Santa Barbara Music Club

Sang Jun Yhee , Cellist

Sang Jun Yhee, cello (Tenafly, New Jersey), pursued his studies at the Juilliard School in New York under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick, Harvey Shapiro, and David Soyer. He has also studied with David Geringas in masterclasses at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, Kronberg Academy, Interlaken Classics, and Usedom Music Festival. He will be pursuing his doctorate at Manhattan School of Music in the fall. Sang has won the Juilliard School Shostakovich Cello Concerto Competition and has been a quarter-finalist at the Concours de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland. He also won first place at the Thavieu String Competition, the Society of American Musicians Competition, and is a recipient of the 2013 Frank Huntington Beebe Fund. He has performed as soloist with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Pre-college Orchestra, World Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Northshore Orchestra. Past Yellow Barn musician (2013-2014)

David Malvinni , Director

David Malvinni, ethnomusicologist and classical guitarist, has written books and articles on Roma (Gypsy) music and its appropriation in classical music, the Grateful Dead’s improvisational rock, and the Rolling Stones’s brand of Americana (2016). In addition to teaching in the UCSB Music Department (where he completed his Ph.D.) as an Ethnomusicology Lecturer, he teaches as an adjunct professor in Music and Ethnic Studies at SBCC. He also serves on the Board and Concert Committee of the Santa Barbara Music Club. David studied classical guitar with noted Segovia pupil Phillip de Fremery, and completed advanced studies with him at Amherst. Master classes include Eliot Fisk (NEC and Mozarteum) and Oscar Ghiglia (Basel).

Joanne de Mars , Cellist

San Francisco Bay area cellist Joanne de Mars is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Jennifer Culp. Originally from Seattle, Joanne graduated from the University of Washington with her BA, BM, and BS. She is a member of the contemporary ensemble Wild Rumpus, and is an active solo and chamber music performer whose collaborations include the UC Berkeley Dance Department and Stanford’s New Ensemble. Joanne has a wide variety of interest in all styles of music. She is currently a member of Oakland based rock band Felsen, and has performed with jazz, pop, classical, and contemporary groups, including Butch Morris’s conduction ensemble, Kanye West, Vertigo Quartet, and Maestro Shajarian, Iranian singer and icon.

Andrea Landin , Cellist

Cellist Andrea Shigeko Landin has performed, taught, and collaborated with other musicians throughout the U.S. and Latin America, including residencies in Boston, Alaska, Guatemala , and Venezuela. She is passionate about using music as a tool for social change, and has received grants from both the Center for Cultural Innovation and the New England Conservatory to research developing specific social skills in youth through music. She has also presented at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Take a Stand Conference, and was featured on the TED prize blog as an innovator of music education and community building. Andrea has performed in diverse venues ranging from orchestral concerts in Carnegie Hall and Disney Concert Hall to collaborating with singer songwriters in local bars and open mic nights. In 2012 she was a recipient of the Sistema Fellowship at New England Conservatory, selected as one of fifty international musicians over a period of five years, and holds a B.M. in Cello Performance and a B.A. in Anthropology from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. Andrea is currently the Director of New West Symphony Harmony Project, a youth development program whose mission is to enact social change through music by providing low income youth in Ventura with tuition free, high quality ensemble based music instruction. In 2015 she was granted the City of Ventura Mayor’s Arts Educator Award.

Nicole McKenzie , Violinist

Nicole McKenzie, violinist, has performed widely as soloist and chamber musician. The Santa Barbara Independent declared, “McKenzie made a splash… she performed with gorgeous musicality.” Winner of the Sutton Chamber Music Award, she graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy, earned a BM degree from Oberlin Conservatory, an MM degree from Florida State University, and studied with Gary Kosloski at the Music Academy of the West. She has studied improvisation with Christian Howes. Ms. McKenzie is concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Folk Orchestra, and performs in the accordion/violin duo Continental Cafe. She played electric violin in M.O.B. Jazz Ensemble, and regularly concertized with renowned pianist, Betty Oberacker. She has taught music to students of all ages, and is currently the elementary music teacher for the Carpinteria School District. She has worked at UC Santa Barbara as a lecturer and as a music director and music performer in the Theater and Dance Department. She has created a collaborative dance and music improvisation group and has performed in various music styles including classical, jazz, folk, klezmer, and musical theater. She performs on a violin created for her by Michel Eggimann of Rome, Italy.