MASTERCLASS

2025 Soloist and Clinician: Patrick Williams, Associate Principal Flute of The Philadelphia Orchestra & Clinician: Valentin Kovalev, Saxophone

YOCJ is thrilled to announce that our guest artist for the 2024-25 season is the flutist, Patrick Williams! Mr. Williams was appointed associate principal flutist of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2018 by Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Mr. Williams is also currently adjunct instructor of flute at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. YOCJ is pleased to present Mr. Williams performing the Reineke Flute Concerto with our Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Mr. Kenneth T. Bean, on Sunday, January 19, 2025 at TCNJ’s Kendall Hall. Additionally, Patrick Williams will be our woodwind clinician on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 at our Woodwind Masterclass. Musicians from the Princeton Symphony Orchestra will also run masterclasses for the Strings, Brass and Percussion students that night. In addition, Selmer artist, Mr. Valentin Kovalev, a highly sought educator and performer, will run a saxophone masterclass on Tuesday February 18th. Most notably, Mr. Kovalev was the first prize winner of the Naumburg Foundation’s International Saxophone Competition in 2022.

2024 Soloist and Clinician: Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass & Clinician: Dr. Paul Cohen, Saxophone

Multi Grammy winning, Emmy award winning, and Gold record Double Bassist Ranaan Meyer is most known as a founding member and performer with the string trio Time for Three, Founder and Artistic Director of Honeywell Arts Academy, and as a solo performing artist, composer and educator. He also is an alumnus of The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Temple Prep, Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Ranaan Meyer joined the Symphonic Orchestra to perform his first concerto for double bass and orchestra entitled: ‘Concerto for My Family’ (2021) on Sunday January 14, 2024 at The College of New Jersey’s Kendall Hall! Mr. Meyer also hosted a Performance / Improvisation Workshop for YOCJ on Tuesday April 2, 2024. In addition, Dr. Paul Cohen, the Rutgers University Saxophone Professor ran a saxophone master class on Tuesday February 27th, for the YOCJ Saxophone Ensemble and Choir.

2023 Masterclass with Billy Hunter, Trumpet; Princeton Symphony Orchestra Clinicians, & Rowan University’s Noa Even, Saxophone

This past season featured many renowned clinicians from all the instrumental families!

BRASS – Billy Hunter, Principal Trumpet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
STRINGS – William Harvey, Violinist and PSO soloist for the Saturday March 11 PSO Concert, which will be YOCJ’s Annual Field Trip.
WOODWINDS – Paschal Archer, Clarinet, Princeton Symphony Orchestra
SAXOPHONE – Noa Even, Rowan University Saxophone Professor
PERCUSSION – Greg Giannascoli, Princeton Symphony Orchestra

YOCJ 2022 Master Classes with David Kim, Princeton Symphony Orchestra Clinicians, & Manhattan School of Music’s Dr. Wonki Lee

We were thrilled to be hold live Masterclasses for ALL instruments this spring at the Prince of Peace Church!

Woodwind Masterclass: Princeton Symphony Orchestra Clinician, Brad Balliett, Bassoon
Brass Masterclass: Princeton Symphony Orchestra Clinician, Jerry Bryant, Trumpet
Percussion Masterclass: Princeton Symphony Orchestra Clinician, Jeremy Levine, Timpani
Saxophone Masterclass: Manhattan School of Music, Dr. Wonki Lee
String Master Class: Philadelphia Orchestra Concertmaster, David Kim 

YOCJ’s 2021 Spring Master Classes

YOCJ was pleased to present an exciting collection of Master Classes for the Spring of 2021, for the evening of Tuesday April 20th. Bravo to the following students who were selected to perform!

Angela Zator Nelson, 2020
David Kim, 2019


Stanley Drucker, 2018
Jennifer Montone, 2017
David Kim, 2016
Yumi Kendall, 2015

YOCJ Guest Soloists and Masterclass Clinicians:

2011 – David Kim, violin, Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2012 – Hal Robinson, bass, Principal Bassist of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2013 – Matt Vaughan, trombone, Principal Trombonist of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2014 – Bart Feller, flute, Principal Flautist of The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra
2015 – Yumi Kendall, cello, Associate Principal Cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra
2016 – David Kim, violin, Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2017 – Jennifer Montone, French horn, Principal French Horn of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2018 – Stanley Drucker, former Principal Clarinet of The New York Philharmonic
2019 – David Kim, violin, Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2020 – Angela Zator Nelson, percussion, Associate Principal Timpanist of The Philadelphia Orchestra
2021 – Midori, Violin Virtuoso Soloist; Clinicians – PSO Musicians: Violinist Basia Danilow, Violist Michael Davis, Bassist Joanne Bates, Flutist Yevgeny Faniuk, Bassoonist Brad Balliett, Trumpeter Jerry Bryant, Percussionist Greg Giannascoli & Boston University’s Dr. Jennifer Bill, Saxophone Professor
2022 – David Kim, violin, Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra, PSO Musicians: Bassoonist Brad Balliett, Trumpeter Tom Cook, Percussionist Jeremy Levine, & Manhattan School of Music’s Dr. Wonki Lee, Saxophone Professor
2023 – Billy Hunter, Principal Trumpet, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; PSO Musicians: Violinist William Harvey, Clarinetist Paschal Archer, Percussionist Greg Giannascoli; Rowan University Saxophone Professor Noa Even.
2024 – Ranaan Meyer, Double Bass, Founding member of Time For Three as soloist and clinician; Dr. Paul Cohen, Rutgers University Saxophone professor as clinician
2025 – Patrick Williams, Associate Principal Flute of The Philadelphia Orchestra; Mr. Valentine Kovalev, Selmer Saxophone Artist