Our Team

Lisa An

Director

17 year old violinist, Lisa An, developed a love for music at the age of 8 when she started to play the violin. Soon after, she joined the Coleman Violin Studio to continue her musical development and is currently studying with Professor Simon James, violin faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Lisa has been a winner of various competitions in the past including the Washington State MTNA, State OPUS Music Competition, Evergreen Philharmonic Concerto, Eastshore Solo and Ensemble Festival, Russian Chamber Music, Korean Music Association Young Artist, and the Seattle Bach Festival. In 2021, she received the Best of Division, Richard Engstrom Memorial award, and was the first place winner of the Concerto Playoffs for the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside. Alongside that, she has been a merit prize winner of the National OPUS competition as well as earning several prizes from the Simon Fiset competition. Lisa has been a finalist for the Seattle Symphony, Coeur D'Alene Symphony, North Corner Chamber, and Sammamish Symphony Young Artists Competitions.

She is honored to have played for violinist-pedagogues such as: Augustin Hadelich, Paul Kantor, and Soovin Kim, to name a few. Lisa has had the opportunity to play on the “Northwest Focus Live'' radio station on King FM 98.1 due to being a finalist in the King FM Young Artists Awards. Additionally, she studied with Ani Schnarch and Kurt Sassmannshaus at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine. She has performed in a variety of venues including Benaroya, Meany and Studzinski Halls. Her most recent performances include soloing with the Bellevue Symphony at the Meydenbauer Center as part of their “Fabulous February” concert, and performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at the Longman Performing Arts Center with the Evergreen Philharmonic in 2022. 

Outside of solo performances, Lisa currently serves as the concertmaster of the Evergreen Philharmonic. She also enjoys chamber music, where she has been coached by musicians such as Nathan Chan, Mikhail Kopelman, Noah Geller, Efe Baltacıgil, and Elisa Barston. She has also had the opportunity to play chamber masterclasses for the Dover Quartet and Anne Marie Mcdermott. Lisa is currently enrolled in the Seattle Chamber Music Society where she is part of the Byul Piano Trio, and often plays paid gigs around the city. She is also the director of communications for Relay, a high school and college dual-enrollment mentorship program for Running Start students. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with friends, reading, and spending time with her pet bird, Galaxy. 

Aydin Iqbal

Co-Director

Aydin Iqbal, 16 years old, is junior at Issaquah High School. He discovered his passion for music at age 11, when he started playing the clarinet. Aydin is very grateful to be studying under Emil Khudyev, the Seattle Symphony’s Associate Principle Clarinet. Aydin recently moved to Washington in December of 2020. During his elementary and middle school years, he lived in Dallas, Texas. In his 7th grade year, he won the district Solo and Ensemble competition. Later during his 8th grade year, Aydin placed 1st in the TMEA All Region competition. Aydin continued to participate in and win competitions when he moved to Washington. He is the principal clarinetist and woodwind section leader of the Evergreen Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2022, he was selected to perform in the Evergreen Philharmonic Concerto Competition.  Additionally, he won the WMEA Solo and Ensemble regional competition, and went on to win the state level competition. Aydin has also placed as a finalist in the NOCCO Concerto competition, and in NPR’s program From The Top. Recently, Aydin performed as principal clarinetist for the Western International Band Clinic, working with many decorated musicians such as Julien Bliss, and Michael Sweeney. Alongside his competitive side and big performance work, Aydin also enjoys sharing his love for music with as many people as possible. He recently joined Musicians For Equality, an organization that strives to help members of underrepresented communities experience opportunities to be influenced by music, as Assistant Director. Additionally, Aydin volunteers to perform for residents at a retirement home every month for music therapy. Aydin wants to continue to spread his love for music to others. He plans to do so by exploring as many performance opportunities, festivals, clinics, and competitions as possible. Aydin’s goal is to continue to study clarinet in college to one day perform as a professional. Outside of music, he enjoys spending time with his family, and enjoying the natural beauty that Washington has to offer.

Michael Lim

Website Designer & Communications

Michael Lim is a 17 year old cellist from Issaquah, Washington. He is currently a part of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and Evergreen Philharmonic. In the past, he has been a part of the NAfME All-Northwest Orchestra, and was assistant principal of the WMEA Junior All-State Orchestra. Besides playing in a group, Michael enjoys teaching beginner/intermediate cellists, ranging from 11-15 years old, because “it is such a fulfilling experience to see their growth.” Outside of music, Michael is dual-enrolled at Bellevue College and is working towards an Associate’s Degree in Science. He expands upon his interests in science and medicine by being an active volunteer at Swedish Hospital and Department Coordinator of the General Medical Unit. In the future, he hopes to continue playing cello while pursuing a career in healthcare.

Kelsey Osburn

Graphic Designer & Digital Media Director

Kelsey Osburn, 18, is a senior in High School who began playing the violin at the age of 12. Kelsey currently serves as 2nd Violin section lead in the Evergreen Philharmonic; the only multi-school full symphony orchestra in the country. Kelsey has also played in Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra’s own Debut and Junior orchestras, where he sat as concertmaster of Debut and switched to 2nd Violin section lead of Junior mid-year. Kelsey currently plays on an antique 1884 George Gemünder Violin, loaned to him by his teacher Marcus Talley. From the age of 12, Kelsey has been awarded multiple awards for his proficiency in the orchestras including; the Musicianship award (2016-2017), Directors Award (2017-2018), Runners Up Directors Award (2018-2019) and Directors Award for Chamber Strings (2019-2020). Aside from Kelsey’s music life, Kelsey is a dual-enrolled student at Bellevue College and is working towards an Associate’s Degree in Arts and Sciences. As Relay Mentoring’s Creative Director, Kelsey shares a passion in assisting those affected by the lack of resources for new Running Start students. Not only does Kelsey express this through helping connect current Running Start students with prospective students, but he also cultivated Relay's Logo and Favicon to creatively reflect these ideas. Kelsey is also a Freelance Designer who recently worked on a paid collaboration with Slalom, a global consulting firm. In honor of Slalom welcoming a location in Japan, Kelsey was invited to create an original character for Slalom Japan’s merchandise. In the future, Kelsey plans to pursue a career in UX Research and tutor young violinists part-time.