Ann Okagaito, Violin
Tanya Phelps, Dance

Hungarian Dance No. 5, Johannes Brahms

Ann Okagaito
Ann Okagaito started studying violin with the Suzuki method at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers while growing up were Atis Bankas and Alec Hou.

She went on to get her Bachelor of Music at Northwestern University where she studied under Almita and Roland Vamos and her Master of Music at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Paul Kantor. While at Northwestern, she appeared as a soloist with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra as a result of being a Concerto Competition winner.

Before joining the VSO, Ann was a fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach. In the summer, Ann is a member of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado.

Tanya Phelps
Tanya Phelps has an extensive background in classical ballet as well as jazz, tap, modern, hip hop and flamenco. She received her professional training at Kirov Academy of Ballet, Goh Ballet Academy and Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal before joining the Goh Ballet Company in 2001. Having completed examinations with honours in the Royal Academy of Dance and the Ukrainian Academy of Dance, Ms. Phelps has also toured throughout Asia and Canada with Goh Ballet’s Youth Company performing in varied repertoire such as: Giselle, Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Fairy Doll, Balanchine’s Serenade, La Fille Mal Gardee and numerous neo-classical pieces. In 2005 she was part of Guangdong TV’s reality show “Future Stars of Tomorrow”, where she performed as an actress and dancer as well as choreographed pieces for them while touring throughout Asia and Europe.