OUR VOICES, OUR JOURNEY

Educating, developing, and inspiring young musicians in Santa Cruz County for over 25 years.

Directed by Carlin Truong, the Cabrillo Youth Chorus (CYC) is the Ensemble-in-Residence at Cabrillo College Music Department.

CYC is a comprehensive vocal music program for young musicians 8-18 years of age. CYC offers four choirs that combine beautiful singing and music literacy in an inclusive environment that celebrates its diverse membership.

Cabrillo Youth Chorus is highly regarded for their skill and beautiful sound. CYC has shared the stage with Santa Cruz Symphony, Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus, Cantiamo!, Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra, Cabrillo Music Festival, and the South Valley Symphony among others. Composers such as Ēriks Ešenvalds have written works specifically for this ensemble. CYC has also toured throughout the West Coast, sung in Carnegie Hall, and toured Eastern Europe and Russia.

Dr. Carlin Truong

Musical Director

Dr. Carlin Truong 張希 (he/him) is an educator and conductor whose mission is to make music education more accessible to all. Since his
early career, he was involved with pop a cappella ensembles, and is consequently known for programing nontraditional repertoire in
addition to the beloved canon. He’s known for curating student-centered, innovative, and expressive concerts that engage people on both sides of the stage. As an advocate for social change through the arts, he has directed concerts that address LGBTQIA+ rights, mental health, women’s suffrage, criminal justice reform, and
immigration policies.

Prior to his appointment at Cabrillo, Truong has directed ensembles at Clear Creek Middle and High School in Colorado, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Arkansas Tech University,
University of Houston, Clovis East High School in California, Crystal Children’s Choir, and University of Ghana. He also served as an assistant conductor for the Moores Opera Center at the University of
Houston and as a chorus preparer and co-chorus manager for the Houston Symphony Chorus.

Truong is a proud alumnus of Crystal Children’s Choir, San José State University, and University of Houston.

Cheryl Andersen

Founding Director

Cheryl Andersen is the Founding Director of the Cabrillo Youth Chorus, and the long-time Director of Choral Activities at Cabrillo College.

In her tenure at Cabrillo College, her ensembles performed at all levels of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the National Association for Music Educators (MENC); she has lead Interest Sessions at four Divisional Conferences, and she has served on the ACDA Western Division Board as National Repertoire & Standards chair. Having served as Bay Area Representative, California, ACDA Executive Board and Chair of the Composition Competition, Ms. Andersen most recently served as President of the Western Division of the American Choral Directors Association.

After 35 years of service to Cabrillo College, Ms. Andersen retired in June 2025. We are forever grateful for her leadership and vision!

Dr. Carlin Truong 張希, Director

Cheryl Andersen, Founding Director

Jana Marcus Photography

TEAM

We have a team of excellent Cabrillo Teaching Assistants who work with the singers individually and in small groups to learn their music and learn music theory. The challenges and rewards in the preparation and performance of great literature serve to shape both their musical and their intellectual development. We sing in a variety of languages, parts, styles, and backgrounds.

Michael Locke-Paddon
Teacher Assistant and Composer

I have a B.A. in Music Composition from the Lionel Hampton School of Music, University of Idaho. I have been a regular Cabrillo Community College attendee for at least 15 years, starting in 2007. I participated in the Concert and Symphonic Bands, various choral groups including Il Dolce Suono, the Cabrillo Chorale, the Symphonic Chorus, the West Coast Voices, and also dabbled in piano, violin and cello.
I have been working to teach music to kids in my area for over ten years, including individual lessons on piano and drum set, and serving as both assistant director and director to a general music program and youth choir at my former church, the Watsonville First United Methodist Church. I have been working with the CYC for about seven years. I enjoy working with young singers and musicians and love teaching music theory concepts most.

Marina Kandieva-Thomas
Pianist and Accompanist

Marina Kandieva-Thomas was born in Alushta, Crimea. She began to play piano at the age of 6 and attended the Alushta Music School for 8 years. She is a graduate of the Peter I. Tchaikovsky College in Crimea and the Music Conservatory of Odessa, one of the oldest conservatories in Ukraine, receiving the highest diplomas in Chamber Music, Accompaniment, and Music Education. She currently is an organist, pianist and a piano teacher at Watsonville First Methodist Church, and is the accompanist for the Cabrillo College Choirs. In addition to Cabrillo, Marina has appeared in concerts with Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra,
Espressivo, Arioso Singers, the Organ Kaleidophone, Cabrillo Youth Chorus, Il Dolce Suono,
and the Santa Cruz Chamber Players.

Joshua Porter
Teacher's Assistant

Joshua is a local opera singer from San Lorenzo Valley with a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music. Joshua has been playing piano since he was 9 years old and has sung in choirs since he was 11. Before attending UOP, Josh sang and taught with the Cabrillo College choral department as a teaching assistant for the acclaimed Cheryl Anderson; while at Cabrillo, he was also a teacher for the Cabrillo Youth Chorus for 6 years and the President of the student-led vocal ensemble Il Dolce Suono (The Sweet Sound) for 2 years.

Joshua has a passion for singing. He first decided to acquire a degree in music performance when participating as a choir member in a Santa Cruz Symphony production of The Barber of Seville, featuring many members of the New York Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Program. Since then, Joshua has been in many staged productions, including The Mikado and The Threepenny Opera at the University of the Pacific, Trial by Jury, and most recently, Candide by Leonard Bernstein with Cabrillo Stage. He has also sung with Opera San Jose in productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione and The Magic Flute.

During his tenure as a teaching assistant for the Cabrillo Youth Chorus, Josh taught a wide variety of vocal styles and genres to kids aged 8-18 and also conducted and accompanied the other choirs at Cabrillo on occasion. Josh performed with CYC in many different ensembles, including Monterey Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, South Valley Symphony, and Ensemble Monterey. Josh also participated with CYC and the Cabrillo choral program on three separate tours to Cuba, Carnegie Hall, and South Africa. Since graduating, Josh has returned to the Central Coast and has enjoyed teaching once again with the Cabrillo Youth Chorus while also teaching private lessons with Mountain Music School in Scotts Valley. There is nothing Josh loves more than to share his talent and passion with others. Whether in performance in front of thousands or one-on-one voice or piano lessons, Joshua wants to bring light to the world through music.

Cristian Rincon
Teacher's Assistant

Cristian is an aspiring tenor currently a music major at Cabrillo College, studying voice, guitar, and Cello. He never misses a chance to sing with the three choirs at Cabrillo that professor Cheryl Anderson conducts, as well as her off-campus choir at Peace United Church of Christ. He is also part of the classical guitar and string ensembles in Cabrillo. He has had the opportunity to participate in the past two summer productions of Cabrillo Stage, most recently Candide (Summer of 2022). Cristian looks forward to meeting and working with all future and returning Cabrillo Youth Chorus students. He would like to thank all CYC parents for allowing him to be part of their children's music education.

Ulysses Patiano
Teacher's Assistant

Ulysses is a composer/arranger, violist and classical guitarist at Cabrillo College. He is in many ensembles: Intermediate Orchestra, Classical Guitar Ensemble and multiple Choirs. He also studies voice under the direction of Cheryl Anderson. He has arranged and composed pieces for strings ensemble and classical guitar ensemble, many of which have been performed. He has also been part of Cabrillo Stage.

Olivia Siemer
Teacher's Assistant

I’ve grown up in Santa Cruz and I am currently an honors student at Cabrillo studying music and sustainable agriculture. I graduated as a salutatorian from Santa Cruz High School in 2020 after spending four years in the school’s Cardinal Regiment Marching Band as a trumpet and a bagpiper. Before that, I was a singer in CYC during middle school and high school. Outside of school, I love to read books about epic adventures, explore the great outdoors, and play the occasional game of volleyball with my friends down at the beach. I compete as a solo bagpiper and play with the Santa Cruz Pipes and Drums. I am so happy to be back here as a TA to help share the amazing experience of CYC with a new generation of musicians.

Rile Hoagland
Teacher's Assistant

I am a student at Cabrillo College. Focusing on voice, I have been taking music classes at Cabrillo College since 2018 and am currently in all three Cabrillo choirs, including Chorale, Cantiamo!, and Symphonic Chorus, as well as a Teachers Assistant for Cabrillo Youth Chorus. I enjoy using my skills to help young singers learn new skills and grow their voices.

Anna Kazimi
Teacher's Assistant

Anna Kazimi is a music student here at Cabrillo college. She has performed in a variety of ensembles, including Cabrillo’s orchestra, choirs, and in chamber music groups. She has been honored to be able to sing in ensembles like Cantiamo and Symphonic Chorus here at Cabrillo, and has even found a second musical family with all of the dedicated members.

Her primary instrument is piano. She began studying with Kumi Uyeda at age 8, and now studies with Vlada Moran and teaches her own students. Some of her musical accomplishments include winning prizes in MTAC’s Talent Bank Awards, and MTAC’s statewide Composers Today Symposium. When she’s not practicing or performing, she enjoys riding her horse, Mars, and surfing.