About Music for Youth

A visionary leader, Michelle Lin is the fourth executive director of Music for Youth. Her involvement with the nonprofit music community spans over 15 years as a board member of esteemed music organizations and active volunteer at youth orchestras and chamber music programs. She has spearheaded a broad spectrum of initiatives ranging from governance and organizational strategy to development and board recruitment to program management.

Prior to her current role, Michelle served as chief compliance officer of a global education technology company and a publicly traded information services company. At both companies, Michelle built their compliance function and successfully launched compliance programs that enabled business growth through partnership and flexible risk management. Michelle also has extensive experience advising senior executives on a wide range of business and legal issues, and working on complex commercial transactions.

Michelle is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and UC Berkeley. She and her husband live in Connecticut and have one daughter who is studying violin performance at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. She loves warm weather, good food and all kinds of music, theater and dance.

Aude Ferragu was born and raised in Paris, France. She graduated from CentraleSupélec and earned a Master’s degree in Probabilities and Finance from Paris VI/Ecole Polytechnique. Aude began her career in finance, working for ten years as a quant and structurer first at Credit Agricole Indosuez in Paris and later at Credit Suisse in London.

In 2013, she moved to the United States, where she has since balanced a vibrant family life—raising five children—with her continued engagement in the community. A passionate supporter of youth development through the arts, Aude has served on the Board of Music For Youth since 2023.

Outside of her professional and philanthropic work, Aude enjoys classical music, skiing, and sailing.

Jim has served as Treasurer for Music for Youth since 2014.

He has held several volunteer positions in recent years, most recently as Chairman of the Fairfield Harbor Management Commission. He has also served as Fleet Captain and Secretary of the Pequot Yacht Club.

Jim grew up in Rowayton and received a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell. He started his career designing lab electronics and running a computer center at the university. After a total of 10 years in Ithaca, he joined a startup company developing word processing systems and also started singing with the Village Light Opera in New York. He met his wife Barbara during a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard in London. After the startup folded, he and Barbara settled in Southport, where he worked for CBS Labs in Stamford and then moved on to a variety of engineering and product management positions at Pitney Bowes.

He and Barbara are active members of the Appalachian Mountain Club and have taken hiking trips with them to New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest. He also enjoys sailing, racing locally and cruising to Maine, Bermuda, and down the Intracoastal Waterway to Florida and across to the Bahamas.

Archer Anasco is a dynamic data and analytics leader with 15+ years of experience in managing teams and delivering data-driven insights across all levels of an organization to accelerate business growth. He currently serves as Director of Analytics, Research & Solutions Support at the YMCA of Greater New York - the largest YMCA in the US with 24 locations across the five boroughs of New York City. Prior to the YMCA, Archer gained extensive experience in reporting and analytics at such companies as American Express and Gartner, combining financial, sales, product and HR data in support of organizational initiatives.

Prior to joining the Music for Youth Board, Archer was a dedicated parent volunteer who frequently attended MFY events and offered support wherever needed. He has also been a Board member of music and education non-profits such as the Norwalk Youth Symphony and the International School at Dundee in Riverside. Utilizing his expertise in data analytics, visualization and storytelling, Archer helped drive initiatives in the areas of technology, finance and communications.

Archer is a graduate of UC Berkeley. He enjoys weaving in his passion for data, food, travel and music into everything he does.

Misty Beyer joined the Board of Music for Youth in 2008 and served as Executive Program Director beginning in 2014. Now retired, she continues to support the organization as volunteer coordinator for the Musical Mondays after-school program at Discovery Magnet School in Bridgeport and the Meet the Orchestra program for Bridgeport elementary schools.

Since 2006, she has maintained a private piano studio in Fairfield, CT, while also teaching early childhood music classes for Marianne Hall’s Music for Young Children. A strong advocate for music education, Misty is dedicated to creating inclusive learning opportunities for students of all backgrounds and abilities.

Her community involvement includes service on the Board of Trustees for the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, where she helped coordinate educational programming in the Bridgeport Schools. She currently serves on the Fairfield Region Board of Governors for the Connecticut Audubon Society and on the Solid Waste and Recycling Commission.

Eric Li is a devoted music enthusiast and a proud advocate for Music for Youth, inspired by his son’s performances at the Friday Night Cafe. His deep appreciation for classical music has grown alongside his active involvement in his son’s artistic journey. Today, his son is a dedicated pianist and violinist in the Precollege Division at the Manhattan School of Music.

Eric earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University. With over 30 years of technology experience in the financial services industry, he currently serves as an Executive Director at UBS. His career has also included leadership roles at Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch, where he specialized in technology delivery across Investment Banking, Capital Markets, Operations, and Group Functions.

In his spare time, Eric enjoys playing tennis, fitness training and exploring a wide spectrum of music, from timeless classical compositions to contemporary genres.

Serban Orășanu is a longtime supporter of young musicians and a strong believer in giving emerging artists the chance to perform, grow, and be heard. His connection to classical music runs deep - he is an amateur classical guitarist, an enthusiastic listener and has enjoyed teaching beginner-level guitar over the years.

Outside of music, Serban has worked as an architect for more than 25 years. He holds degrees in Architecture and Urban Planning from the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest, Romania, and brings a thoughtful, community-minded perspective to everything he does.

Serban lives in Connecticut with his wife and their son, an accomplished young classical guitarist who has already won multiple competitions and is pursuing a career in the field. His personal experience supporting a young musician motivates his commitment to helping other talented students find opportunities, gain confidence, and share their music with the world.

Tanya Shively brings a broad international background and a lifelong passion for music to the Music for Youth board. Born in Hong Kong, she received her primary education there before attending secondary school in England and later settling in the United States. She has also lived in Australia and Canada and feels most at home within an international community.

Tanya holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition with a minor in Computer Science from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Music from The Hartt School of Music. Though no longer performing, she remains active in the musical world through her support of local arts organizations and her love of attending concerts.

For 20 years, Tanya owned and operated The Sandwich Maestro, a gourmet sandwich shop and catering business in Stamford with a classical music theme, which she sold in 2017. She has since served as Executive Assistant to the Director at Friends Center for Children, a nonprofit early childhood education organization in New Haven. Tanya is proud to be part of Friends Center and strongly supports its mission and values, including its dedication to nurturing children through Quaker principles.

A self-described foodie, Tanya enjoys cooking, entertaining, discovering new restaurants, and playing tennis - a hobby she took up during the pandemic.

“A complete musician that excels in all range of styles.” (Ernesto Bitetti), Colombian guitarist Carlos Bedoya is a rising concert artist who also enjoys a teaching career as lecturer in guitar at the University of Louisville. Apart from teaching and performing, Bedoya enjoys chamber music collaborations and furthering cultural enrichment through community engagement and volunteering opportunities.

His performance career has taken him to stages in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Italy, Germany, Portugal, and from coast to coast in the United States. Special appearances include recitals at the International Clarinet Association, the Cartagena Music Festival, Spivey Hall, and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In addition, he has performed as soloist with several symphonic orchestras throughout the United States, including appearances with renowned conductor Gavriel Heine. As a chamber musician, Bedoya has collaborated with international figures such as Alexander Markov (violin), Yosif Feigelson (cello), and Yuri Gandelsman (viola), as well as a single release with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

An avid competitor, Bedoya has garnered more than 20 top prizes in national and international competitions including first prizes in the New Orleans International Guitar Festival, Appalachian State University Festival, Chicago Guitar Festival, Florida State University, and other top prizes in the United States, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. His commitment to new music is reflected by his multiple premieres of music by composers from the United States, Colombia, Cuba, Moldova, Venezuela, and Peru. Additionally, his compositions, arrangements, and editions have been published by Publications D’Oz, Azahar Press, and other independent publishers.

In addition to his teaching and performing activities, Bedoya serves as director of the annual UofL Guitar Festival and Competition, as summer faculty at the Northern Lights Music Festival in Minnesota, and as faculty at the Solstice Guitar Symposium in Connecticut. He is a Yamaha classical guitar ambassador and plays a Glenn Canin guitar with Knobloch strings. Aside from his career as a guitarist, Bedoya has a devoted enthusiasm for singing and conducting. He also enjoys playing chess and racquetball, and spending time with his wife and puppy.

Bedoya obtained B.M. degrees in Music Education and Music Performance from Rowan University where he studied with Joseph and Kathleen Mayes, and a M.M. degree in performance from the Schwob School of Music where he was the graduate assistant of famed pedagogue Dr. Andrew Zohn. Bedoya is currently ABD and finishing his dissertation at the Jacobs School of Music, where he studied under Professor Petar Jankovic.

GRAMMY®-Nominated pianist Han Chen, a fearless performer with seemingly limitless imagination and possessed with uncanny energy, plays scores old and new with rare rigor and insight. He was nominated for "Best Classical Instrumental Solo" at the 2026 GRAMMY® Awards for his performance of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement in D Minor on Naxos featuring the Malmö Opera Orchestra led by conductor John Jeter. Chen’s musical vision is manifest in his four solo Naxos albums, focusing on Franz Liszt (8.573415), Anton Rubinstein (8.573989), Thomas Adès (8.574109) and György Ligeti (8.574397).

Chen has appeared as a soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra and Xiamen Philharmonic. Gold medalist of the 2013 China International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, Chen studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Wha Kyung Byun and Ursula Oppens at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and CUNY Graduate Center.

Lauded by The New York Times for his “admirable purity of tone and accuracy,” James Kim has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Wallonie Royal Chamber, and Juilliard Orchestras, and given solo recitals at numerous venues including Carnegie Weill Hall and Seoul Arts Center IBK Hall. His performances have been broadcast on radio stations NPR and WQXR.

In his native Korea, Kim has performed concertos with Daegu, Korean, Gwacheon, and S.O.N.G. Symphonies; Incheon, Daejeon, Goyang, and Wonju Philharmonics; and TIMF and KBS orchestras. A champion of the music by Shinuh Lee, Kim premiered her Cello Concerto in 2021 and released Death and Offering , an album of her works dedicated to him, through Sony Classical in the same year.

Winner of the 2006 David Popper International Cello Competition and 2012 Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony Career Grant, Kim is a laureate of the 2015 Isang Yun International Cello Competition and 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition.

In 2025, he joined pianist Liza Stepanova and violinist Itamar Zorman as a member of the Lysander Piano Trio.

He holds an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Manhattan School of Music. His former teachers include Susan Moses, János Starker, Laurence Lesser, Aldo Parisot, Joel Krosnick, and Philippe Muller. Kim currently serves as Assistant Professor of Cello at University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music.