President
Alex Kuchuk is a junior violinist attending East Brunswick Public High School. He has been in Mockingbird Melody since his freshman year and has been delighted to participate in each bimonthly concert since then. Alex has been playing the violin for 7 years and has participated in the Central Jersey region's orchestra since the 8th grade. He also joined the Bravura Youth Orchestra this year, and this summer he and his fellow orchestra members will be attending and playing in concert halls in Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague. As well as having a passion for music and the violin, Alex enjoys playing volleyball, hanging out with friends, and doing random history and geography quizzes.
Meet The New Jersey Team
Arav Choudhary
Double Bass
Vice President
Arav Choudhary is a junior attending EBHS. He has been playing the Double Bass since 4th grade, making it his eighth year being a part of orchestra. He has consistently been a part of the regional and All State orchestras and studies under Christopher Finnegan. He enjoys trips to Wawa, Star Wars, and walking his dog.
Jessica Hong
Cello
Orchestral Music Director
Jessica Hong is a junior attending East Brunswick High School. She has played the cello for nine years and has won awards from various music competitions, such as MTNA Student Competition, NJMTA Young Musicians Competition, NYYPP Competition, and Bravura Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. Besides music, Jessica enjoys taking care of her pet turtles, drawing, biking, and spending time with her friends and family.
Jason Liu
Cello
Orchestral Music Director
Jason Liu is a dedicated cellist attending East Brunswick High School. He has performed with the NJASO and CJMEA Orchestras, as well as the award-winning Bravura Philharmonic and daughter Youth Orchestra. Jason has earned the NJMTA Recital High Honors Award multiple times and has had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall. Committed to contributing to the community, Jason is actively involved with MBM. In addition to his musical pursuits, Jason enjoys listening to music, playing games, and working out.
Rishma Rao
Vocal
Vocal Music Director
Rishma Rao is a sophmore at East Brunswick High School. She has been singing since she was 7 and has performed in several competitions such as MAMTG, Laurita Idol, Freehold Idol, and at Columbia University. In addition to her passion for singing, she enjoys reading, playing piano, dancing, and swimming. She is very excited to be on the executive board this season!
Matthew Ho
Cello
Director of Outreach
Matthew Ho is a junior at East Brunswick High School. He started playing the cello in 4th grade with his school orchestra and currently studies at the Juilliard Pre-College. He has been awarded top prizes in many competitions, such as the VIVO International Music Competition and the NLPA International Young Artists Competition. Matthew has performed at Carnegie Hall and is the winner of the MTNA state competition in the junior strings division. In his free time, Matthew enjoys playing video games, biking, and cooking.
Isabella Francisco
Double Bass
Website Manager
Isabella Francisco is a senior in high school. She has been playing the double bass for 7 years and plans to continue throughout high school. So far, she has participated in the highschool CJMEA and NJMEA Orchestra and Bands, the Bravura Youth Orchestra, and the NJSYO. Other than playing, she likes to make visual art and bake. She's excited to see what she can do with the MBM website the next school year!
Austin Wu
Cello
Social Media Manager
Austin Wu is in 8th grade attending Churchill Junior High School. He has played the cello for 4 years and is currently studying the cello with Dr. Hyojin Lee. Austin has participated in many orchestras such as the Bravura Youth orchestra, the CJMEA, and NJMEA intermediate orchestra for many years. He has also won several national and international music competitions as a soloist and as a chamber group member, many of which are accompanied by performances at renowned venues, such as Carnegie Hall and more. Austin has won first place at the Little Mozarts International Crescendo Music Competition in 2023, won the title of “Super Bronze” at the Golden Key Music Festival in 2024, has received the award of “High Honors” in the NJMTA SRA music festival twice in the years of 2022, and 2024, and has also won the Grand Prix award from Music Fest two consecutive years for chamber groups he participated in. Other than the cello, Austin likes to study music theory, play volleyball, and math.
Daniella Kim
Flute
Daniella Kim is a junior at East Brunswick High School and has played the flute for seven years. Daniella has played in the Honors Wind Ensemble and Varsity Marching Band. Outside of music, she likes to read and draw.
Audrey Cheng
Violin
Audrey Cheng is currently a junior at East Brunswick High School. She’s been playing violin for 7 years. In her free time she enjoys listening to music, playing guitar, photography, traveling, and baking!
Olivia Lee
Vocal
Olivia Lee is a sophomore at East Brunswick High School and has been singing since she could remember. She is currently part of the EBHS honors Bella Voce choir. She also has been playing the cello since fourth grade and has been in numerous theatre productions since seventh grade. Olivia has caught the attention of talent directors, earning her a spot in the next round of acting auditions for The Industry Network. Apart from performing, Olivia holds a black belt in martial arts and loves reading. She is extremely excited to be involved in Mockingbird Melody.
Erin Choi
Violin
Erin Choi is a junior at East Brunswick High School and has played violin since 4th grade. She plays in the Chamber Orchestra and has played piano for 7 years. She enjoys time playing golf, drawing, and watching movies.
Kayla Yong
Piano
Kayla Yong is a junior at East Brunswick High School. She has been playing piano since the age of six and plans to continue playing. She has won many awards in NJMTA as well as MEA. She has performed at Carnegie Hall eight times. This past summer she also performed in Ehrbar Hall as well as Mozarthaus located in Vienna, Austria. Not only does she play the piano, she has also been playing the violin for eight years and has participated in CJMEA. In her free time, Kayla enjoys reading and playing tennis.
Kaylee Choi
Violin
Kaylee is currently in 10th grade and plays the violin in the East Brunswick High School chamber orchestra. She likes listening to music, ice skating, and playing golf in her free time. She has been playing for 4 years and has participated in regional orchestra.
Alan Lei
Viola
Alan Lei is currently a freshman in Churchill Junior High school for 2024-2025. He has been playing viola for 4 years ever since 4th grade orchestra. He has participated in both NJMEA All-State and CJMEA Intermediate Regional Orchestra, being principal chair for Viola in NJMEA for two years in a row and principal chair once in CJMEA. Alan was also accepted for the Manhattan School of Music pre-college and will be studying there. Other than playing viola, Alan enjoys playing basketball, snowboarding, and hanging out with his friends.
Grace Shin
Vocal
Grace Shin is a sophomore at East Brunswick High School and has been singing her entire life. She is currently apart of the EBHS Bella Voche Honors Choir and has performed in 20+ musical productions, assisting in teaching music in a couple of them! Aside from music, Grace is the Sophomore Class Council President, on the EBHS Varsity Tennis team, Drama Club, and others!