About Me

 

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Sunny Yam began his musical studies at the age of six with piano lessons, followed by playing clarinet in band throughout middle school. At fourteen, he began playing the viola, and subsequently performed in the orchestra at Clear Lake High School, under the directorship of John Law, Kevin Black, and Bryan Buffaloe, while studying viola privately under Pei-Ling Hwang. 

 

Mr. Yam completed his Bachelor of Music in Music Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he was a scholarship student and graduated with honors. He studied viola performance with Allyson Dawkins, string pedagogy with Dr. Kristen Pellegrino & Dr. Eugene Dowdy, conducting with Dr. John Zarco, and music theory/psychology with Dr. Stacey Davis.

While at UTSA, Mr. Yam performed on clarinet in the University Band and viola in the UTSA Orchestra. He was the Orchestra's equipment manager and frequently principal violist for important performances, including a collaboration with Rachel Podger, the Lyric Theatre's production of Into the Woods, and a tour through the Rio Grande Valley region. He also participated in viola master classes with Lila Brown and Rita Porfiris. Mr. Yam performed in various local community orchestras, including Symphony Viva and the South Texas Symphonic Orchestra. 

Mr. Yam taught in the String Project, in which UTSA music students taught string instrument performance classes to young students around the San Antonio area. He also taught violin and viola privately throughout San Antonio.

Mr. Yam completed teacher observations at various schools throughout Northeast ISD and Northside ISD, culminating in his student teaching at Rawlinson Middle School with Sophie Renker and Clark High School with Teresa Nguyen.

 

Mr. Yam began his first and current teaching engagement at Deer Park High School in 2019, where he teaches orchestra at both North and South Campus. His professional memberships include Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Texas Orchestra Directors Association (TODA), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (ΦMA).

 

Outside of teaching and performing music, Mr. Yam enjoys reading and singing, and is an avid enthusiast of gaming, anime/manga, animation, and history.