»Meet the Current Temianka Scholars

Carlos Bueno first began playing the viola in sixth grade through the public school's music program, thanks to a fortuitous decision by his mentor, Erron Garret. With no private instruction, he advanced his skills on the instrument through dedication and passion, learning entirely within the classroom setting.

In high school, he performed with various ensembles under Stefan Lawe and served as principal violist of the Southern California Youth Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Rocky Lee, culminating in a performance at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in 2018. While at Citrus College, Carlos worked closely with Dr. Tammy Yi and participated in masterclasses with renowned violists Robert Becker and Phillip Triggs.

Carlos is currently a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance at Chapman University’s Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music, where he is a music scholarship recipient and Henri Temianka Scholar. He studies with Prof. Phillip Triggs and receives additional mentorship from Dr. Yoshika Masuda, Dr. Eunae Koh, and Dr. Danko Druško. Recently, he performed in masterclasses for acclaimed violist Molly Carr and the Juilliard String Quartet.

Carlos is grateful for the use of a Lawrence Furse viola, generously on loan from Chapman University’s instrument collection.

Krista originally started learning the viola in fourth grade yet eventually transitioned into private lessons. Since then, she has served as principal violist not only in her school orchestras but also in the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, as well as playing in the SCSBOA All-Southern Orchestra. Along with this, she has gained chamber music experience through the Crescendo Young Musicians Guild and the Chamber Music Institute/SoCal. Furthermore, Krista was given the opportunity to become involved in the Tri-M Music Honors Society, as well as receiving the April Performing Arts Student of the Month Award 2024 on behalf of Rotary International. Since being at Chapman, she has been studying under Phillips Triggs, serving as a member of the Temianka String Quartet, as well as serving as principal violist in The Chapman Orchestra. She has taken on many opportunities to perform student compositions and other student projects.

In addition, Krista found her passion for composing in her sophomore year of high school. Her current biggest accomplishment regarding composition is premiering a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” medley at her last concert as a high school student. Because of her love of video games and other media, her dream career path is to compose for media, while still playing viola on the side.