Julie Brachmann, Flute
Julie started her musical journey very early in life. She originally started playing piano from 2nd grade to her Freshman year under the guidance of Pamela Kibbons, began playing flute at Fischer Middle School, and joined the Fischer Wind Ensemble in 8th grade. Julie began flute lessons under Allison Brady during her first year at Waubonsie. Julie started out as a Freshman in Concert Band, and moved up to join Wind Symphony during her Sophomore and Junior years, and now Wind Ensemble as a Senior. Throughout her time in high school, Julie has had opportunities to join many amazing musical groups and ensembles. Julie has been a member of Pep Band and the Marching Warriors for four years and was flute Section Leader for her last year. Julie has enjoyed her time in Tri-M for two years, playing this year in the WV Symphony Orchestra, and participating in Solo and Ensemble for four years. This year she was selected with her fellow Wind Ensemble flutes to perform their chamber piece in the Solo and Ensemble Honors Recital. Participating in band at Waubonsie gave Julie the opportunity to start playing the alto flute and piccolo in her Junior and Senior years, and she continues to play both instruments outside of school. Julie plays alto for the Naperville Youth Symphony Orchestra Flute Choir, directed by Dr. Ellen Huntington, which was invited to perform at the National Flute Association’s 50th Anniversary Convention in Chicago last summer. Through Wind Ensemble, Julie has been able to start providing flute lessons to her amazing 6th and 7th grade students at Granger and Scullen Middle School. She is very excited and honored to work with her students and teach them valuable skills and lessons, both musically and in general, and she hopes that they will enjoy playing the flute just as much as she did during her time at Waubonsie Valley. Next Fall, Julie will be attending the University of Iowa and major in Art History and Museum Studies. She hopes to play piccolo with the Hawkeye Marching Band and join various other musical ensembles throughout college. Julie is forever grateful for how she has been able to discover her passions and sense of community and identity through the music program at Waubonsie Valley. She would like to thank her teachers Allison Brady, Mark Duker, Kevin Carroll, Chris Dandeles, Allison Rider, and Caitlynne Miller for how much they have inspired and encouraged her throughout her musical journey. She would also like to thank all of her friends and the Marching Warriors for being the best friends and most welcoming community she could have asked for. Last but certainly not least, Julie would like to thank her Dad for inspiring and introducing her to music at such a young age, and her Mom for dealing with so many musicians in the house. She would like to thank her family for showing up to every single concert and always being her biggest supporters.
Ryan Lee, Double Bass
When Ryan was in elementary school, his sister’s guided practice teacher got his family front row tickets to Prism. Besides being awed by the snowfall and the singers right in front of him, he knew that he wanted to someday be a part of this amazing production. Ryan started his musical journey at the Music Suite, taking group piano lessons in kindergarten, and then studied piano with Stacey Getting through middle school. Double bass lessons began in 5th grade with Karim Yengsep at the Naperville Suzuki School and then continued with Philip Serna through middle school. Ryan was a member of the Chamber Orchestra at Still Middle School and qualified for the ILMEA Junior Orchestra. He has studied with Brad Pfeil since the summer of 2019, before his freshman year. While at WV, Ryan played in Concert Strings as a freshman and Chamber Strings his sophomore and senior years. Instead of playing in Chamber Strings his junior year, he joined the Youth Symphony of DuPage while he took a WV engineering class to explore whether he would want to become an engineer; he learned he didn’t. Ryan has filled in to assist the Naperville Suzuki School orchestra when they were short of bassists and has also provided bass support at special events at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Some of Ryan’s most enjoyable moments in music have been associated with playing in the ILMEA Senior Festivals—he has qualified each year he was eligible for the ILMEA District 9 Orchestras and ILMEA All-State Orchestras. This year he served as Assistant Section Chair of the District Orchestra and was the 8th chair in the All-State Honors Orchestra.
Outside of music, Ryan is a 4-year varsity member of the WV boys swim team, serving as co-captain this year, and swims year-round with Fox Valley Swimming. He is President of Team Tutors 204, a free weekly tutoring program staffed by honor student volunteers from Waubonsie, Neuqua, and Metea Valley high schools.
Ryan is extremely grateful to Ms. Silberman for all her direction and wants to thank all his teachers and directors in the District 204 music program for all the great opportunities the Waubonsie music department has provided for him. He would also like to thank his piano accompanist, Robert Sacks, for his expertise and excellent accompaniment. Most of all, he would like to thank his private teacher Brad Pfeil for always meeting him where he was in his musical journey while continually inspiring him to do better. He has been a fantastic role model, both as a musician and as a person.
Ryan also thanks his family for supporting him in his musical development, whether it be his parents for driving him and his bass to lessons, or his sister Lauren, who needled him about his intonation. The Lee family would like to thank the Chan family for lending Ryan their bass this year and also Lauren’s violin teacher David Dai who is in the audience tonight; Lauren was a WV Senior Concerto Competition winner in 2020, but the concert was canceled due to the pandemic. Her concerto was featuring during the online graduation ceremony in 2020.
Next year, Ryan will be attending Northwestern University and majoring in Economics. He may also join his sister in the Northwestern Philharmonia orchestra.
Charlie Liu, Violin
Charlie started his musical adventure in second grade under the tutelage of David Dai. In 6th grade, he auditioned and got accepted into the ILMEA middle school festival. Eventually, Charlie decided to audition for a youth symphony orchestra to further his musical experience. He joined EYSO as a Sinfonia member in 8th grade and gradually moved up the ranks as the years passed, eventually getting into the top Youth Symphony in his Junior year. As the top rated Youth Symphony in Illinois for 2021, he gained a lot of experience and learned tons of well known repertoire like Shostakovich 5th Symphony and Elgar Enigma Variations. Going into high school, he was accepted into Chamber Strings as a Freshman and got to participate in the IMEC Festival in Peoria with Chamber Strings. Throughout the years, Charlie has worked hard in both orchestra and chamber groups. He even organized over 10 different groups to audition to play during Prism. He was also selected to participate in the ILMEA Senior District Orchestra his junior and senior year, respectively. However, none of this compares to the great directors he has worked with: Ms. Silberman, Ms. Tyus, Mr. Duker, and Mr. Burck was a key component of shaping him into the musician he is today, and for that he is eternally grateful. Even though he never got to spend much time with Mr. Burck, he is still grateful for getting a chance to go into Chamber Strings because of him. He taught Charlie how to be a great leader, be kind to others, and have more fun in orchestra. Ms. Silberman has given non-stop guidance ranging from comments during class or setting up appointments with musical university professors to help him with his playing. He would also like to thank his family for helping him and pushing him to be better on this journey, Ming, Changpeng, and Lucy, and for their love and support.
Johnny Treuhaft, Tenor Trombone
Johnny Treuhaft's passion for playing the trombone began in sixth grade. His journey as a trombonist through middle and high school has been one of dedication and hard work, with the support of his family and teachers. Through sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, Alison Rider and Caitlynne Burgess taught him the fundamentals of trombone that would later be vital for his continued development in music.
Johnny's hard work, dedication, and passion for the trombone are matched only by his gratitude toward his teachers and family. While working with Waubonsie Valley music directors Mark Duker, Kevin Carroll, Tom Tait, and Chris Dandeles, Johnny has learned much about music and life. His participation in the Waubonsie Valley Jazz Ensemble, Musical Pit, and Symphony Orchestra has opened his mind to various music genres and professions. Although he does not plan to major in music education or performance, Johnny hopes to maintain a connection with the music world and find ways to serve his community through musical experiences. Beyond the many band directors that have mentored Johnny, he is also grateful for his parents and the work they have done to help him. They have always been willing to assist in his education and offer gracious sacrifices of time and money to help him succeed.
Throughout high school, Johnny also worked with Chelsea French and Rachel Trumbore, two insightful trombone teachers, who helped him hone his playing abilities and audition for and lead in incredible groups, including the Youth Jazz Ensemble of DuPage (YJED) and the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) All-State Orchestra. These experiences have exposed him to some of the most talented musicians in Illinois, allowing him to refine his skills and take his playing to a new level.
Johnny Treuhaft's journey as a trombonist through middle and high school has been a story of hard work, dedication, passion, and support. Through his experiences within the Waubonsie Valley music program and beyond, Johnny has achieved some remarkable successes and refined his skills to a level beyond what he had thought possible. Thanks to his family and teachers' enduring support, Johnny has overcome many obstacles in his growth as a trombonist and is prepared for continued success and musical participation in his future endeavors.
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