About

Born in New York and raised in Taiwan, clarinetist and arts entrepreneur Samuel Hsieh brings a dynamic, cross-cultural perspective to every aspect of his work. A passionate advocate for representation and community-building in classical music, Samuel is the Co-Founder and CEO of East Zodiac—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that is dedicated to building a community that supports an entire ecosystem of music-making with Asian music at its center. Since its founding in 2022, East Zodiac has premiered numerous new compositions, led national consortiums, and presented at institutions across the country, including Yale University, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, Furman University, and the University of Alaska Anchorage. In recognition of this work, Samuel was awarded the University of Michigan SMTD Breaking Ground Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in 2025.

Alongside his leadership at East Zodiac, Samuel serves as the Community and Audience Programs Manager at the University Musical Society (UMS) at the University of Michigan. He previously served as the Operations Coordinator for Learning at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, supporting the Learning & Engagement department in producing public events and educational programming. Dedicated to music education, Samuel also maintains a robust private clarinet studio in Southeast Michigan, offering high-level instruction across multiple school districts.

As a performer, Samuel has appeared across North America, Asia, and Europe, with highlights including performances at Carnegie Hall, ClarinetFest, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with the Furman Symphony Orchestra, the University of Michigan Symphony Band, and the University Philharmonia Orchestra, and has performed as a substitute musician with the Baton Rouge Symphony and in the greater Michigan area. Championing collaborative and cross-cultural repertoire, he frequently highlights underrepresented composers and commissions new music.

Samuel holds a Specialist in Music degree and a Master of Music in Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, following studies at Louisiana State University and Furman University, where he was named the 2020 Presser Scholar recipient. His principal teachers include Dan Gilbert, Chad Burrow, Stacy Christofakis, and Cecilia Kang. Outside of his musical pursuits, Samuel enjoys cooking, playing pickleball, traveling, and exploring diverse cultures through cuisine.

Born and raised in South Carolina, Vanna is a clarinetist and music educator currently based in New York City. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where she studied with Dr. Cecilia Kang and Dr. Anastasia Christofakis. She later earned her Master of Music from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she studied with Dr. Janice Minor.

Vanna currently teaches elementary music in Brooklyn and has completed Level I Orff-Schulwerk Training through the New York City chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA). Prior to moving to New York City, she taught fourth and fifth grade band in Northern Virginia. She strives to create an engaging and supportive classroom where students develop creativity, confidence, and a lifelong appreciation for music. Her students’ enthusiasm and curiosity continually inspire her own growth as both an educator and musician.

Vanna is also a co-founder and treasurer of East Zodiac, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to commissioning and promoting music by Asian composers inspired by the Chinese zodiac. Since its establishment in 2022, East Zodiac has commissioned and premiered four new works, organized consortium projects, and presented performances and educational programs at institutions such as Yale University, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, Furman University, and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Through her work with East Zodiac, Vanna values building communities that elevate underrepresented voices and foster meaningful cross-cultural collaboration through music.

In addition to her classroom teaching, Vanna taught private clarinet lessons for over five years, working with students throughout Greenville, South Carolina; Urbana-Champaign, Illinois; and Northern Virginia. Outside of music, Vanna enjoys traveling, playing tennis and pickleball, exploring New York City, and spending time with her cat, Oreo.

Born in Genova, Italy, and raised outside of Syracuse, NY, Sean Penzo is a composer, cellist, and writer known for a wide range of collaborations and compositions. He is a co-founder of the Michigan-based music nonprofit, East Zodiac, and writes a blog called Musician Coop, which explores and shares resources essential to the realities of being a musician today. Penzo has composed for ensembles and artists who have performed and recorded his music internationally including Voyager Reed Quintet, UCelli, and Quartetto Zuena. During his undergrad at SUNY Fredonia, he studied composition with Paul Coleman, Andrew Martin Smith, Rob Deemer, and Jamie Leigh Sampson, and cello with Natasha Farny. After Fredonia, he studied with Keith Fitch and Bryan Dumm in Cleveland, and graduated with a master’s in music composition.

Penzo values performance just as much as composition. He enjoys playing with live bands, creating music for the special moments in people’s lives as a weddings and events musician, and playing the role of a studio musician and arranger—often recording and writing remotely for clients of all genres. Some of his recent musical endeavors have involved working with The Junk Experiment, Off The Dock Chamber Festival, Jimmy Drancsak, Nour Habbash, Shane Patterson, and many other artists. Currently based around Syracuse, NY, he regularly performs, records, and premieres works written by other composers.

Faye Lu is a versatile percussionist. Recent highlights of her performance career include premiering “The Forest of Metal Objects” at The Met Cloisters under the direction of Douglas Perkins, touring and presenting educational clinics with the University of Michigan Symphony Band, and being invited by the Wenatchee Symphony, under the direction of Nikolas Caoile, as a guest soloist. She has also toured with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra Chamber Program and presented her research on cultural identity through the lens of lion dance drumming at The Space Between conference, hosted by the Canadian Percussion Network.

As a passionate educator and advocate for the Asian community, Faye recently worked with the University of Michigan outreach programs, and she is a staff member of East Zodiac and the Ypsilanti Youth Orchestra. She is committed to fostering inclusive and welcoming spaces through accessible music, education, and community-based music-making for youth and adults alike.

Faye holds graduate degrees in Percussion Performance, Chamber Music Performance and a World Performance Studies Certificate from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University. Her mentors include Doug Perkins, Ian Antonio, Joshua Gianola, and Mark Goodenberger.

Loren Reash-Henz, baritone, is a captivating performer with an expressive voice and commanding stage presence. Described as singing with “a rich tone, and clear understanding of the text” (Cleveland Classical), Loren has most recently performed as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Karl Marx/Mr. Lister in Elizabeth Cree, John Styx in Ophée aux enfers, all at the University of Michigan. He has also been seen in the chorus of La traviata at the Detroit Opera, and as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro at the Festival of International Opera. A native of Cleveland, OH, Loren has been a regular performer in the area, portraying roles such as L’Oste in Manon Lescaut and Father Lawrence in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Loren has performed with Apollo’s Fire, the GRAMMY-award winning baroque orchestra. There, he was featured as Papageno in scenes of Die Zauberflöte, and as an ensemble member in the touring production of “O Jerusalem!”. An advocate for new music representing all cultures, Loren can be seen onstage with The Cleveland Composer’s Guild, working with living composers premiering new works. Loren recently graduated with a Masters degree in Voice Performance at the University of Michigan, and joined University Musical Society’s team as Artist Services Manager in 2025.