About the Coquitlam Youth Orchestra

Reg Quiring – Our Founder, Director & Senior Orchestra Conductor

The Conductor and Artistic Director, Reg Quiring saw a need for a youth orchestra in this area of the lower mainland several years ago and decided to pioneer its existence in 2013. Originally conceived as a single orchestra it immediately blossomed into two. In the third year Reg found that there were enough students joining that he could create the third orchestra. He has found running and conducting all three orchestras extremely rewarding and he has enjoyed getting to know the many young and talented musicians from each orchestra.

Reg Quiring has performed as principal violist of the Vancouver Symphony, the Vancouver Opera, and the Quebec Symphony. He has taught violin and viola at all levels at the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Academy of Music, and the Quiring Chamber Music School. These institutions as well as others have engaged him as conductor for their orchestras. Reg is very excited to take on the task of building a great youth orchestra for Coquitlam and its surrounding regions.

Dr. Lucia Hyunsil Roh – Intermediate Orchestra Conductor

Dr. Roh completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in violin performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in music education and string pedagogy. She also holds a Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance with distinction from the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Roh has received Suzuki teacher training certification in San Diego.

Dr. Roh enjoys a multi‐faceted career as a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral player throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Some of her performance career highlights include a lecture-recital at the International College Music Society, a solo recital at Sejong Hall in Korea, and serving as a tenured member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007 to 2010. In addition, she served as the concertmaster for the MSO’s annual “Symphony Soup” concert, presented to familiarise students in kindergarten through third grade with key concepts in classical music. Other orchestral engagements have been with TIMF, Seoul Sinfonietta, Madri Chamber Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Elgin Symphony, and Madison Bach Musicians. Dr. Roh has also appeared at many international festivals such as THY in Denmark, the Music Academy of the West in California, the National Institute Orchestra in Maryland, the Garth Newel Music Center in Virginia, and the Chautauqua Institution in New York.

Dedicated to community outreach, Dr. Roh represented the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in live performances and educational presentations in elementary schools throughout southeastern Wisconsin. Her passion for teaching could be seen through her chamber music and orchestra sectional coaching at the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, and UCLA. She also taught at Music Makers, a non-profit organization in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Roh wishes to enrich the community through programs and collaborations that increase access to and appreciation of classical music.

Surim Cha – Junior Orchestra Conductor

Surim Cha is a highly accomplished cellist and an instructor. Surim received her Bachelor of Performance degree and a minor in piano performance from the Akademie fur Tonkunst in Germany, where she studied with Professor Peter Wolf and Carina Stangorra. She then went on to earn her Master of Performance degree from the Hochschule fur Musik Nurnberg, Germany where she studied with Professor Jakob Spahn and Professor Alexander Ruder.

Since then, Surim has performed in many prestigious concert halls in Germany and Italy such as the Meistersingerhalle, Heilig-Geist-Saal, Kurhaus Wiesbaden, Frankfurt Cathedral and Teatro Curci. Surim has also participated in many international music competitions and masterclasses, winning awards such as the Franz-Hoffman Award in the Mozart Kammermusik Competition and the Second Place Award in the Citta di Barletta International Competition.

As a teacher and a conductor, Surim values the importance of developing a strong relationship with each of her students and strives to create an encouraging and fun learning environment. She recognizes that every student is unique and aims to tailor her teaching approach to each student’s individual needs and learning styles. She believes that music is an ever-evolving art form and that it is important to keep up with the latest trends and developments. Whether a student is a beginner or an advanced musician, her goal is to help them reach their full potential and achieve their musical aspirations.