Equinox includes from left, Yuiko Yamaguchi, Emilia (Milly) Bonser, Payton Sutherland and Sequoya Ke. Photo by Bernadette Lauritzen/C’YA
Equinox includes from left, Yuiko Yamaguchi, Emilia (Milly) Bonser, Payton Sutherland and Sequoya Ke. Photo by Bernadette Lauritzen/C’YA
By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Champions of Youth Ambitions (C’YA)
What happens when you bring together talent and opportunity? Equinox. The Equinox here is a very talented group of young ladies brought together by a touchstone of observational opportunity for potential, Allison Rich. Rich moved here two years ago, spring of 2024. She played in the orchestra for the Santa Fe Opera season in 2023, fell completely in love with the area, and moved in April of the following year.
She sees Los Alamos as a vibrant community of music lovers and wants to help it grow.
“Being involved in musical youth programs was an absolutely integral part of my upbringing as a musician,” Rich said. “Now that I have established my own teaching studio, it is important to me that my students and their peers have these experiences as well.”
The experiences she speaks of are Chamber Music and Youth Symphony. Rich could see the talent and ambition but felt called to create an opportunity for resolute students that didn’t require them to drive every week to Santa Fe.
“Luckily the Santa Fe Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement director supported my ambitions,” Rich said. “Now we have a chamber music program established here. I’m so proud of what we’ve done so far, and I’m sure the program will grow quickly in the months and years to come.”
Rich has high praise for the music education in the Los Alamos Public Schools, as well as a string orchestra for elementary and middle school students (Los Alamos Youth Orchestra, or LAYO). According to Rich, participating in a youth symphony or a serious chamber ensemble is a very different experience, more demanding, but also potentially allowing for more musical growth.
Rich understood that multiple commutes to Santa Fe can be difficult, even impossible, especially if students aren’t driving themselves.
The young ladies of Equinox (8th-10th grade students) include Yuiko Yamaguchi on Violin, Emilia (Milly) Bonser on Violin, Payton Sutherland on Viola and Sequoya Ke on Cello. Their first rehearsal was in September of 2025, and they performed at a concert for the Santa Fe Fe Symphony Education Programs in November of 2025, a holiday-themed lunch hour concert at the Betty Ehart Senior Center in December, and at a 95th birthday party last week. They will be featured in a Spring Showcase of the Symphony’s most advanced student musicians on April 26 at The Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe. They will also perform in concert at the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center in mid to late May.
Rich is an accomplished musician in her own right. Her post-secondary degrees are in Cello Performance. Her education included the Eastman School of Music; she holds a master’s degree from the University of Michigan (studying with Steven Doane and Richard Aaron). She also received a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) at the University of Toronto in 2023. Her heart holds a particular fondness for cello pedagogy, which was a substantial part of her dissertation.
The Equinox Quartet demonstrated a dedication to craft that was palpable and the team is certainly a feather in the cap of their director.
“It has been a pleasure and an honor to coach these four students. In addition to being excellent young musicians, each of them is also an intelligent, polite, responsible, and hard-working person,” Rich said. “All four students have come to every single rehearsal prepared to work, and with a respectful, collaborative attitude. They are impressive young women!”
The students are eager to perform locally and enjoy engaging with audience members after their performances. Those wishing to hire the Equinox Quartet can contact the Education and Community Engagement Team at the Santa Fe Symphony via their website at https://santafesymphony.org/education-team/.