Lily Jiale Chen
VIOLINIST
Lily began studying violin at the age of 3, first under the late Julia Kurtyka, and then under Kimberly Kennedy, Associate Concertmaster of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 5, she joined the Livonia Youth Philharmonic as the youngest player in the orchestra’s history. She became the first concertmaster under age 10 at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and toured France and Germany with the Blue Lake International String Orchestra. She participated in multiple solo competitions throughout her youth, winning a Michigan Youth Arts Festival Concerto Competition nomination four years in a row. At age 13, she joined the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Orchestra as principal second in 2008, performing in the first violin section from 2009-2013. Growing up in a school district without a string program, Lily founded her district’s chamber music program for string players, teaching young musicians for four years before entering college at the University of Chicago. Lily joined the first violin section of the University Symphony Orchestra in 2013 and became a founding member of Ellis Avenue Quartet. From 2013-2017, she led the University of Chicago Chamber Music Organization, bringing together hundreds of classical musicians together across the city of Chicago. At the University of Michigan, Lily is proud to continue her chamber music studies under the direction of Katri Ervamaa.
In addition to performing violin, Lily is a doctoral student in the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan and an Assistant Curator at the Detroit Historical Society.
Jess Yan
CELLIST
Jess first began studying piano at age 5, then fell in love with the cello at age 10, studying under Nicholas Finch, principal cellist of the Louisville Orchestra. She joined the Livonia Youth Philharmonic as the principal cellist after just 2 years in 2009, before joining the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Philharmonic Orchestra as principal cellist. Growing up, she loved every summer at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and competed in multiple local and state competitions. In 2010, she began performing with her neighbor and good friend Lily in 2010 as a founding member of her string program. In her senior year, she was selected to perform at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival as part of the MYAF Symphony Orchestra as well as the DSO’s Philharmonic Orchestra. While studying Environmental Justice at the University of Michigan, Jess performed with the Michigan Pops Orchestra for three years before joining the cello section of the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra. Jess has been performing at events for over 10 years and especially loves the joy and beauty of performing at wedding ceremonies.
Jess has a Bachelor’s and Master’s from the University of Michigan and works full time as an artist and environmental justice activist in Detroit. She lives in Royal Oak with her wife Lily, her puppy Suki, and her two cats Ellie and Murphy.
Romi Strings 