Freshman from Monroe-Woodbury to Join SUNY Orange Community Orchestra

I always thought it would be fun to learn to play an instrument, however, after a few classes and trying out different instruments, it was clear that this was not where my talents resided.

Not so for Yena Lee, a freshman at Monroe-Woodbury High School. She first studied the piano at the age of 6 in Korea and then started playing the flute a little over two years later. Yena Lee has won many competitions on both instruments throughout her young career. In addition, she not only performs with the North Main Elementary School Band and the Monroe-Woodbury Middle School Wind Ensemble, Lee is also a member of her high school’s Wind Ensemble. She has also played with the Orange County Youth Symphony and is the principal flutist with the Hudson Valley Honors Youth Wind Ensemble.

Congratulations are definitely in order for Yena Lee. She is this year's winner of the SUNY Orange Community Orchestra’s 14th Annual Concerto/Aria Contest, designed to provide a featured musical performance opportunity for outstanding young instrumentalists and vocalists from within Orange County and will be performing Johann Quantz’s “Flute Concerto in G” with the SUNY Orange Community Orchestra during its annual winter concert, at 3 pm on Sunday, February 28 at the Paramount Theatre in Middletown.

The SUNY Orange Community Orchestra, under the direction of Hilarie Clark Moore, is comprised of students and members of the community and has a long tradition of highlighting area students with solos during their concerts.