Columbia College, 2019.

A proud son of Dayton, Ohio, Aaron is the perfect mix of Midwestern charm and Ohioan angst. Having played the String Bass in both Orchestral and Jazz groups for 6 years now, his other hobbies include Dungeons & Dragons and being President of the Columbia Vaporwave Club.

Columbia College, 2024.

Hailing from Minnesota, Abigail loves listening to musicals and trying to convince herself that she enjoys running. In her free time, you can find her watching cooking shows while eating microwaved tofu and veggie meat tacos. Abigail is currently soliciting suggestions for what to study (only half joking).

Barnard College, 2020. 
Music Director (FA19-SP20)

Aimee is a professional orchestral flutist, music educator, and freelance project manager based in New Haven CT. She lives with her husband, who she met through Columbia Pops, and her rescue cat Billie. You can learn more on her website at aimeetoner.com

Columbia College, 2020. 

Alan Yao hails from the village of Scarsdale New York and enjoys living a lit life of sleeping, music, and computer science. He can often be found suffering through computer science and beatboxing to classical music. He has the same birthday as Obama and has never eaten an olive.

Columbia College, 2023.
Co-Social Chair (FA21), Co-/Vice-President (SP22-FA22), Senior Advisor (SP23)

Alex's last name is Zhang and yet he's somehow not in SEAS. He likes a lot of things: tennis, medical dramas, anime, playing the violin like a cello, video games, rap music, and whistling to people's annoyance. But above all, he loves ramen. If you give Alex ramen, he will be your friend.

Columbia College, 2021.
Co-Treasurer

Alex grew up in San Diego, California, spoiled by warm weather and nice beaches. He started bassoon in 6th grade, where people made fun of his bassoon "butt strap" even though he insisted it was a "seat strap". Nevertheless, he persisted, and now he's finally taller than his bassoon. His hobbies include accidentally falling asleep in public places and drinking boba too fast. Someday he wishes to be a psychiatrist.

SEAS, 2022.

Angela hails from Texas (but like Austin, where it's slightly less yeehaw and significantly more hippie). She plays the harp and can often be spotted lugging her instrument across campus whilst grumbling about how she should have learned to play the piccolo instead. Her current interests include crying about Banana Fish and consuming Halo Top pints on the daily.

Barnard College, 2022.

Anna is a clarinetist from Kansas who has been playing for eleven years. Aside from music Anna has a passion for chemistry, ice cream, and coffee. When she is not in Milstein, Anna can often be found baking or showing people pictures of her dogs.

Columbia College, 2024.

Columbia College, 2020.
Treasurer (FA19-FA20), Senior Advisor (SP20)

A firm believer in naps, Ariana Mao loves wearing tall shoes in order to assimilate into society, obsessively marathons episodes of Chopped, and on the weekends, toils over a plot for violists to take over the world. When she's not petting dogs on the streets of New York or discovering new places to eat, Ariana can be found drinking almost unearthly amounts of coffee or listening to Korean pop music.

SEAS, 2022.

Ava is unfortunately a senior in SEAS majoring in Applied math and newly minoring in CS after her mother told her she wasn't employable enough. When she's not baffling her advisor with her inability to register for courses on time, Ava enjoys watching all subgenres of reality television, making cookie dough soup, and preparing herself emotionally for yet another New York winter.

Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, 2022.

Bianca was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona where she found her love for Mexican food and mariachi music. She recently moved to New York for graduate school and now spends most of her time in Avery or Fayerweather (the architecture buildings) laughing and crying over studio projects or cuddling with her cat Stella at home. Her graduate experience will be memorialized by thai food, tiramisu, chai lattes from Pret, and all the incredible new friends she has made from all over the world.

SEAS, 2021.

Your friendly northern neighbor from Canada who also holds a PhD in Anime.

SEAS, 2019.

Barnard College, 2024.

Bronwyn is a native New Yorker who has been playing the violin since 3rd grade! When she’s not shredding away on her instrument, she can be found making comics, obsessing over musical theatre, and making pasta in her suite. Fun fact: she figured out how to play the Star Wars theme on the violin by ear after playing for only a few months, so she was always destined to play nerd music! It was motivated by her love for Han Solo.

Columbia College, 2018.

Bryan Li double-majored in Computer Science and Economics. He attended high school in Irvine, CA, but grew up in various suburbs around the USA (born in Detroit represent dying city gg). He's known to be swagalicious, and often just as salty. A lifetime violinist, he channels his inner being with a bow in one hand, and his violin in the other. He's also known to get feisty on his Otamatone, a synth instrument that looks and sounds incredibly troll but is actually dank.
In his free time, he's an incredibly avid player of League of Legends who deserves to be challenjour if not for noob teammates. Also he listens to electronic music with sappy lyrics pretty much 24/7.
He hopes to one day design an indie video game, taking from his interests in music production, story writing, and coding.

Columbia College, 2022

Cassandra’s journey with the cello started thirteen years ago, and since then she’s heard “that instrument is bigger than you are” around a million times. Aside from music, Cassandra is passionate about coffee, computer science, and mathematics. She’s also interested in environmental sustainability, despite her inability to keep plants alive. In her free time, she likes to ride her bike, obsess over her pet bearded dragon, and listen to recordings of the 2Cellos.

SEAS, 2018.

Cindy studied electrical engineering. Most of the time, you can find her [trying not to set everything on fire] working in the CEPSR labs, or spending too much time watching K/C/J-dramas, anime, and stand-up comedy. Her spirit animal is a cat, and her favorite ice cream flavors are green tea, black sesame, and coffee.

Columbia College, 2022.

Cher is pre-law but somehow ended up studying Economics and CS. She loves making food and eating it. She has two states: very full and very hungry -- guess which one she is in. Some of her favorites to make are various curries, hotpot, hummus, falafel, and Asian Fusion food. Ask her to explore new food together! She was first forced to play the violin in kindergarten, successfully given up after winning the battle with her parents, and rediscovered her love in high school while sitting in Alabama Youth Symphony Orchestra not knowing what is going on. She always sets a resolution to play more music so hopefully it will happen this time.

Columbia College, 2019. 

Chris is a sophomore in Columbia College. He enjoys sleeping at irregular hours of the day and feasting in JJ's as well as stressing about Calculus III. You can typically find him in his room binging YouTube or stalking the Halal cart on 115th and Broadway. He is known to be an extremely salty Super Smash Bros Player. And he plays the cello.

Columbia College, 2019. 

Claire loves to smile and to see others smile! Hailing from Canada, she is a renowned igloo architect and maple syrup connoisseur. She has been playing the piano since she was three, and developed an interest in neuroscience while performing at senior homes and mental hospitals. 

SEAS, 2019.

David Reyes is a combined plan student at Columbia. He was originally from the University of Redlands where he studied Music Performance. If David was to write a book about himself it would be titled "How Did I Get Here?".

General Studies, 2023

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Dylan is a culturally-proud, politically-disappointed Texan. He enjoys taking walks in nature, playing with his dog, and finding the best eats in whatever city he happens to find himself in.

Columbia College, 2022.
Co-President (FA21), Co-Music Director (SP20-FA21), Senior Advisor (SP22)

Aside from his talent of remaining perpetually 5'4", Edmund spends the majority of his free time eating too much ramen and stalking the Nintendo website for updates. He also noodles around on his violin once in a while. The most effective way to get Edmund to play is by luring him into the practice room with a trail of gummy bears.

Barnard College, 2024.

Elaine is from Taipei, Taiwan, which she says is her origin story for her love of all yummy foods. In her free time, she loves playing volleyball and badminton, reading memoirs or writing in cafes and parks, and blurting out puns/dad jokes at every opportunity that arises :)

Columbia College, 2024.

Eleanor decided she wanted to play violin in third grade, after hearing her school orchestra play the Star Wars theme music (so it's only entirely appropriate that she should end up with Pops, eleven years later!). She also plays piano and is obsessed with the soundtracks to every Studio Ghibli movie ever made. In her non-musical free time, she enjoys reading and writing poetry and learning new languages.

Columbia Juilliard Exchange, 2020.

Elena loves music-making and computer programming, and is always wondering whether she can somehow find an intersection of the two fields that effectively combines her passions. When she's not coding or stress-practicing cello, she can be found solitarily watching anime or drawing bad sketches or paper crafting, plus a plethora of other excuses to procrastinate from the schoolwork she should actually be doing. Her favorite anime shows and movies include: Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon, Hunter x Hunter, and the Ghibli movies. 

Columbia College, 2021.

Elizabeth is a mango-loving sock enthusiast who enjoys excessive amounts of coffee (black, like her soul). She is fond of elephants, but her spirit animal has been described by others as "the cat who tips over the vase," which is probably accurate. When she's not sleeping or dying via academic overdose, you can usually find her wandering around parks, watching kdramas, or waiting in line for bubble tea.

Columbia College, 2023.
Co-Secretary (FA21), Co-/President (SP22-FA22), Senior Advisor (SP23)

Emily was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina where she spent most of her time drinking sweet tea, avoiding practicing her cello, dreaming of all the Korean food she would eat in NYC, constantly organizing her life (and all her stationary), and obsessing over/annoying her yellow lab Zoey (2008-2021). Her interests include Marvel movies, Korean music (particularly a certain 22-member boy group) and K-dramas, and collecting Columbia merch.

SEAS, 2022.

Emily is an engineer-in-training who just barely escaped Michigan. She enjoys riding the subway and is an ardent evangelist of the deeply unappreciated Joachim Raff Cello Concerto No.1. A top item on her bucket list is to get into a vitriolic, mudslinging, friendship-ruining argument over the validity of horoscopes.

Columbia College, 2021.

Columbia College, 2022.

Erina is a junior in Columbia College hailing from the far lands of Tokyo, Japan. An avid tea drinker and snack-lover, she would one day like to visit England and experience the famed afternoon tea time. A video game enthusiast and avid moviegoer, she has an entire Spotify playlist (100+ songs collected over 7 years) dedicated to soundtracks from her favorite games and movies. Her favorite character is Winnie the Pooh, and she has a collection of Pooh plushies of all sizes at home. She also loves to bake Apple Crumble from scratch (the only thing she can bake), and provided that she has the ingredients, she'd be more than happy to make you some!

Columbia College, 2024.

Ethan is from the best state in the US, New Jersey, and isn't afraid to admit it. When not in class, he can be found getting beat up in basketball, binge watching/reading anime and manga, and asking people to play poker with him to satisfy his gambling addiction. Alternatively, he might actually be practicing for once.

Columbia College, 2020. 

Hailing from a small town in Massachusetts where orchestras exist only as theoretical constructs, Evan is an avid woodwind player, composer, and guitarist. Outside of the musical sphere, he greatly enjoys hiking, camping, and martial arts. He aspires to someday become a doctor, hopefully the kind that doesn't need to cash in his malpractice insurance.

Columbia College 2019

Fabiola plays the viola (and not just because it rhymes) and is from West Palm Beach, Florida. When she isn't complaining about how cold it is, you can find Fabiola napping, crying about being Pre-Med, or jamming out to the songs of her childhood. This is Fabiola's first and last year in Pops and she is super excited to join the family!

SEAS, 2022.

Federick is your typical Chaotic Neutral brass player who is also a Florida Man™. He is what is known as a "Computer Science Major", and believes Java is by far the best language. If you don't find him frantically finishing his assignments, he is either doing something Wushu related, getting food, cooking food, cooking some more food, or listening to video game and movie soundtracks over and over again. If you're looking for a new friend, you've found one

Columbia College, 2023.

Grace is a violist in Columbia College who LOVES petting dogs, eating ramen, exploring the city, crushing people at ping pong, and of course, playing viola! She loves performing with her friends and enjoying everything the music world has to offer! :D

Columbia College, 2020.
Secretary (SP17-FA17), Co-President (SP18-FA19), Senior Advisor (SP20)

Hannah Wang was born and raised in Potomac, Maryland. She started playing bassoon her 3rd year in middle school because her music teacher made her. Thankfully, she liked the bassoon and now continues to play today. Hannah enjoys studying neuroscience because it's interesting and not that it's the easiest major to take for a Pre-Med (but that too). If you don't find Hannah drinking bubble tea, napping, or tripping over the cobble stones in front of Butler, she is probably listening to video game sound tracks, finagling with the Columbia bureaucracy, and actively avoiding any form of reading. Hannah is very eager to make friend though she is very shy. But once you get past her layers of shyness, profuse apologizing, and sarcasm, you will find that she is just exponentially more sarcastic.

Columbia College, 2021.

Seungmin Lee goes by Helen to avoid having to pronounce her name a hundred times for other people. She loves playing all kinds of music as she is in both the Columbia University Orchestra and Pops. When not playing music, she is always looking to try new foods and to see interesting things around the city!

Barnard College, 2023.

Heli has been dabbling with the piano for almost 17 years now, spanning from classical repertoire, to musical theater, to sight-reading for fun. From the sweet beautiful green state of Washington, Heli has developed multiple hobbies during quarantine: from hiking, to watching anime with her brother, to playing video games online. Heli is double majoring in Economics/Social History and Ethnomusiclogy, which both totally sound like made-up majors!

Columbia College, 2020.

Hugo Zoells is a violinist from the suburbs of Chicago, IL. He enjoys oysters, bananagrams, and Twin Peaks, the television show, not the restaurant. In his free time, Hugo likes to cook and to eat, often in that order.

Columbia College, 2022
Music Director (FA20-SP22), Senior Advisor (SP22)

As a wizened old senior, Ian has given up all attempts to appear even mildly cool, and has fully embraced the lifestyle of a moderately wealthy suburban housewife - stretching regularly to maintain joint health, doting on his potted plant Snelly, and ending the night with fifteen minutes in an adult colouring book and a refreshing glass of grape juice. Ian has (not quite) mastered the art of leaving his arrangements to the last possible second, then winging it in rehearsal. But hey, as they say - diamonds are created under great pressure (as are Kevlar, baby mammals, and questionable hygiene habits).

Barnard College, 2021.

Isabel is a clarinetist from Seattle, WA who has been playing the clarinet for five years. Aside from music Isabel has a passion for chemistry, ice cream, and coffee. When she is not in the library, Isabel can often be found napping or blasting Enrique Iglesias while complaining about chemistry.  

SEAS, 2019. 

Claiming Las Vegas as his home, Jake hopes to break the convention that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" by showing the rest of the world how awesome he is. Aside from playing piano and cello, Jake likes to spend too much time programming, build robots that will take over the world, and read books that aren't required for class.

Columbia College, 2019.
Board Member (SP16-FA16), President (SP17-FA18)

From the dismally frigid state of Minnesota, Jason enjoys watching sports, video games, sleeping, and being stunningly attractive. In his free time, Jason likes to trip on the stairs outside Butler Library, make obnoxious viola jokes, and not practice the violin. Jason's favorite Pokemon is Gengar.

Barnard College, 2024.

Hailing from Beijing, China, Jasmine brought her musical passion to the US during high school. Flute in hand, she dreamed of a musical career until focal dystonia threw a surprising twist into her life. Yet, her love for music endures as she seeks both the joy of the flute and a future as a doctor researching musician-related injuries. When she's not making music or studying, Jasmine's on a mission to conquer random heights. Whether it's a random statue or some other unexpected spots, just look up, and you'll probably find her there!

Columbia College, 2021.
Co-President

Hailing from either northern New Jersey or North Carolina (depends on which state is getting more embarrassing news coverage at the moment), Jay has been playing clarinet for who knows how long, but Pops has definitely made that time worthwhile! If he’s not raving on about the disintegration of social registers in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Jay enjoys going to art museums, tacking on too many books in his reading list, and complaining about Heidegger.

Columbia College, 2021.

Jayant hails from the DC-metro area, where the only thing that people hate more than the government is the traffic. He is a huge nerd so if you can't find him in one of the practice rooms with his cello, he's probably locked in his room doing math. Or maybe balling because ball is life. He likes to run, and he has a lot of experience in various races ranging from half marathons to running away from the people who want to beat him up for doing too much math. He also really enjoys listening to all kinds of music, especially R and B and classical.

Mailman School of Public Health, 2016. 

Jeanne is spending her last year of grad school learning how to maybe fix the healthcare system, with a contingency plan of opening an a cappella bakery. Her spirit animal was recently decided by others to be a cat, songbird, or marlin (?). Indeed, when not playing viola or piano, she can often be found eating salmon, singing, or telling jokes about anemones (not actually). She also enjoys soccer, video games, and wandering around Wikipedia.

Columbia College, 2019.

Jennifer Choi is a L.A. native taking on the big city. Her current obsessions include fro-yo, puppies, and everything Disney.

General Studies, 2018. 

Jeremy hails from Singapore, where it never actually hails. He plays multiple instruments, although none well enough to make it into an actual orchestra, which is why he sticks to writing and arranging. In his free time, he enjoys music making, getting lost in strange cities, and writing three part lists.

SEAS, 2022.

Jessica Kuleshov hails from rural-suburbia New Jersey and adores the long boi Bass Clarinet. In her spare time, she enjoys talking about how she has no spare time. In the rest of the time, however, Jessica can be found ranting about languages, playing some sick tunes, cooking and subsequently consuming all the things, or engaging sweet, sweet punnery.

Barnard College, 2020. 

When she's not at an art museum, Jewel can be found wherever there is caffeine or Instagrammable desserts. All of her favorite memories from high school involve marching band, so it's clear she has always been a band nerd. Currently, she is pursuing her lifelong dream of being able to whistle.

Columbia College, 2021.

Jianyu, nickname Jian, is from the research triangle of North Carolina, where they attended a STEM boarding school and proceeded to excel in everything other than STEM. They are currently studying data science with the hopes of working in artificial intelligence, but also love learning languages in their free time. When they are not weeping silently over sheet music or LeetCode, they enjoy city exploring, experimenting with makeup and fashion, and marathoning crime dramas on a Netflix account that isn't theirs.

Columbia College, 2019.

Columbia College, 2022.

Joheen is a violinist from New Jersey who was in pops for 2.5 years, but only got to perform in two concerts because of a certain global pandemic. He is headed off to graduate school to study physics, and he hopes he can find a community there as fun and supportive as Pops was.

Columbia College, 2021.

Hailing from Jericho, Long Island, John has been enjoying (getting deafened by) the sound of drums (because he doesn’t wear earplugs like he should) since he was five. He prides himself as an avid fan of the Halal cart on 115th and Broadway and is trying (but failing) to find better Halal carts around the city.

SEAS, 2023.

Josette hails from a small rural town in upstate NY, where they make up for their lack of orchestras with cows, cows, and more cows. When she’s not practicing, Josette can be found either looking for new restaurants with friends, skiing down some sick slope, working on a robot that will eventually take over the world, or living that MechE life (oof).

Columbia College, 2021

Julia Cobb has played French Horn for five years and is excited to be here! She has performed at Juilliard Pre-College, Tanglewood, and Interlochen. She also eats a lot and likes to watch and make movies (not simultaneously).

Columbia College, 2021.
Social Chair

Katherine is from a small suburb of Boston called Weston, where she has lived for most of her life. She has mostly played classical music, so she is excited to play some pop music! In her free time, she enjoys watching TV, specifically Friends and The Office, hanging out with friends, and taking frequent naps. 

Columbia College, 2022.
Co-Secretary (SP19-FA20), Co-Social Chair (SP20-SP21), Co-President (FA21), Senior Advisor (SP22)

Karenna is a wilted kale from Auburn, Alabama. Although she complains about having to play high notes pianissimo or keep a C# in tune, in reality, she loves playing her precious flute. You can often find her 5' 2"-self speed-walking to classes or drinking (un)healthy amounts of coffee at the Hungarian Pastry Shop. Next time you spot her around campus, feel free to ask why she identifies as a wilted kale.

PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, 2022.

As a native SoCal-ite, Kavi's move to NYC for her PhD has been one of her biggest adventures. She feels so blessed to have been able to find at Columbia the opportunity to pursue her passions at the intersection of Engineering and Medicine while helping expedite detection of eye disease through her work. Being able to pursue her passion for music by playing her clarinet with the Columbia Pops side-by-side with her PhD is making her final year at Columbia truly complete and fulfilling! :)

Barnard College/SIPA, 2022.
Co-Treasurer (SP22-FA22), Senior Advisor (SP23)

Kelsey Chin is a second-year Masters student at Columbia School of International and Public School of Affairs studying Urban/Social Policy with a regional specialization in the Middle East and East Asia. Kelsey began studying flute at 7 and made her Carnegie Hall debut at 14 under the baton of Dr. Jason Noble. She has toured internationally: in Prague, Budapest, and Vienna in 2014 and Australia in 2017. In 2021, she performed the Dutilleux Sonatine for Flute and Piano at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall with pianist Marco Jimenez. You can find her scootering to campus, eating soup dumplings in Chinatown, or napping in the green chairs at Milstein because she’s still sad she graduated from Barnard already.

SEAS, 2021.

Kevin is from Staten Island, NYC, where nothing really happens. He's a huge science nerd and also an overall nerd. He loves music, and his favorite soundtracks include Legend of Zelda and Star Wars. His hobbies include watching shows (favorite anime is Steins Gate and The Office is amazing), listening to music, and trying to be athletic (ultimate is lit). 

Columbia College, 2021.

Columbia College, 2023.

Lauren hails from Omaha, Nebraska, which is fitting, because she really likes corn. She also likes to bake goodies, start (but never finish) knitting projects, and attempt to curry favor with her dog who probably hasn't even noticed that she's gone.

Columbia College, 2022.

Leo spent the first 15 years of his existence living in Hong Kong before moving to a suburb in Long Island NY before moving to a suburb in Kansas. After a failed attempt to play the violin (his parents commented that when he plays, it sounds like wood-cutting), Leo discovered his love for the flute in 5th grade and has been playing it ever since. When Leo is not doing physics and math, he is diligently practicing Pops’ pieces (obviously), trying to learn French, and playing all kinds of .io games.

Columbia College, 2023.
Chamber Program Co-Director (SP20-FA22), Senior Advisor (SP23)

Leon likes avocados, randbats on Pokemon Showdown, jazz, and Studio Ghibli.

SEAS, 2019.

Liana is from Long Island, New York. Like many other pops members, she is classically trained, but actually prefers playing movie soundtracks and other pop songs on violin (or piano!). In addition to music, she plays badminton and enjoys eating, sleeping, and binge-watching seasons of TV shows on Netflix. Her favorite color is blue - Columbia blue!

Columbia College, 2022.

Lori has been playing the piano since she was 4, and is constantly frustrated with her disproportionately small hands preventing her from playing some cool repertoire. She's always snacking on fruits and junk food, and is always down to try new foods. She is also a big fan of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, baseball (yes, she knows the sport sucks), and going on long walks.

Columbia Juilliard Exchange, 2020. 

SEAS, 2024.

Lydia comes from everyone’s favorite state: Iowa, where she spent her time playing saxophone and collecting rocks. When she’s not chronically procrastinating she likes reading, kayaking, and playing board games with her besties. If you know anywhere she can go to pet animals please let her know she’s getting desperate.

Columbia College, 2022.

Though he’s from the heart of Southern Appalachia, Mac never learned how to play Bluegrass viola and it is one of his biggest regrets. He does not, regret, however, joining Columbia Pops where he gets to goof with the other violists and make fun of the first violins (even though he himself can not play in tune past 3rd position). He also enjoys perusing medieval manuscripts and wasting time playing Mario Kart Tour.

Columbia College, 2023.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Marcus has grown to love many different types of food and will eat pretty much anything you give to him. From classical to avant-garde jazz to modern rap/pop, Marcus is always excited to learn more about different forms of music. He loves to hike, browse Reddit, and game with friends.

SEAS, 2018.

Mark Cartolano is an avid movie fan, often watching Star Wars and Pixar classics in his spare time. As well as movie-watching, he enjoys playing music with his siblings on the electronic wind controller, bass guitar, saxophone, and piano. He is a huge Beatles fan and always enjoys a good bass line and ice cream cone.

SEAS, 2022.
Co-Secretary (SP20-FA21), Senior Advisor (SP22)

One of only two Mary Zaradichs in the world, this Mary Zaradich studies Mechanical Engineering and Political Science in the hopes that she can eventually figure out what she wants to do with this degree. Her chaotic energy can be explained by her upbringing, as both she and her trombone were born and raised on the sandy shores of Long Island, New York. When she's not making music, she enjoys taking pictures of her friends with her disposable camera, roller skating, and perfecting her grilled cheese recipe.

SEAS, 2022.

Matthew is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He got tired of being one of the thousands of Matthew Sanchezs in New Mexico, so he went to Columbia where he now studies Computer Science. In his free time, Matthew is either practicing piano (occasionally French horn) or watching pretentious movies about people, places, and things.

SEAS, 2019.

Min Hwang is a unicorn from Irvine, California who plays the flute and wants to pursue a career in Civil Engineering. She hopes to make infrastructure more earthquake-durable for her family and friends in Southern California and to inspire awe in people with beautiful bridges. POOP!

SEAS, 2021.

Mitch Miya was born in raised in the Central Valley of California. He enjoys fitting into Asian stereotypes by playing piano, saxophone, tennis, and studying to become an engineer. He's always down to go on a late night sushi/ boba excursion. 

Columbia College, 2019.

Nick is from Ann Arbor, Michigan and majoring in two of the rarest majors: computer science and economics. His hobbies include singing in the shower, accidentally sleeping through class, getting swole af, and eating. When he's not eating, he's usually thinking about eating. He sometimes programs stuff and plays the clarinet.

Columbia-Juilliard Exchange, 2024.

Nicole plays saxophone but actually plays a pen. She is a double major in music and computer science, apparently. Her favorite thing to do when she isn’t “composing” or “programming” is ravaging the local populations in Wizard 101 with her sister. You would never believe it but she worked at Xbox these past 2 summers—maybe just for the free games…

Columbia College, 2023.

Nina Halberstadter is eating cheese in this photo. And she will likely be eating cheese (or selling it, or talking about selling it) the next time you see her as well. Raised on the gritty, taylor ham-filled streets of suburban New Jersey, Nina had to learn to toughen up. In her free time, you'll find her riding a purple bicycle, singing ska music to herself, or just generally smiling at every stranger she passes.

Columbia Business School, 2022.

Although he is a lifelong lover of games and music, Patrick also enjoys outdoor activities and sports like tennis, skiing, and walking through nature! You can find him studying Chinese, practicing his flute repertoire, arranging music, or streaming various games on Twitch!

Columbia Julliard Exchange, 2022.
Chamber Program Director (SP19-SP21), Senior Advisor (FA21-SP22)

Ria pretends to be from Chicago but deep down, she is a Seattleite at heart. When not playing the violin or falling asleep in Butler, she enjoys munching on sweet potato fries and singing nostalgic Disney songs from her childhood. She has been assigned the sloth as her spirit animal by some of her closest friends. Long, leisurely strolls in Riverside or Central Park are some of her favorite pastimes as well as emotionally investing herself in Terrace House. She's always ready to fight anyone who dislikes Peanut Butter Oreos.

Columbia College, 2021.
Board Member (SP18-FA18), Co-President (SP19-FA20), Senior Advisor (SP21)

When she isn’t attempting to study or spending (way too much) time making reeds, Samantha enjoys drinking boba, looking for new fatty places to eat, avoiding exercise, staying up at night, and convincing herself that her lifestyle is totally healthy. Hailing from Tampa, FL, she’s looking forward to finally see snow fall and then complain about how cold it is.  She hopes to be a neurologist, so maybe she will understand why her brain is so freaking weird. She also loves binge-watching Netflix shows and is currently obsessed with BoJack Horseman.  Overall, she’s just an excitable nerd just looking for some wholesome fun .

Columbia College, 2020.

Sam likes violin, and most things surrounding violin. He also is 5'7.75" and owns several unused yo-yos. 

Columbia College, 2021.

Sean's journey with trombone started in third grade: love at first [fart] sound. Hailing from lovely Warren, New Jersey, he loves to run, eat food, and pursue random hobbies. In addition to following his bio/biochem & premed dreams, he hopes to continue catching up on all the movies, anime, and books he has yet to enjoy.

Columbia College, 2022.
Co-Treasurer (SP20-FA21), Senior Advisor (SP22)

Hailing from New Zealand, Sean is a renowned Yugioh card trader who has made it his mission to have everyone he knows in the States watch The Lord of the Rings. When he’s not taking naps or playing DotA 2(the superior MOBA), he is notorious for playing anime openings on any piano he can find on campus.

Columbia College, 2021.

Serena enjoys reading, playing the violin, watching TV shows/movies, and eating in Chinatown! She also procrastinates often playing League of Legends or Hearthstone. Outside her dorm, Serena especially loves to rock climb, take leisurely strolls in the park, or go stargazing. Although undecided for now, she plans to explore the various subjects that Columbia has to offer! 

SEAS 2019.

Shalva enjoys playing trumpet to the point of making those next to her deaf. She plans to eventually develop robots to put into her own personal army. Until then, she will design apps for Columbia in ADI Labs. Shalva prefers to dance alone in her room to electro swing. If you ask, she may sing musical theater songs for you. She can also be easily bribed with food.

Columbia College, 2024.

Shujun is from many places but will never shut up about the Bay Area. No one has actually seen them study so we don't really know what they're doing with their life. In their free time Shujun can be spotted reading modern Asian literature, poring over maps, or in the streets of NYC hunting for food. Follow them on Beli @xiongshujun (or message them for an invite code!) for too-in-depth restaurant reviews in a drive to crack the top 5000.

Columbia College, 2019.
Music Director (FA16-SP19)

Simon is a professional composer/lyricist, orchestrator/arranger, music director, and dramaturg based in New York City. He misses Pops and is so excited to see how the group has grown. You can learn more on his website at simonbroucke.com

Columbia College, 2024

Tupelo is from Los Angeles, and came out of a three-year trombone retirement to join Pops (she has yet to come out of her piano retirement). In her free time she loves to run, color, and play rugby for Columbia’s club. She’s looking forward to playing in Pops!

SEAS, 2022.

Victor is a violinist from Scarsdale, NY. A classically trained musician, he is also an avid fan of pop music and loves going to live concerts; his favorite bands are Ben Platt and Kacey Musgraves. In his free time, Victor cannot wait to eat all the food NYC has to offer. He’s studying applied math, but doesn’t know what he wants to do with it.

SEAS, 2024.

Victor is an Alaskan musician and cat lover. Besides music, he is into anime, management games, and sleeping. He is currently studying applied mathematics. His two cats are named Tibbs and Schroder.

Columbia College, 2024.

William comes from Atlanta, Georgia. He loves all kinds of noise: music, languages, and the sound of stabbing a bubble tea straw through the lid of a cup. In his spare time, he drinks iced coffee, walks around bookstores without buying anything, talks about languages, and plays Bach's 1st Cello Suite on instruments ranging from the bass recorder to the Otamatone (anything but the cello).