Officers

Ella Kim, 16 years old, is from Herndon, Virginia, and attends Oakton High School. She currently studies piano with Professor HieYon Choi and Yang Gao at Peabody Conservatory. Ella started playing the piano when she was four years old. Ever since, she has won numerous awards including first prize alternate at the 2022 Virginia MTNA Competition, first prize at the Charleston International Music Competition, and the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition.More recently, Ella won second prize at the 2024 David Dubois International Piano Competition and the AAMS International Music Competition. 

In 2019, Ella appeared on NPR’s From the Top Show as part of an eight-hand ensemble and was invited back to be featured as a soloist, and to perform in their Facebook live concert series. In 2023, Ella performed for WETA Classical’s Annual Leadership Circle event at the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, DC, and was invited to perform at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Alliance. Ella has performed at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Embassy of Austria, Embassy of Hungary, the National Institute of Health, and the US State Department.

Over the summer, Ella participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artist Piano Program, where she engaged in a unique collaboration with dancers from the New York Theatre Ballet, merging music and movement. She also performed in a masterclass led by the acclaimed concert pianist Conrad Tao. Subsequently, Ella traveled to San Francisco for Bay PianoFest, where she played in a masterclass with renowned pianist Alvin Chow.

Fueled by her passion for connecting with others through music, Ella and her sister co-founded a non-profit called ITZArt4you, which enables teen musicians to harness their musical talents by providing free, weekly music lessons to children in their community. 

Outside of music, Ella serves as a student representative to the Fairfax County School Board Student Advisory Council and is the founder of ITZArt4Oakton, a club that provides a space for fellow teen musicians to share music with the Oakton community. Ella enjoys reading, K-pop, traveling and trying new foods, and is a black belt in Taekwondo. 

Emma-Grace Kim, violinist, is a sophomore at Oakton High School. Emma-Grace has won numerous competitions, including Virginia MTNA Competition, NVMTA Achievement Awards, AAMS Competition, and NVMTA Concerto Competition among others. She gave her first solo performance with an orchestra at nine years old. Since then, she has performed solos and recitals at venues such as the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, and the National Gallery of Art. Last year, Emma-Grace was featured at WETA Classical’s Annual Salon Series at the House of Sweden, and also performed at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the US-ROK Alliance. In 2022, she participated in NPR From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship, which culminated in a recording of Six Duos by Robert Schumann, arranged by Alfredo d’Ambrosio, for radio premier, with concert pianist Peter Dugan and Grammy-award winner Charles Yang. 

Emma-Grace has been a member of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO) for the last seven years, and is currently concertmaster of American Youth Philharmonic (AYP). This past summer, Emma-Grace attended Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute where she took on the role as concertmaster of the Young Artists Orchestra, and was invited to perform in a masterclass with Boston Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Nathan Cole. Most recently, she was selected as a Kennedy Center National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellow and is a private student of Jing Qiao, first violinist of the NSO.

Emma-Grace volunteers her time with children in underserved communities through ITZArt4you, a non-profit organization she and her sister founded in 2021. She is also involved in her school club, ITZArt4Oakton, where she organizes music performances at Oakton High School, providing fellow high school musicians a place to share music with the Cat B community. 

Everett Ha is a junior at Oakton High School and a violinist in their philharmonic orchestra. He has been playing violin for 8 years, piano for 10 years, and has participated in the solo and ensemble festival twice. He likes to swim and reads in his free time.

Lindsey Gibson is 16 years old and has been playing the violin for almost ten years. She has been a part of her school orchestras since the 4th grade, and this year she is principal 2nd violin in varsity orchestra. Aside from school orchestra, she has participated in the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras for the past 6 years, and is now a first violinist in AYSO. This past year, Lindsey attended Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and performed in the pit orchestra for the spring musical at her school. Lindsey currently is a mentor for a chamber program in AYPO and  ITZArt4you. Throughout almost ten years playing the violin, she has really enjoyed sharing her love of music with others in every way possible.

Jonathan Lee is a junior at Chantilly High School, where he is a member of the Chamber Orchestra. He began his musical journey with the piano at the age of four and took piano lessons for ten years. In fourth grade, he started playing the cello through his elementary school’s strings class. After starting private cello lessons in eighth grade, his passion for the cello blossomed.

Jonathan was a member of the Bow Lightlys cello ensemble from 2022-2024. In 2022, the Bow Lightlys performed at a gala benefit concert to support World Central Kitchen and the people of Ukraine. The Bow Lightlys also performed in Progressive Musicians’ Laureate Gala at Carnegie Hall. In October 2023, Jonathan was selected for the Northern Virginia Senior Regional Orchestra. In May 2024, he placed 1st in the NVMTA Achievement Awards Competition for Strings. Jonathan is also a member of the American Youth Philharmonic (AYP) and a volunteer with The Tacy Foundation, where he performs music at retirement communities.

Outside of music, Jonathan enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and his dog Sunflower, playing basketball, skiing, and volunteering in his community.

Kerala Ryan, age 15, lives in Fairfax, Virginia and is currently a sophomore at Oakton High School. Kerala has been playing viola for six years and has studied with Nancy Kredel and Liz O’Hara Stahr. She currently studies with Brett Walfish. Kerala has participated in many musical opportunities in the area, including Senior District Honors Orchestra and The Capital Symphonic Youth Orchestra’s sextet. She has also been principal viola of The Junior District Honor Orchestra and principal viola of The Capital Symphonic Youth Orchestra. In the past, Kerala has attended The Lamont Summer Academy and the Rushmore Music Festival. Outside of music, Kerala enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with friends.

Varenya Immidisetti is a sophomore at Langley High School and has been playing the cello for seven years. She is excited to continue being a part of the  Itzart team and share her passion for music with others. She loves mentoring younger kids and helped many in math,  coaching volleyball rec teams, and training them in dance. In her free time, she likes to play fun tunes, play volleyball, and badminton, and listen to music.