SAN DIEGO SECTION GREETING

ULLI REINER, a five-time nominated Grammy Education Award finalist since 2016 and a top ten Finalist for 2017, Ms. Reiner is the epitome of music. Music is her life as an educator, conductor and violinist. She is the Orchestra Director for the Poway Unified School District since 1983. Ms. Reiner is an adjunct faculty member of Palomar College, Concertmaster of the Palomar Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, founder, Orchestra Manager and Concertmaster of the PUSD Adult School Poway Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the PUSD Adult School Poway Symphonette.  Ms. Reiner is also Artistic Director and co-founder of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra String program and formerly conductor and co-founder of the Civic Youth Orchestra-Intermediate String Orchestra and Chamber String ensembles.  She was the founder and Orchestra Director of the Poway High School Symphony and has taught orchestra at Mt. Carmel High School, Black Mountain Middle School, Mesa Verde Middle School, and Meadowbrook Middle School.  She is currently the Orchestra Director at Bernardo Heights Middle School, Twin Peaks Middle School, and also is the instructor for the Music Appreciation classes offered to non-music students. 

A graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, as a full scholarship recipient, she received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with emphasis in violin and viola performance and went on to graduate study at San Diego State University as first violinist with the Graduate String Quartet in residence, the University of Southern California, and the University of San Diego, having worked towards three master’s degrees in music education, Suzuki violin and violin performance.  Her violin and viola teachers have included Melvin Ritter-Concert Artist, Tiberius Klausner-former pupil of Ivan Galamian of Juilliard, Yukiko Kamei-Assistant to Jascha Heifetz at USC, Noumi Fisher-MGM recording artist, Milton Thomas-Professor of Viola at USC and her father, Rudolf Reiner.  She is also a direct descendent of the great conductor, Fritz Reiner.

Her musical studies began at the age of 3 1/2 starting with the cornet and then the accordion at the age of 5 with her father as her teacher who attended the Bruckner Conservatory of Music in Linz, Austria.  She played the trumpet in both her elementary and junior high school music programs.  She also played trumpet with her family church brass ensemble all throughout college.  Her violin studies began at the age of 11 also with her father as her first teacher.

As a professional violinist, she has performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, Starlight Opera, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Municipal Opera, the St. Louis Philharmonic, and the Alexandria String Quartet.  As a certified private instructor of Suzuki and traditional violin, her students have won numerous awards and scholarships leading to professional careers in music. She has performed under conductors Leonard Slatkin, Alexis Hauser, David Atherton, Peter Eros, and Walter Susskind to name a few.  She has also enjoyed performing in the entertainment industry under such great artists as Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Johnny Matthias, Angela Landsbury, Carol Channing, Yul Brynner, Lauren Bacall, Vincent Price and Zero Mostel among many other top performers.  She has also worked in the recording industry having made commercials for both local and national companies and is an orchestra contractor for several conductors in the San Diego area.

Ms. Reiner is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Suzuki Association of San Diego, served on the Board of Directors of the American String Teachers Association is currently the President of the ASTA San Diego section and has adjudicated for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, Grossmont College, MTA of California and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.  She currently hosts and founded the PUSD Middle School Orchestra Festival with such distinguished guest adjudicators; Jung-Ho Pak Artistic Director of the Cape Cod Symphony and Interlochen School of the Arts, Dana Zimbric, Music Director of the California Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Weller, Music Director, of the Palomar Symphony Orchestra and Sameer Patel, Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony.   She also founded and hosts the annual PUSD String Solo/Ensemble Festival.  She was recognized in 1991 and again in 1993 by Outstanding Young Women of America and in 2000 was elected to the prestigious Who's Who of American Teachers.  Since 1995 she has led successful international concert tours of Salzburg, Vienna, London, and Paris conducting the Civic Youth Orchestra Chamber Strings and her "Mostly Mozart Orchestra" comprised of students from the Poway Unified School District.  She was invited to conduct at the American String Teachers National Convention in Reno, Nevada in 2005 and also was the guest conductor for the San Diego Unified School District Honor Orchestra in the spring of 2005.  Her orchestras continue to be invited yearly to perform in international festivals around the globe.

As a San Diego native, Jennifer Albrent began playing the violin at age 5 and as her love for string instruments began to expand, she took up playing the viola by the age of 12.  With an emphasis on technique, Jennifer devoted the first chapter of her performing career to classical music, competing and participation in local, national, and international festivals, orchestras, and chamber music ensembles. Jennifer received her BFA in Viola Performance from Boston University.  She received her MFA in Viola performance from the California Institute of Arts.  

Once out of school, Jennifer toured and performed throughout the United States and Europe with a wide variety of musicians.  As her interest in all types of musical styles and genres expanded, she began gravitating towards playing Bluegrass, Pop, Jazz, Rock, and North Indian classical music.  

Jennifer and her husband, Shane, now reside in North County with their two sons, Julian and Llewyn.  Together they own and run The Violin Shop San Diego.  Jennifer’s efforts are now primarily focused on Education. Her involvement as a coach and conductor with the North Coast Strings Ensemble has been a local highlight. Currently alongside her private studio of violin and viola students,  Jennifer  looks forward to attending the local Julian Family Fiddle Camp each year as an instructor.  Jennifer is an active member of the National Association of Music Merchants, The Violin Society of America,  Suzuki Association of Americans, and American Strings Teachers Association.  Through her work with these organizations, she believes in the power of teaching music to everyone one regardless of age, level, or style.

Quyen Nguyen has enjoyed a versatile and varied career as a soloist, chamber musician,

orchestral player, and educator. She has concertized all over Europe and the United States, won numerous awards in local, state, and national competitions, and has had the honor of representing the US in international competitions.

As a soloist, Ms. Nguyen has been described as a “gifted interpreter” as well as “a performer

who commands the stage”. In 1999, she made her solo viola debut with both the Young Artists Symphony and the Mount Carmel Symphony Orchestra playing Stamitz’s Concerto in D for viola and orchestra. In 2006, she was handpicked by composer Douglas Pipes to be the viola soloist for Columbia Pictures’ soundtrack of the movie “Monster House”. An avid supporter of contemporary music, she has premiered several works written expressly for her by composers

Douglas Pipes, Juan Martin Gendelman, Brandon Moore, Alfred Surenyan, and Dan Graziani.

A highly acclaimed chamber musician, Ms. Nguyen has been a founding member of the

Velvet String Quartet, the Acht Stucke Trio, and the Goldberg Quartet - the latter of which was

personally invited by the Alexander String Quartet to participate in the prestigious Yehudi

Menuhin Chamber Music Festival. Additionally, she has had the privilege of studying chamber

music with the Cypress String Quartet, Jupiter Trio, Halcyon Trio, and members of the Berlin

Philharmonic. An alumna of California State University - Northridge and San Diego State

University, her mentors have included Chi-Yuan Chen, Keith Greene, Diane Roscetti, Robyn Glasson, Rebekah Campbell, and Warren Torns.

As an orchestral player, Ms. Nguyen has held positions as principal violist with the Poway

Symphony Orchestra, National Honors Orchestra, Northridge Symphony, University of San Diego Symphony Orchestra, California “All-State” Orchestra, Young Artists Symphony, and Civic Youth Orchestra. She has also played section viola with the La Jolla Symphony, American Youth Symphony, and Debut Orchestra.

A devoted music educator, Ms. Nguyen is a dynamic instructor who has sent students on to study at Juilliard and the Colburn School with the likes of Itzhak Perlman and other eminent pedagogues. She has served as Director of Strings at the Seoul School of Music, Director of Piano & Strings at Vibe Performing Arts Studios in Los Angeles, Associate Dean at the San Diego Institute of Music, and Music Producer at 500 Fingers Productions. She has also conducted

clinics and masterclasses for the Kadima Conservatory Philharmonic and the Northridge Youth Philharmonic, as well as guest lectured at California State University - Northridge and San Diego State University. Currently, she is the President-Elect of the American String Teachers’ Association - California Chapter, the Past President & Treasurer of CalASTA - San Diego, and the conductor of the Prelude & Intermezzo ensembles for the San Diego Civic Youth Orchestra.

During Ms. Nguyen’s sabbatical in 2015, she created and developed three comprehensive

graded curriculums for violin, viola, and cello, which are now being used internationally at the Royal School of Music in Kuwait. In addition to music, she enjoys painting, writing, cooking, and meditating. She takes great pride in teaching music and looks forward to bringing the joy of music into the lives of her students each day.

Juliana Borgatti began playing the violin as a child in her family of 5 siblings musical group and in various youth orchestras and symphonies.  Though pursuing a career as a speech pathologist, working in hospitals and outpatient clinics with neurologically impaired children and adults, Juliana continued to enjoy playing violin in musical theatre productions and local community symphony orchestras.  Now recently retired from speech pathology, Juliana is teaching violin at B & H Music Studio and Learning Center in Escondido, as well as playing with the Poway Symphony and Poway Symmphonette.

ULLI REINER, a five-time nominated Grammy Education Award finalist since 2016 and a top ten Finalist for 2017, Ms. Reiner is the epitome of music. Music is her life as an educator, conductor and violinist. She is the Orchestra Director for the Poway Unified School District since 1983. Ms. Reiner is an adjunct faculty member of Palomar College, Concertmaster of the Palomar Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, founder, Orchestra Manager and Concertmaster of the PUSD Adult School Poway Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of the PUSD Adult School Poway Symphonette.  Ms. Reiner is also Artistic Director and co-founder of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra String program and formerly conductor and co-founder of the Civic Youth Orchestra-Intermediate String Orchestra and Chamber String ensembles.  She was the founder and Orchestra Director of the Poway High School Symphony and has taught orchestra at Mt. Carmel High School, Black Mountain Middle School, Mesa Verde Middle School, and Meadowbrook Middle School.  She is currently the Orchestra Director at Bernardo Heights Middle School, Twin Peaks Middle School, and also is the instructor for the Music Appreciation classes offered to non-music students. 

A graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, as a full scholarship recipient, she received a Bachelor of Music Education degree with emphasis in violin and viola performance and went on to graduate study at San Diego State University as first violinist with the Graduate String Quartet in residence, the University of Southern California, and the University of San Diego, having worked towards three master’s degrees in music education, Suzuki violin and violin performance.  Her violin and viola teachers have included Melvin Ritter-Concert Artist, Tiberius Klausner-former pupil of Ivan Galamian of Juilliard, Yukiko Kamei-Assistant to Jascha Heifetz at USC, Noumi Fisher-MGM recording artist, Milton Thomas-Professor of Viola at USC and her father, Rudolf Reiner.  She is also a direct descendent of the great conductor, Fritz Reiner.

Her musical studies began at the age of 3 1/2 starting with the cornet and then the accordion at the age of 5 with her father as her teacher who attended the Bruckner Conservatory of Music in Linz, Austria.  She played the trumpet in both her elementary and junior high school music programs.  She also played trumpet with her family church brass ensemble all throughout college.  Her violin studies began at the age of 11 also with her father as her first teacher.

As a professional violinist, she has performed with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera, Starlight Opera, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Municipal Opera, the St. Louis Philharmonic, and the Alexandria String Quartet.  As a certified private instructor of Suzuki and traditional violin, her students have won numerous awards and scholarships leading to professional careers in music. She has performed under conductors Leonard Slatkin, Alexis Hauser, David Atherton, Peter Eros, and Walter Susskind to name a few.  She has also enjoyed performing in the entertainment industry under such great artists as Andy Williams, Henry Mancini, Johnny Matthias, Angela Landsbury, Carol Channing, Yul Brynner, Lauren Bacall, Vincent Price and Zero Mostel among many other top performers.  She has also worked in the recording industry having made commercials for both local and national companies and is an orchestra contractor for several conductors in the San Diego area.

Ms. Reiner is a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Suzuki Association of San Diego, served on the Board of Directors of the American String Teachers Association is currently the President of the ASTA San Diego section and has adjudicated for the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, Grossmont College, MTA of California and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.  She currently hosts and founded the PUSD Middle School Orchestra Festival with such distinguished guest adjudicators; Jung-Ho Pak Artistic Director of the Cape Cod Symphony and Interlochen School of the Arts, Dana Zimbric, Music Director of the California Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Weller, Music Director, of the Palomar Symphony Orchestra and Sameer Patel, Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony.   She also founded and hosts the annual PUSD String Solo/Ensemble Festival.  She was recognized in 1991 and again in 1993 by Outstanding Young Women of America and in 2000 was elected to the prestigious Who's Who of American Teachers.  Since 1995 she has led successful international concert tours of Salzburg, Vienna, London, and Paris conducting the Civic Youth Orchestra Chamber Strings and her "Mostly Mozart Orchestra" comprised of students from the Poway Unified School District.  She was invited to conduct at the American String Teachers National Convention in Reno, Nevada in 2005 and also was the guest conductor for the San Diego Unified School District Honor Orchestra in the spring of 2005.  Her orchestras continue to be invited yearly to perform in international festivals around the globe.