Members
Matthew Allan (G)
Alto Saxophone | Course 6-7
Matthew grew up in Lititz, PA, where he began playing the saxophone in fourth grade. In high school, Matthew played four years in concert band and marching band, serving as saxophone section leader in 11th and 12th grade. Additionally, Matthew began playing in PMEA county, district, and regional bands in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, respectively. After putting aside music to focus on biochemistry at Penn State University, Matthew realized that he missed playing the saxophone and joined the MIT Concert Band and Ribotones during his second semester of graduate school.
Carina Belvin (G)
Violin | Course 8
Carina is a PhD student in Physics at MIT. She grew up in Lexington, MA and attended Wellesley College for her undergraduate studies. An avid chamber musician, she is currently a member of the MIT Chamber Music Society. Carina discovered the joy of bringing music to nursing home residents while playing with the Lexington Chamber Music Society in high school, and she is excited to be able to continue performing in outreach concerts with the MIT Ribotones. In her free time, she enjoys running and cooking vegan food.
Sylvia Biscoveanu (G)
Violin & Viola | Course 8
Sylvia Biscoveanu is an MIT graduate student in the Physics Department studying gravitational waves. She began playing the violin at age 5 and played in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra throughout high school. She completed her undergraduate studies at Penn State where she was actively involved in chamber music, playing both violin and viola. Sylvia was also a founding member of Penn State’s Music Service Club, an outreach club that organizes performances throughout the community. She currently plays in the MIT Chamber Music Society.
Mitali Chowdhury ('24)
Bassoon & Flute | Course 20
Mitali is a freshman at MIT planning to study Biological Engineering. She has always been passionate about both Western and Indian music, and especially enjoys playing bassoon, flute, and piano. Mitali has lived in New Jersey and Central California, and developed her love for bassoon through performances with chamber groups, youth orchestras, and wind ensembles. She is thrilled to continue sharing her music through the MIT Ribotones and the MIT Symphony Orchestra. When she is not playing an instrument, Mitali enjoys programming, cooking, and reading.
Teresa Gao ('23)
Viola | Courses 6-3 and 9
Teresa is an MIT undergraduate student double-majoring in Computer Science and Engineering (6-3) and Brain and Cognitive Sciences (9). Hailing from Utah, she is a self-taught violist and pianist. When she's not creating content for her WMBR radio show "Psycholochat," she enjoys dancing Bhangra, reading graphic novels, and otherwise exploring the great indoors.
Zoe Gotthold ('24)
Bassoon | Courses 5 and 7
Zoe is a freshman at MIT planning to study chemistry and biology. Throughout high school, she played the bassoon with her local youth symphony orchestra, and loves the social side of music (as well as penguins). She is currently a member of the MIT Symphony Orchestra, and is planning in the future to work in infectious disease control.
Ashley Granquist ('24)
Violin | Course 6-3
Ashley is a first-year student at MIT planning on studying Computer Science and Engineering. She has been playing the violin since 3rd grade, spending much of her time outside the classroom in orchestra rehearsals. Ashley was a member of the I Giovani Solisti chamber orchestra throughout all four years of high school and was fortunate enough to tour Croatia with the group. She was also a member of the Connecticut Youth Symphony for three years, and is thrilled to continue exploring music at MIT through Ribotones, the MIT Symphony Orchestra, and the Emerson Scholars Program.
Yuna Lee (G)
Violin | Course 9
Yuna is a recent graduate in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, who loves playing the violin. Her violin has traveled around the world, performing in four different continents and even in Cuba before the travel ban was lifted. Although Yuna likes to stunt with the MIT Cheerleading team on her free time, which can be treacherous to her violin fingers, she never lets go of her musical life.
Calvin Leung (G)
Cello | Course 8
Calvin is a cellist and a graduate student in the Department of Physics at MIT. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, he has enjoyed orchestral playing in groups including the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Akademiker Symphonisches Orchester in Vienna, and has worked with conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas and Donato Cabrera. In addition to Ribotones, he currently enjoys playing in the MIT Chamber Music Society under the direction of Marcus Thompson, and is always willing to make time to sight-read chamber music with friends, especially late at night. His favorite chamber pieces include the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor, the Mendelssohn Piano Trio in C minor, and the Smetana String Quartet in E minor. When not playing cello or doing physics, he can also be found playing piano, running, or cooking for others.
Katherine Lim ('23)
Violin | Course 6-7
Katherine is an undergraduate student at MIT studying computer science and biology. As a violinist, she has enjoyed playing in various orchestras and chamber music groups, and is excited to continue sharing her music through the MIT Video Game Orchestra and the MIT Ribotones. Outside of music, she enjoys running and doing yoga.
Jiaxing Liu ('21)
Viola | Course 7
Jiaxing is a junior at MIT studying biology with a minor in music and brain & cognitive science. As a violist, she enjoys playing in a variety of ensembles, and is currently a member of the MIT Chamber Music Society. Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, she developed her passion for music through playing with the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Chamber Program, and the Governor’s Honors Program for music. In her hometown, Jiaxing also regularly enjoyed playing piano at a nursing home. She is eager to share her music with the Boston community through the MIT Ribotones. In her free time, Jiaxing enjoys going on runs to explore the city.
Kiera Tai ('22)
Piano & Flute | Course 3
Kiera is an undergraduate student from North Carolina majoring in Materials Science and Engineering. She studies piano with David Deveau at MIT through the Emerson Program, plays in a piano trio through the MIT Chamber Music Society, and also occasionally plays flute. Her proudest accomplishment is taking a photo with her favorite pianist, Evgeny Kissin. Outside of music, Kiera enjoys doing puzzles, editing videos, and drinking grapefruit juice.
Candace Tong-Li ('20)
Violin | Course 7
Candace is a junior at MIT pursuing her passion for the life sciences with a major in Biology and minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. She was born in Manhattan, and grew up in suburban New York. Candace has been playing the violin since elementary school. She has been an active member of orchestras and chamber groups in both New York and Massachusetts; she played in the Greater Westchester Youth Symphony Orchestra, was concertmaster of the Groton School orchestra, and helped found the A-Minor Sextet for Service at Groton. She loved giving live performances at hospitals and senior residences, and is thrilled to continue to do so with the MIT Ribotones. In her free time, Candace writes and illustrates children's books.
William Wang (G)
Piano & Triangle | Course 6
William Wang is a third-year PhD student in computer science. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and completed his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley (go bears!). William currently studies piano with David Deveau at MIT as part of the Emerson Program, and is also a member of the MIT Chamber Music Society. Aside from music, he enjoys playing table tennis, cooking, baking, and occasional fine dining.
Katherine Young ('18, G)
Violin | Courses 6-3 & 21M
Katherine is an MEng student from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. As a child, she dreamed of playing the tuba but due to size incompability settled for the baritone. Over the years she has played in a variety of ensembles from jazz bands to pit orchestras to string quartets, and she is currently a violinist in the MIT Chamber Music Society. As an undergraduate, she studied under Lynn Chang as an Emerson Scholar and served as concertmaster of the MIT Symphony Orchestra and Pathos Ensemble. This is her fourth year with the MIT Ribotones, and she is thrilled to be able to share her love of classical music with the Boston community. In her free time, Katherine enjoys running, reading, and exploring!
Sylvain Carpentier (G)
Piano | Course 18
Pianist Sylvain Carpentier was born in Lille in the northern region of France. He did his undergraduate studies in Paris, at Ecole Normale Superieure and is currently a graduate student at MIT in the math department. Music has been part of his life from an early age, and after studying piano in Lille, he completed his musical formation with Eric Vidonne in Paris and David Deveau in Boston. He has given recitals in Reims, Paris, Milan, Washington and Boston. He played Chopin's Grande polonaise brillante with MITSO in March 2016.
Pranam Chatterjee ('16)
Cello | Course 6-7
As the musical director of MIT String Theory, Pranam loves playing pop music on strings but also has a crazy diversity of interests at MIT. He spends a lot of time doing research, where he uses DNA as a building tool to construct cool new stuff, like nanostructures and molecular programming languages. Discussing religion and philosophy also sparks his interest as he leads the Addir Interfaith Dialogue Group on campus. Additionally, Pranam loves volunteering at the Margaret Fuller House in Cambridge, where he teaches 7-8 year old kids programming, robotics, and other fun STEM things. In his free time, he usually heads over to the Z Center to plays some pickup basketball. All in all, Pranam loves to have as much fun as possible (or at least how much MIT will allow him)!
Songela Chen ('19)
Piano | Course 5
Songela ("Angel of Song") is a sophomore from Pittsburgh who enjoys playing piano with Ribotones and flute/piccolo in the MIT Concert Band. She is most interested in computational and biological chemistry and serves as Co-Community Outreach Coordinator of MIT ClubChem. In her free time, she enjoys playing jazz covers and running with friends.
Joey Gu (G)
Clarinet | Course 10
Joey is a Ph.D. student nearing the end of his program. He is very passionate about composition and arranging, and codirects the MIT Video Game Orchestra (also playing clarinet and bass clarinet). Check out his recent works here: http://bit.ly/joeyguyoutube.
Celia Han ('19)
Piano, Organ, & Guzheng | Course 6-3
Coming from Beijing, China, Celia is currently a sophomore at MIT majoring in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. She has many roles besides being a student — musician, researcher, ancient Greek scholar, leader of an international development project and an experienced traveller. To her, music is a therapy and sharing it is a privilege.
Linda Jiang ('16)
Piano | Courses 7A & 18
Hailing from the western suburbs of Chicago, Linda is a senior at MIT majoring in biology and math and minoring in applied international studies. When she's not psetting or running experiments in lab, she's involved with MIT UNICEF, the MIT Women's Initiative, and the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal, in addition to the MIT Ribotones. She also loves playing piano, swimming, reading novels, and watching Game of Thrones (and speculating on Jon Snow's parentage!) with friends. She's excited to play with the MIT Ribotones and share her love of music with the Cambridge/Boston community!
Jennifer Lee ('18, G)
Cello | Courses 6-7 & 21M
Jennifer is an MEng student from Dublin, California. She has played in a number of ensembles, from the San Francisco Youth Orchestra to the MIT Chamber Music Society, and is thrilled to now be continuing her musical journey with the MIT Ribotones. In addition to music, Jennifer loves carbs in all shapes and forms, and will probably love you too if you give her some bread.
Chamille Lescott ('16)
Voice | Course 20
Chamille Lescott is a senior majoring in biological engineering. When she’s not in lab creating catalysts for green chemistry out of viruses, she loves to spend her time singing numbers from her favorite musicals. She has been part of the MIT Musical Theatre Guild for the last 2 years and has gotten to play some incredibly fun roles like Gary Coleman in Avenue Q and Paulette in Legally Blonde: The Musical. She’s excited to join the Ribotones and looks forward to another music filled year.
Carl Lian ('15)
Piano | Course 18
Carl Lian, originally from Lexington, MA, is a pianist and former Emerson Fellowship student of Heng-Jin Park. He has performed extensively in the MIT Chamber Music Society, and additionally has been a member of the MIT Concert Choir and MIT Symphony Orchestra. While still partial to Bach and Beethoven, he has in recent years developed a passion for bringing music by living composers to new audiences, presenting works by William Bolcom and Elena Ruehr in solo recitals. Carl graduated from MIT in 2015 and is currently a graduate student in mathematics at Columbia University, studying topics in and around algebraic geometry. In his free time away from math and music, he may be found running, working on a crossword puzzle, or enjoying two of his favorite aspects of New York City life: bagels and jaywalking.
Stacie Lin ('19)
Violin | Courses 7 and 9
Stacie Lin currently studies under Lynn Chang as an Emerson Music Scholar at MIT. She began studying the violin at the age of three and for the past six years studied with Elliott Markow. She regularly gives orchestral performances as concertmaster of the Longwood Symphony Orchestra. Stacie has appeared as soloist with several orchestras and in spring of 2016 performed Ravel’s Tzigane with the MIT Symphony Orchestra as its youngest concerto competition winner. She has also played for a number of piano trios in the MIT Chamber Music Society, receiving coaching from Juilliard pianist David Deveau.
Steve Liu ('17)
Piano & Guitar | Course 3
Steve comes from Foshan, which is known for many kung fu masters like Bruce Lee, Ip Man and Wong Fei-Hung. But sadly, Steve knows nothing about kung fu. As an exchange student from University of Oxford, he is currently working on microneedles drug delivery in Langer Lab for his Master’s thesis. Except for playing the piano and guitar, he also enjoys playing tennis and badminton matches in IMleagues. Steve is interested in group performance because he has been playing piano solo for many years and he wants more resonance from various instruments such as violin, flute, saxophone and cello. He is a big fan of Big Bang Theory, Roger Federer and Lang Lang and he won’t tell you that recently he managed to take a selfie with Maria Sharapova.
Alexandra Panov ('17)
Violin | Courses 5 & 7A
Alex has played violin for over a decade, and continues playing at MIT in the Chamber Music Society. She has played in symphony orchestras, string orchestras, quartets, trios, and duos, as well as solo. She enjoys teaching and sharing music, especially around the December holiday season. She grew up in New York, and currently lives in Boston.
Valerie Peng, ('17, G)
Violin and Viola | Course 2
Valerie is a graduate student in mechanical engineering, who in a previous life performed violin as a soloist and in orchestras. Now, she primarily enjoys playing violin and viola in chamber music groups, and loves any opportunity to play music and share it with others.
Chris Puchi ('15)
Voice and Trombone | Course 6-7
Chris is very excited to be a part of this new group of talented, kind-hearted people. While an undergraduate student at MIT, Chris was a member of the MIT Logarhythms and performed in musicals with the Musical Theater Guild and Next Act. He looks forward to forming close friendships and to sharing his love of music with the Boston/Cambridge community. When he is not singing or practicing the trombone, Chris enjoys practicing Japanese, doing Crossfit, and writing code.
Janelle Sands ('19, G)
Cello | Course 6-3
Janelle Sands is a sophomore at MIT who is majoring in computer science. She has been playing cello for ten years as a soloist, in orchestras, and with a variety of ensembles. She is currently a member of the MIT Symphony Orchestra and previously a member of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Janelle loves performing and is very excited to share her music through Ribotones performances!
Kyle Swanson ('18, G)
Flute and Piccolo | Courses 6-3 & 18
Kyle is an MEng student from Bronxville, New York, majoring in computer science and mathematics with a minor in music. Currently a flutist/piccoloist in the MIT Symphony Orchestra and the Emerson Program, Kyle has also enjoyed performing in the MIT Wind Ensemble and with various chamber music groups on campus. When not playing flute or piccolo, Kyle likes to dabble in alto and bass flute and has recently discovered the joys of playing the saxophone, having now performed on all members of the saxophone family. In his free time, Kyle enjoys long runs with the MIT Running Club.
Michelle Tan '20
Violin | Course 6-3
Michelle is a junior at MIT who is interested in Computer Science. She grew up in the Boston area her entire life and she loves watching the BSO and BPO. She is a former member of both the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras. Back in her hometown of Needham, she also loved playing in random gigs, pit orchestras, and community concerts. She is very excited for the opportunity to continue sharing her music with other people.
Lily Tsai (G)
Violin | Course 6
Lily Tsai is a second-year PhD student in Computer Science at MIT, and graduated from Harvard in 2017 with an A.B./S.M. in CS. She has studied violin with Lynn Chang and Li Lin, and has participated in MIT and Harvard's chamber and solo performance programs (e.g., as an Emerson Fellow). She has toured as Concertmistress of the inaugural National Youth Orchestra of the USA under the baton of Valery Gergiev; and has played in the Harvard Brattle Street Chamber Players, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Elara String Quartet, and the Tsai Duo with her cellist sister. When she is not playing music or staring at a computer, Lily can be found running around the Charles, scrambling up a climbing wall, reading a book, or making puns.
Joyce Yang ('18)
Piano and Violin | Courses 9 & 7; Minor in 21M
Joyce is a recent graduate from Phoenix, Arizona, where she was deeply involved in the musical community through symphony, chamber ensembles, and statewide competitions. She has appeared as a piano concerto soloist with the Southern Arizona Symphony and attended several music camps on full scholarships as competition awards. She also traveled to Germany on tour with the Phoenix Youth Symphony and was named a 2014 YoungArts Winner on piano. During her time at MIT, Joyce was an Emerson Piano Scholar and member of the Chamber Music Society and MITSO. Although she now devotes her time to Alzheimer's research at Massachusetts General Hospital, she still seizes every opportunity to share her love for music. She's very grateful to continue her involvement with MIT music through Ribotones!
Sandy Yang ('19)
Violin | Courses 9 & 21M
Sandy plays the violin in a pop music string quartet on campus called String Theory. Music, especially chamber music, has always been a part of her personal identity, and while she's planning to study neuroscience, she is also hoping to squeeze in a music minor. Besides classical music, she is also a fan of anything belonging to the electro, house, and alternative genres. Baymax, dinosaurs, and chubby animals are her weaknesses, and she is (not so) secretly in love with Benedict Cumberbatch. Finally, her most valuable asset is being able to wiggle her ears without touching them.
Austen Yueh ('17)
Piano and Clarinet | Course 6-3
A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, Austen Yueh has been featured as a clarinetist on NPR's From the Top, in addition to concerto soloist with the Phoenix and Chandler Symphony Orchestras. As a pianist, she has appeared as concerto soloist with the Four Seasons Orchestra and received awards at statewide competitions. Her collaborative background includes accompaniment, chamber music, and orchestral concerts. At MIT, Austen is currently involved as clarinetist and pianist in the Chamber Music Society. Although her time is now mostly spent on math and machines, she's even more passionate about keeping music alive and thriving. Having seen the power of music to unite communities and transform people--from benefit concerts to impromptu performances--she's really excited to be a part of Ribotones!
Alice Zhan ('17)
Violin | Course 6-2
Alice plays violin with MIT String Theory, so she loves fiddling around with pop music and other fun songs! Besides music and classes, she spend a lot of time swimming, reading, and doing random nerdy things :)