Columbia Pops

School of Engineering and Applied Science, 2026.

Alex is a pianist/percussionist from suburban Los Angeles and, as a result, takes the movie La La Land very seriously. As a chemical engineering major, she is working on finding the perfect ratio of completed psets to attended Broadway shows that achieves an Alex at steady state. In her free time, Alex enjoys reading, sipping on iced teas, and making dramatic facial expressions (preferably all three at once). 

Columbia College, 2026.

Alex, born a Brooklynite and raised in Greenwich, CT, spent most of his teens in Germany. Now knowing how to pronounce "Eichhörnchen", he is now happy to be back in the States for college and embrace his Dominican roots more, one "mangú con los tres golpes" at a time. After eating, he might just grab a quick boba from The Alley and jam out on the ocarina and ukulele bass (though he is a pianist of ~10 years, too)! When he's not studying for his next bio exam, you'll catch him either playing Genshin, passing a volleyball, watching anime with friends, or listening to city pop and Jacob Collier.

SEAS Class of 2028

Ani is a pianist from New York and has been playing since she was 5. She is a biomedical engineering major with a minor in music (how fitting). In her time (she doesn’t have free time) she enjoys playing soccer, baking sourdough, practicing piano, and talking to her family.

Columbia College Class of 2027

Carey is a pianist by passion, a neuroscience major by day, and a self-proclaimed coffee & boba enthusiast (her power combo: an oat milk latte from Blue Java and a matcha boba from Café East).  Ever since she taught herself to play piano at age 4, she’s taken her music very seriously.  She enjoys listening to a wide variety of music — from classical and jazz to rock, hip-hop, and pop.  Recently, she bravely ventured into the world of golf and tennis — two sports where, for now, missing the ball remains her specialty

Columbia College - Jewish Theological Seminary, 2028

Hannah is from Seattle, Washington, but she spent her last two years of high school at an arts boarding school in Michigan where she majored in percussion! If she’s not playing percussion, you'll probably find Hannah practicing piano, eating turtle chips, redecorating, or FaceTiming her dogs. Hannah is pursuing a degree in either history or political science at Columbia and Jewish ethics at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is a strong proponent of Stevie Wonder, denim-on-denim, and finding the perfect peanut sauce.

Columbia College Class of 2029

Henry is a freshman pianist from Wellesley, Massachusetts. He has studied classical piano for 14 years but now is trying out Jazz lessons at Columbia. He also plays in the MPP Chamber program. Outside of music, he enjoys playing soccer, spikeball and ping pong. Also, he is exploring the New York food scene. 

Columbia College, 2026

Karen hails from Flushing, inarguably the best neighborhood in NYC. She plays the piano, but you’ll probably never hear it because she’s always missing her cues from admiring her fellow members' incredible musical talents. Her simple life (ideally) includes hosting dinner parties, biking down waterfronts in her snazzy sunglasses, Paul McCartney, and her pet cactus. 

Columbia College, 2027.

Born and raised in the small town of Weston, Connecticut, Karl is a pianist who loves listening to and making all kinds of music, from jazz to rock to reggae. In his free time, he loves hiking, skiing, biking, playing Ultimate Frisbee, gigging, and hanging out with his cat. Karl looks forward to getting musically involved at Columbia and is excited to be a part of Columbia Pops!

Barnard College, 2028.

Katya is from Russia and the USA, and has played percussion since fifth grade, and piano since she was four. Outside of Pops, she is part of CU Taiko, Pep Band and Wind Ensemble! Katya also loves experimenting with her fashion style (in the summer she is seldom seen without a bucket hat), and photography of anything but people! Her favorite activities include hiking, ice skating and reading sci-fi, however most often you will find her sitting in her dorm room thinking about cutting her hair, but never actually doing it.

Columbia College, 2028

Kristine hails from both California and Seoul, South Korea, and spent her high school years rocking out on the drums (hands down the coolest instrument). When she’s not working on her drum beats, you’ll find her re-re-re-watching Grey’s Anatomy and daydreaming about a future as a surgeon. Known for her hyperfixations, Kristine is loyal to her favorites—like always returning to Loco Coco, the açaí bowl spot she discovered during a summer at Columbia, long before she became an undergrad.

Columbia College, 2026.

Michael Zhang is a pianist, swimmer, amateur cook, cactus owner, and Biology major from Burke, Virginia. He started playing piano when he was 5 years old and has played every song by Chopin that he is capable of since then. In his non-existent free time, he can be found watching self-help Youtube videos, eating grapefruit, and sitting on his massive Craigslist bean bag.

Columbia College, 2026.

I was originally born in Corvallis, Oregon on the West Coast. 7 years ago, my family moved to South Bend, Indiana in the Midwest. And now I find myself in New York, finally ticking "East Coast" off my list. If I'm not studying or playing music, I'll usually be either playing video games with my friends or watching random intriguing science videos on YouTube, usually astronomy. I've been in a ton of ensembles in my 7 years of playing percussion, but nothing like Pops, so I'm more than excited to be a part of it this year and the coming years!!

General Studies, 2027.

Rachel is a pianist, cellist, matcha enthusiast, dog mom, D1 yapper, and music major from Long Island. She spent her freshman and sophomore years in the north of France completing a political science degree at Sciences Po and is so excited to be back in New York!! In her free time, she can be found collecting things to hang on her (already overcrowded) bedroom walls, putting far too much effort into her Instagram stories, adding to the lists and poetry of her notes app, and going on (lengthy...) walks around the city.

Columbia College, 2029

Sirius is a pianist from Southern California who wants to major in biochemistry. In his free time, he watches horror movies, plays the piano, and explores different Korean restaurants around the city. In addition to his love for Mango Habanero flavored Wingstop, he also loves night walking with friends.