CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
UVU CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
CHEUNG CHAU, DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR
April 6, 2026 7:00 p.m.
Nu Skin Recital Hall
Violin Concerto in D minor
PROGRAM
Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
I.Allegro
II.Andante
III.Allegro
Dr. Donna Fairbanks, violin
Introduction and Allegro Op. 47 Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
AnnaLee Henderson Asay, violin
Serena Clement, violin
Angelica Salazar, viola
Jaantje Bowman, cello
1st Violins
Valentin Torres
Elsa Saunders
2nd Violins
Brian Rowe
Sophie Lewis
UVU Chamber Orchestra
Cheung Chau, director and conductor
Violas
McKinley Lucas
Hailey Staker
Zoe Odom Bass
Max Hansen
Cellos
Elise Johnson
Andrew Marett
Rosamae Norton
Salomé Passeraub
As a performing and recording artist, violinist Donna Fairbanks has released several published CDs with the labels Albany Records, MSR Classics, 4TAY Records, and Tantara Records. Her recording list includes notoriously difficult works such as Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion and Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, as well as classic masterpieces such as Camille Saint-Saëns’ Fantasie for violin and harp. Reviewers praise her “great precision” (Fanfare), “delicacy and fire” (Grammophone), and her performances as “very convincing and pristine” (ConcertoNet), with “plenty of melodic beauty” (Atlanta Audio Club). Her recordings have been featured on major public radio stations, among them WNYC New York City, WFMT Chicago, WPRB Princeton, and the Beethoven Satellite Network.
Her international recitals include performances in China, Brazil, Mexico, and Europe. Notable venues include the Gent Festival in Belgium, Schumann Festival in Germany, Rotterdam Conservatory, Hungarian National Gallery, Teatro Ouro Verde in Brazil, and the Nanjing, Shanxi, and Huazhong Universities in China. She has completed faculty residencies at Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil and the YouHao Art Center in Beijing, China.
Dr. Fairbanks received the 2021 Utah-ASTA Teacher of the Year Award in recognition of her contributions to teaching. Her students have excelled in competitions, job placements, and graduate programs.
She received degrees from the University of Arizona (DMA), the Eastman School of Music (MM), and Brigham Young University (BM), with additional studies at the University of Missouri Kansas City and the University of Cincinnati. Major mentors include Zvi Zeitlin, Varujan Kojian, Tiberius Klausner, and William Haroutonian. She performs on a 1747 violin by Lorenzo and Tomaso Carcassi.
AnnaLee Henderson Asay has been playing the violin since she was about six years old. She quickly fell in love with the unique sounds that she could make with her violin. She grew up in a musical family. Studying under Nicole Macias, she grew up doing Suzuki concerts and often enjoyed the camaraderie that came with having a community of others working toward the same goals. She played with a community orchestra in her teenage years, and then played with Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra for a year. She made her orchestral debut as a finalist in UVYSO’s concerto competition in her 17th year. That same year, she started attending UVU as a violin performance major, studying under Dr. Donna Fairbanks.
With the influence and teaching of Dr. Fairbanks, Dr. Cheung Chau, Cynthia Richards, and others at UVU, she developed a broad understanding of excellence in music and violin pedagogy. She played in many string quartets, symphony concerts, and two solo recitals. She served as concert mistress of the UVU Symphony her 2018–2019 year, graduating in 2019.
Today, she and her husband, Jacob, are parents to a beautiful baby girl, and she teaches a decent-sized studio of violin students. She is passionate about making violin a wonderful experience for the student and helping them reach their full potential. AnnaLee still loves to perform whenever she can, especially in small ensembles and orchestra.
Serena Clement graduated Summa Cum Laude from Utah Valley University with a Bachelors in Music performance in 2019. During her time at UVU, she studied violin under the instruction of Yeagi Broadwell.
Serena became a major influence for leadership and excellence as she organized and led sectionals as the principal second violinist of the Utah Valley Symphony orchestra.
Post graduation, she participated as a soloist in the International Music Festival in Europe, and has played in many professional and volunteer events.
She has taught students continuously since she was a teenager and loves sharing music with all that will listen.
Serena is married to Brancen, who is also a fellow Wolverine attending UVU. They have two daughters and a child on the way.
Angelica Salazar (BM in Violin Performance) is a multi-genre violin and viola performer, teacher, recording studio artist, and composer based in Utah Valley. Angelica studied violin and viola with Dr. Donna Fairbanks at UVU, and takes great pride in her alma mater. With a passion for pedagogy, she runs a large private studio with students of all ages and levels. She strives to empower her students to both develop solid technique and meaningful artistry.
Angelica is a violin and viola faculty member and social media manager with Mountain Springs Music Festival (2023–present). Angelica has also been
guest faculty at Moab Music Festival (2023). She is the social media and string assistant with the Utah Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra (2019–current). Her involvement in community arts educational programs is integral to her personal mission as a musician.
Angelica has been a finalist and winner in several state, national, and international violin and viola competitions. She has been a violin and viola soloist with the UVU Chamber Orchestra (2021, 2025, 2026), Hot House West Swing Orchestra (2024, 2025), and with the Vidin Sinfonetta in Bulgaria (2023). In addition to solo engagements, Angelica has been a member of various professional ensembles.
Active in multi-genre music, Angelica toured across France as a featured fiddler for two weeks, performing at the oldest folk festival in the world (2024). She’s played for studio recordings of multi-genre albums and even the US premiere of a new musical (2025). She also performed as the Fiddler in Once at Hale Center Theater Orem (2023) and she recently played the Fiddler in Fiddler on the Roof at The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater (2026).
In addition to performing and teaching, Angelica is currently developing a reputation as a composer. Last year, Angelica performed her original composition, Bailas en el Tiempo – Dances in Time, a Latin dance inspired violin concerto, with the UVU chamber orchestra. The score is published with Hal Leonard and the studio recording can be accessed on streaming platforms.
Angelica was selected as one of six composing fellows in the nation through the Riding Tide New Canon Project in partnership with the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and Hal Leonard publishing. She premiered a commissioned orchestral work at the opening ceremony for the National ASTA conference in Atlanta, Georgia (2025).
This year, she was invited as a fellowship alumni to write a new orchestral and choral work commissioned by ASTA and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), which was played at the National ASTA conference in San Fransisco, and will soon be featured at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago.
Angelica is actively building an expansive library of original solo, chamber, and orchestral works with a variety of levels and styles. Her music can be accessed via AngelicaSalazarMusic.com.
Outside of her musical endeavors, Angelica has served in community leadership capacities including serving as Miss Orem (2018), Miss Utah County (2019), UVU Symphony President (2019–2021), Assistant Director of the Miss Utah County Scholarship Competition (2021–2024), and being a board member for various community non-profits, raising tens of thousands of dollars for good causes. Angelica grew up training as a competitive figure skater, she is a gold certified ballroom dancer, and she currently trains on pointe dancing with Aspen Ballet Company. She has a deep love for the arts and strives to be an advocate for accessible arts education in Utah.
Jaantje Bowman is an accomplished cellist based in Utah and Salt Lake Counties, known for her versatility across classical, operatic, and contemporary performance settings. Raised in a family of professional musicians, she developed a deep love for collaborative music-making early on and continues to perform frequently with her musical family.
For more than a decade, Jaantje has been a core member of the Utah Metropolitan Ballet Orchestra and has performed regularly with regional performing arts organizations, including Utah Lyric Opera, Salt Lake Choral Artists, Salt Lake Men’s Choir and, most recently, with Ballet West. Her international experience includes performing in festivals across the United States and Europe and also serving as principal cellist for operas in Italy with the Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival. She is also highly sought after as a pit orchestra musician for musical theatre productions.
Jaantje is an active freelance recording musician, collaborating with various studios and artists. Online, she appears as a cellist with Elenyi and the Vocal Motion Show Choir. She has also performed alongside acclaimed vocal and instrumental artists, including David Archuleta, The Piano Guys, Peter Breinholt, Jackie Evancho, and Nathan Pacheco.
Outside of her modern performance work, Jaantje is passionate about historical performance practice and is a member of the Early Music Ensemble at the University of Utah, where she performs on period instruments such as the viola da gamba and lute.
Jaantje holds a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance from Utah Valley University and a Master’s degree in Teaching the Fine Arts with a specialization in music from the University of Utah. She has spent the past nine years mentoring young musicians as a faculty assistant for several youth music programs, including the Castle Rock Music Festival in St. George, Utah.
Committed to using music as a means of service, Jaantje regularly participates in community outreach performances with her family at senior centers and homeless shelters. She previously served as a missionary in the Baltic States for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and continues to maintain her Russian and Italian language skills. She also enjoys songwriting and drawing in her spare time. Your gift impacts UVU music students for a lifetime.
Donate to the Department of Music today and support the next generation of upcoming artists.