Dr. Phillips High School Orchestras and Alumni:

A Strong Presence in the Press

Access articles below about the ways in which the Dr. Phillips High School Orchestras, and their esteemed alumni, are impacting the community in positive ways- through music and more!

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Read about an opportunity that Dr. Phillips High School and other OCPS orchestra students had to perform with famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra!

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Read about the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra's "High School Program of Distinction", and the finalists from the year of publication- Dr. Phillips High School Orchestra went on to be named "Orchestra in the Wings"!

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Read about one of our orchestras' MANY performances with WKMG News 6's annual holiday broadcast, "Sounds of the Season"!

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Read about Orchestra Alumna Hannah Harris (viola), who was recognized by the City of Orlando in 2021 as an MLK Humanitarian.

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Read about Orchestra Alumni and Super Scholar Alex Koller (viola), being featured in the Harvard College Opera for his participation in one of the prestigious university's opera productions.

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Read about Orchestra Alumna and Super Scholar (and past Orchestra Librarian!) Christina Junga (violin), being interviewed as a freshman at the prestigious Boston Conservatory at the Berklee College of Music.

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Read about Orchestra Alumna Abigail Tran, nee Goodin, (viola) who graduated from DPHS, attended Stetson University in DeLand, FL, and upon her return to Orlando was appointed the Executive Director of the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra.

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Read about Orchestra Alumna Sarah Overton (cello) who earned a sponsorship from the New York Foundation for the Arts Fiscally Sponsored Artist Projects while earning her terminal degree at New York University, and created "The Missing Project": "In a multimedia storytelling format, the Missing Year Project catalogues the hopes,  dreams, and aspirations of people of color in an effort to rediscover ourselves as we navigate the challenges facing our country this past year."

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Read about Orchestra Alumna and Salutatorian (and past Orchestra President!) Andrea Emmanuelli (violin) being a featured student for the Florida State University College of Arts & Sciences, detailing her work in Alaska and projects titled "“Sources of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen in the Gulf of Mexico” and “Monitoring Total Dissolved Nitrogen Concentrations in the Greater Tampa Bay Region Following the Piney Point Discharge Event.”

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Read about Orchestra AND FOOTBALL Alumni and Super Scholar Caleb Hodges (violin) being featured in the Orlando Sentinel as he signs his commitment to play football for the American Naval Academy.

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Read about Orchestra Alumna Riko Miyasaka (cello) being featured as a finalist in the Ocala Symphony's 31st Annual Young Artist's Competition Honors Recital- she went on to win the competition and performed with the symphony!

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Read about Alumna & Super Scholar Amy Tsai (cello) being featured in the Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center Blog, sharing wisdom with incoming freshmen about how to have a successful transition to college!

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Read about Alumna (and former orchestra officer!) Gabriela Prado (cello) who has returned to Orlando, FL, to serve as the Program Coordinator for the nonprofit music program, A Gift For Music.

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Read about Alumna Cydney Taylor (cello) who won an international Essay Scholarship Contest through School Band & Orchestra Magazine, earning a $1,000 prize!

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Read about Alumni Avinash Jawahir (viola) as he trains to represent the United State in the Olympics through the official Olympic Committees "Next Olympic Hopeful" camp.

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Read about Alumna, Super Scholar, & Valedictorian Aashi Mendpara (cello) being interviewed about her nonprofit "Girls Got STEAM" which encourages young girls and women in STEAM field to become involved with advocacy.  Aashi is also a prolific journalist for her school paper at Johns Hopkins University.

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Read about Alumnis Samuel (violin) & Christian (cello) Ovalle, who were accepted into the prestigious Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) Summer Festival under the direction of world-renowned El Sistema advocate & LA Philharmonic Conductor Gustavo Dudamel!  Both are still active in the arts here in Central Florida, having just recently performed under the baton of Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor Eric Jacobsen while performing with UCF's Symphony Orchestra.

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Read about Alumna and Super Scholar Rachel Levine (violin) who was recently awarded a Fulbright Dissertation Grant for 2023–2024 to pursue her project, “Breaking Open the Black Box: Shifting Discourse Policy and Praxis in Contemporary Japan” while affiliating with Sophia University, Tokyo, and working under the guidance of Professor Mari Miura (Faculty of Law).

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Read about Alumni Sean Hartman (violin), an INTERNATIONALLY-RANKED competitive cubist, who is graduating this year from the Florida State University and will be pursuing a Masters in Arts Administration.

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Read about Alumna (and former Orchestra Officer!) Elena Djudaric (cello) on her advice for first-generation college students like herself.  Elena is currently pursuing a degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, aspirations to work with NASA and SpaceX, and a dream to make space more accessible to all.

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Read about Alumna (and former Orchestra Officer!) Alyssa McGee (viola), who-alongside her team of fellow Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students- won awards at the most recent American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Animal Welfare Assessment Contest.

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Read about Alumna Katelyn Newberg (cello), who went on from DPHS to major in and graduate with a degree in journalism and is a prolific writer for the Las Vegas Review Journal.