A Music Celebration on Mother's Day

Gerald Fang is a 12-year-old, sixth grader at Wayzata Central Middle School in Plymouth, MN. He began learning piano at age eight and is currently a student at Rubinstein Music Academy under Dr. Denis Evstuhin, an award-winning, internationally acclaimed pianist. Last year, Gerald achieved 2^nd place in the Northwestern Piano Solo Festival. Inspired and motivated by his older brother, Harold Fang, Gerald is passionate about playing piano concertos and the works of Mozart. Besides piano, Gerald enjoys violin, scouting, science, math, tennis, baseball, and reading. In spring 2025, Gerald was the regional Science Bee champion. He is currently studying math through the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program. He is incredibly excited and honored to share his music with the Golden Valley Orchestra!

Cecilia Taggart, 13 years old, has been playing the piano since the age of 3.  She began lessons with Dr. Reid Smith, and after his passing in 2021, she began studying with Dr. Paul Wirth of the Wirth Center for Performing Arts, with whom she is currently studying.   She has shown remarkable prowess and maturity of technique and expression at the piano, even at such a young age. She has placed in many competitions, including:  first place in the Golden Valley Concerto Competition in 2026, first place in the 2025 Thursday Musical competition, first in the 2025 Dakota Valley Concerto and Aria Competition, second place in the 2025 Schubert Club Competition, second place in the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Mozart Piano Concerto Competition in 2024 and in 2025, 3rd place in the Saint Paul Piano Teachers’ Concerto Competition in 2025, third place in the Wirth Festival Concerto Competition in 2024, and Honorable Mention in the State round of the Music Teachers National Association Competition in 2024 and 2025. Cecilia also placed third in the San Francisco International Piano Competition.

Cecilia made her orchestral debut in April 2025, performing the third movement of Mendelssohn’s G minor concerto with the Dakota Valley Orchestra.  She has also performed in masterclasses with Orion Weiss, Alvin Chow, Angela Cheng, Kesenia Nosikova, Reed Tetzloff and Andrew Staupe. Cecilia is also an avid collaborative pianist and plays frequently with her piano trio coached by the Artistic Director of the Fischoff Competition, Tom Rosenberg. When not practicing piano, Cecilia enjoys competing in gymnastics and Junior Olympic Track and Field, as well as reading.  Cecilia lives in Blaine and is home-schooled in the eighth grade. For more information about Cecilia and her musical siblings, please visit www.taggartpiano.com

Pauline Huey-Fen Hsu is a Taiwanese soprano and makes her third appearance with the Golden Valley Orchestra. Receiving the title of “New Voice Rising Star” from the Association of Vocal Artists of Taiwan, Ms. Hsu has also received many awards and scholarships in the US and Taiwan. This includes awards from/in The Wonderlic Voice Competition in Maryland, National Taiwan Student Music Competition, Taichung Student Music Competition, Nan-hai Rotary Scholarship Awards Competition in Vocal Music and Tunghai University’s Concerto Competition.  Ms. Hsu has also been the recipient of a merit-based scholarship from Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University and was recently awarded a full scholarship and teaching assistantship from the University of Minnesota.

Performing actively in the University of Minnesota Theatre, Ms Hsu has sung many leading roles, including “Adele” from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, “Queen of the Night” from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, “Madame Herz” from Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and “Flora” from Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. Ms. Hsu has also appeared with many choruses and orchestras as a soloist, including singing Mozart’s Mass in C minor, K.427, “The Great” and performing Poulenc’s Gloria with Peabody Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Hsu received her Master of Art (MA) from Tunghai University in Taiwan, and Master of Music (MM) from Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Vocal Performance at The University of Minnesota, studying under the tutelage of Professor Jane Giering-De Haan.

Lucy Zhang, 14, is a violinist and ninth-grade student at The Blake School. She has studied violin with Susan Crawford since 2018 and currently performs with GTCYS Symphony, having served as Concertmaster of the Philharmonic for the 2024–2025 season. Lucy is a finalist in the 102nd Annual Bruce P. Carlson Schubert Club Scholarship Competition and the 2024–2025 GTCYS Concerto Competition. She has earned second prize in the OPUS Minnesota String Category in 2024 and 2025, as well as second place in the 2024 American Classical Young Musician Award.

Lucy is a 2025 Suzuki Association of Minnesota Graduation Upper-Level Soloist and a two-time recipient of the Mary West Violin Scholarship at MacPhail. Her performance experience includes the MacPhail Concerto & Aria Concert, MacPhail Honors Recitals, and the Intermountain Suzuki Institute Honor Recital. Outside of music, Lucy is a competitive figure skater and an award-winning visual artist, receiving top honors in the Minnesota State Fair K–12 Arts Competition and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Allison Britzius a senior attending Minnetonka High School and has been studying violin under Aaron Janse since 2023. Prior to this, Allison studied under Randi Hellman. Her past accomplishments include a finalist in the GTCYS concerto competition in 2024, the First Runner-up Award in the MSO Young Artist Program competition in 2025, a performance award in the Mary West Solo Competition in 2025, and a finalist in the La Crosse Rising Stars Concerto Competition in 2026.

Allison made her first orchestral debut as a soloist with the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra in the Spring of 2025. Allison has played in many chamber orchestras, quartets, and ensembles around Twin Cities. She was the associate concertmaster of MEA All-State orchestra for two years, and is currently in her third year of GTCYS Symphony. Allison enjoyed her international music tours to England in 2018, Italy in 2024, and is looking forward to touring Spain, Australia, and New Zealand in 2026. In her free time, Allison has brought joy to hospital patients and nursing home residents by playing music over the years. Aside from music, Allison is an avid tennis player and loves painting.