Academy, participate in the Reading Musical Foundation’s Noon Tunes concert series, attend the Oberlin Viola Workshop, and go to Long Beach Island for my family vacation.
Ryan: Summer camp counseling in Hunting Park with TCCGP and Eighth Street Peacemakers
Grace: I will be a student manager at the Philadelphia International Music Festival.
What is one of your favorite PYOMI memories?
Kyle: One of my favorite PYO Music Institute memories is practicing the fourth movement of Brahms’ Second Symphony.
Ryan: Playing at The Kimmel Center
Grace: After my PYO audition, Maestra Erwin gave me a few words of encouragement that beautifully concluded our time together as I moved on from PYAO.
What are your most recent musical and/or academic achievements?
Kyle: I received the Reading Musical Foundation’s top college award, the Mildred Mogel Engle Scholarship. I was also named the salutatorian of my high school class.
Ryan: National Merit Scholarship
What are some of your favorite pieces of music that you have performed with PYOMI?
Kyle: Some of my favorite pieces of music that I’ve performed with PYO are Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2. They were both such exciting and romantic pieces. We were able to play a variety of styles within those movements.
Ryan: Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1
Grace: My favorite pieces have been Brahms’ first and second symphonies, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, Scheherazade, and the Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.
When you are not in rehearsal or practicing your instrument, what other activities or hobbies do you enjoy?
Kyle: I enjoy playing ping pong, playing jazz guitar, chess, horror movies, and spending time with my friends.
Ryan: Bowling, playing frisbee, hanging out with friends, sometimes coding
Grace: I am an attorney on my school’s Mock Trial team, as well as an avid reader and writer.
What is one unique attribute about you that people find surprising?
Kyle: Despite pursuing an instrument that is typically found in classical music, I enjoy a large range of music genres, including jazz, funk, rock, and metal. It would be a bonus if I could incorporate these styles into my viola playing some day!
Grace: I have an obsession with the Gilded Age.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What do you see yourself doing?
Kyle: In ten years, I could see myself performing professionally in either a chamber ensemble, quartet, or symphony orchestra. I could see myself traveling to perform concerts or tours and finding my own unique gigs that broaden the viola’s standard musical scope.
Grace: I see myself working as an attorney.
