Bay Phil Youth Orchestra
Cole Hall (Auxiliary Space behind First United Methodist Church), 2950 Washington Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539
About
Bay Phil Youth Orchestra offers a youth orchestra with small group ensembles, a Summer Ensemble Program, and internship programs. Participants take part in auditions and rehearsals and perform in events such as a Side by Side Concert, Winter Concert, and Spring Concert.
• Schedule: Weekly rehearsals on Mondays from 4:30–7:30 pm
The Bay Phil Youth Orchestra leadership team includes Judy Lam, BPYO Director Emeritus; Marcella Schantz, Audition Assistant, Conductor Emeritus, and Personnel Manager; Merna Morse, BPYO Ambassador and Liaison; Dr. Francis A. Rojas, Executive Director; and Dr. Jane Brown, Interim Conductor and Artistic Director. The mission of the Bay Philharmonic Youth Orchestra is to shape young musicians by developing their musical abilities along with their creative, collaborative, and leadership skills, and to serve as an encouraging training ground where they discover and develop excellence through high-quality performance experiences. The program states that it helps musicians develop important skills needed to become leaders in local communities, within and beyond musical settings.
Director Emeritus Judy Lam has conducted flute ensembles, chamber groups, choruses, and musicals, including performances featuring her original ensemble arrangements, and she has performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Youth Orchestra. She received coaching from Jacqueline Pullinger, MBE; Jane Loschen; Hans Jürgen Möhring, former principal flautist of the German Cologne Chamber Orchestra; and Peter Lloyd, former principal flautist of the London Symphony Orchestra, and she received her music education from the University of California in Los Angeles. Since moving to Fremont in 1990, she has maintained a busy schedule teaching and nurturing a new generation of flautists, serves as Director of the Virtuoso International Flute Ensemble, and works as a school band consultant with the Fremont Unified School District coaching young flautists in elementary, middle, and high schools. She is the recipient of the 2015 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award, and the Virtuoso International Flute Ensemble dedicates its performances to serving the community with music.
Audition Assistant and Conductor Emeritus Marcella Schantz graduated with honors from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. As a violinist, she has performed in orchestra, opera, ballet, shows, recording, film appearances, pop, rock, backup, and more, and she performs regularly with Bay Area orchestras including the Bay Philharmonic, Oakland Symphony, West Edge Opera, and California Symphony. In Southern California, she performed with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra for 10 years, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, and she has significant experience conducting youth orchestra ensembles and coordinating musical showcase performances in addition to running a busy teaching studio.
BPYO Ambassador and Liaison Merna Morse is a pianist, cellist, and retired Fremont Unified School District teacher who taught Social Science at Washington High School, where she served as department head. She was one of the original cellists in the Bay Philharmonic (previously known as the Fremont Philharmonic) and continued as a member for many years, and she also operated her own piano studio. The program highlights features such as an uplifting, joyful, and fun experience, an emphasis on personal growth and musical development, Side by Side Concerts that allow participants to play alongside professional musicians, high-quality cost-effective education and instruction, merit and need-based scholarships as funds allow, year-round auditions conducted as individually needed, and a Summer Ensemble Program.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
• Schedule: Weekly rehearsals on Mondays from 4:30–7:30 pm
The Bay Phil Youth Orchestra leadership team includes Judy Lam, BPYO Director Emeritus; Marcella Schantz, Audition Assistant, Conductor Emeritus, and Personnel Manager; Merna Morse, BPYO Ambassador and Liaison; Dr. Francis A. Rojas, Executive Director; and Dr. Jane Brown, Interim Conductor and Artistic Director. The mission of the Bay Philharmonic Youth Orchestra is to shape young musicians by developing their musical abilities along with their creative, collaborative, and leadership skills, and to serve as an encouraging training ground where they discover and develop excellence through high-quality performance experiences. The program states that it helps musicians develop important skills needed to become leaders in local communities, within and beyond musical settings.
Director Emeritus Judy Lam has conducted flute ensembles, chamber groups, choruses, and musicals, including performances featuring her original ensemble arrangements, and she has performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Youth Orchestra. She received coaching from Jacqueline Pullinger, MBE; Jane Loschen; Hans Jürgen Möhring, former principal flautist of the German Cologne Chamber Orchestra; and Peter Lloyd, former principal flautist of the London Symphony Orchestra, and she received her music education from the University of California in Los Angeles. Since moving to Fremont in 1990, she has maintained a busy schedule teaching and nurturing a new generation of flautists, serves as Director of the Virtuoso International Flute Ensemble, and works as a school band consultant with the Fremont Unified School District coaching young flautists in elementary, middle, and high schools. She is the recipient of the 2015 Alameda County Arts Leadership Award, and the Virtuoso International Flute Ensemble dedicates its performances to serving the community with music.
Audition Assistant and Conductor Emeritus Marcella Schantz graduated with honors from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. As a violinist, she has performed in orchestra, opera, ballet, shows, recording, film appearances, pop, rock, backup, and more, and she performs regularly with Bay Area orchestras including the Bay Philharmonic, Oakland Symphony, West Edge Opera, and California Symphony. In Southern California, she performed with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra for 10 years, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, and she has significant experience conducting youth orchestra ensembles and coordinating musical showcase performances in addition to running a busy teaching studio.
BPYO Ambassador and Liaison Merna Morse is a pianist, cellist, and retired Fremont Unified School District teacher who taught Social Science at Washington High School, where she served as department head. She was one of the original cellists in the Bay Philharmonic (previously known as the Fremont Philharmonic) and continued as a member for many years, and she also operated her own piano studio. The program highlights features such as an uplifting, joyful, and fun experience, an emphasis on personal growth and musical development, Side by Side Concerts that allow participants to play alongside professional musicians, high-quality cost-effective education and instruction, merit and need-based scholarships as funds allow, year-round auditions conducted as individually needed, and a Summer Ensemble Program.
Last updated July 1, 2026.
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