People
NHCCC is a CT 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a board of directors, participating members, and volunteers, who work together to promote cultural awareness in communities around Connecticut.
Artistic Director
Chia-Yu Joy Lu 呂家玗, an accomplished musician, ensemble director, conductor, educator, and scholar, hails from Taiwan. Renowned for her expertise in erhu (二胡) and zhonghu (中胡) performance, she has graced stages globally, from Taiwan, China, England, New Zealand, and the Netherlands to prestigious U.S. venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Yale University, and Cornell University. With over a decade of experience as the artistic director of the Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble, she played a crucial role in establishing and leading the Smith College Chinese Music Ensemble and NHCCC. Joy holds a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Sheffield, UK, and a BFA in erhu performance and music education from National Taiwan Normal University. Her research delves into music, gender, politics, and identity in Taiwan and China. Additionally, she has created music textbooks, erhu scores, and albums. Passionate about promoting traditional Chinese and Taiwanese music, she collaborates with other artists across diverse musical traditions and artistic disciplines.
Executive Director
Corinne Evans 戴可昀 has been a volunteer and emcee for NHCCC since 2023, before beginning work as NHCCC's inaugural Executive Director in May 2026. In this new position, she is grateful for the opportunity to continue working with NHCCC to share her Taiwanese heritage and culture with New Haven and the broader Connecticut community. Corinne brings organizing and production management experience to this role from her work as a political and community organizer in New Haven and beyond, and as a producer for theatrical productions. Outside of NHCCC, Corinne works as an air pollution control engineer and enjoys biking, cooking, playing capoeira, and contra dancing.
Musicians
Dakota Langdon came to New Haven in April in search of something new, working at YNHH as a Radiation Safety Technician. He later found NHCCC and joined where he plays the Zhongruan 中阮, as well as mostly acts as the stage manager. Dakota studied Criminal Law earning a degree, before graduating with a degree in Disaster Prevention Emergency Management, as well as a Certificate in Chinese. Dakota likes Chinese culture, the language and its history. So he took on something new joining NHCCC to make New Haven his new home.
Hongyu Li 李红羽 is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Neurology at Yale University, where she studies Alzheimer’s disease in a mouse model. She began learning the erhu (二胡) at age seven and is passionate about traditional Chinese music. During her undergraduate years at Southern Medical University, China, she joined the university’s Chinese music ensemble, and in her PhD years, she performed in annual New Year’s celebrations. She is excited to meet diverse individuals and immerse herself in the rich world of traditional Chinese music.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in New Jersey, Mary Lui is learning the dizi for the first time. She started playing the flute in elementary school and took a 27-year hiatus until she began lessons with Naomi Senzer. She still plays the flute as a hobby and is also learning the piano. She is on the faculty at Yale University where she teaches nineteenth- and twentieth-century U.S. historian, specializing in the field of Asian American history.
Henry Lee recently earned a Master of Music degree from the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. Alongside his work as a jazz musician, he performed as the bassist for the Hartt School of Music Wind Ensemble during his graduate studies, gaining extensive experience in both jazz and classical ensemble performance.
Alec McLane was Music Librarian and Director of the World Music Archives at Wesleyan University for 21 years, before his retirement in 2019. His graduate studies were in Music Composition, Ethnomusicology, and Library Science, and he has played Chinese musical instruments, for over 25 years – initially erhu (二胡), later adding gaohu (高胡), sanxian (三弦), and sheng (笙). He has traveled to China several times, visiting music libraries and attending conferences, and performed in Chinese music ensembles at Kent State University and Wesleyan.
Maria Ma hails from Beijing and is rarely not thinking about cats. Having wrestled with the dizi (笛子), erhu (二胡), and gong (鑼) in the Wesleyan Chinese Music Ensemble, she has since embraced the rhythm section and now plays the daruan (大阮). When she is not playing music with NHCCC or drawing regal feline portraits, Maria can be found pursuing a Ph.D. in Classical Philology at Yale University.
Coming from Tokyo and Hong Kong, Lucas Ogawa is an undergraduate student at Yale University majoring in Economics and Statistics & Data Science. He first started playing the Yangqin (杨琴) at the age of 6, and has performed at competitions, school assemblies and public events with his school's Chinese music ensemble. Having briefly stopped playing the Yangqin since coming to college, he hopes to reconnect with the instrument, play in shows and connect with the NHCCC and broader Connecticut community.
Chin Yuan Ong is a third-year PhD student in Physics at Yale. He works on how microorganisms navigate different environments given their behavior and biological design. He was born and raised in Penang, Malaysia, started playing the piano at age eight and joined the Chinese Orchestra in middle school the the yangqin. Since then, he has played in different orchestras during high school and college. When he is not playing the yangqin, you can probably find him around campus taking pictures, or in the lab playing around with bacteria!
Millie Calistri-Yeh was inspired to learn erhu from the documentary, From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China, which she saw as a child. She subsequently took lessons during college. She is a member of the Synergismus Duo, performing as a violin-cello duet with her husband, Randy. She is a first violinist in the CT Symphony Orchestra and Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra. She studied violin at the Eastman School of Music under Stanley Chepaitis and Oliver Steiner. Millie is a materials scientist at Becton Dickinson, working on reducing the environmental impact of single-use medical devices.
Mengxi Ying began learning the erhu at the age of eight. Decades later, the instrument remains a meaningful to her. She started learning piano more recently. Outside of music, Mengxi is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. She enjoys spending time with her family, exploring nature, playing tennis and pickleball, and training her dog. Mengxi finds it a unique experience to feel how music brings people from different backgrounds together, and she looks forward to growing with the ensemble community.
Frank Parker is a passionate music educator and ethnomusicologist. A clarinetist, Frank taught in Lahaina, Maui, where he developed a deep appreciation for Hawaiian music, language, and its native biodiversity. He is currently researching how, specifically, klezmer has been shaped by the diverse environments in which Jewish communities have lived throughout history. Frank now teaches music in New Haven Public Schools and sings with the Yale Camerata. Frank is excited to deepen his understanding of traditional Chinese music.
Randy Calistri-Yeh is assistant principal cellist of the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra. He frequently performs solo cello concerts and violin-cello duet concerts (as the Synergismus Duo with his wife Millie), and is active in other orchestras and chamber groups in the region. He is the founder of Custom Chamber Music, which provides customized arrangements of classical music for any combination of instruments. He has a Ph.D. in computer science and spent many years in the computer industry researching and building personalization systems.
Alice Tan 谭心宜 is a senior at Saint Joseph High School. She began learning the zhudi at the age of 9. Through NHCCC, she wants to share traditional Chinese music with U.S. audiences and refine her zhudi skills. She particularly enjoys weekly rehearsals, where she gets to discuss music with fellow members. For her, this opportunity is not just about improving her musical abilities, it is also a wonderful chance to share the richness of Chinese culture with others.
Margaret Wei 魏華慧 is from Taiwan and has been teaching Mandarin for more than a decade. She is an amateur pianist and continues practicing during her leisure time. Margaret serves on the board of NHCCC, overseeing various initiatives for promoting Chinese culture to our community. She is also an active participant of the ensemble, playing yangqin (揚琴). Besides music, Margaret also enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling.
Emy Zheng 郑维熙 is a senior at Hamden Hall Country Day School. Emy started learning guzheng at a young age and plays guzheng in NHCCC. Emy hopes to promote more beautiful Chinese culture in the United States, as well as to improve her expertise and bring traditional music to more people. She loves to practice and meet others, and sees NHCCC as a great platform for developing experiences and fostering relationships, and hopes it will continue to thrive.
Leadership
Mary Lui (president, chair of the board)
Leslie Stone (vice-president, board)
Charlotte Zhang (treasurer)
Liqi Ning (secretary, board)
Lely Evans (past president, board)
Elisabeth Kennedy (board)
Frank Parker (board)
Margaret Wei (board)
Past members:
Jiayan Liu
Lely Evans
David Evans
Brandon Wong
Dylan Kinneavy
Mei Zheng
Mark Eggerman
Kyle Rivera
Dehong Jin
Chuanzhen Jiang
Aika Sato
Naomi Senzer
Mark Yan
Raymond Luo
Sonia Guan
Kevin Chan