Dr. Wenbo Yin is a saxophonist, wind conductor, and musicians' wellness coach noted for his bold, versatile artistry across classical, jazz, contemporary, and beatbox saxophone. He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, collaborated with Grammy-winning artists, won the Beverly Hills National Auditions, and played principal saxophone with prominent groups such as the CCM Wind Symphony.

As co-founder of the One Heart Institute, a nonprofit organization that integrates music, wellness, and holistic practices, Wenbo is dedicated to supporting the well-being of musicians and individuals alike. He has facilitated music and mindfulness workshops in the U.S., Bhutan, and China, and continues to develop the Tai Chi for Musicians workshop, offered at various universities and institutions. Wenbo is also a certified wellness provider for music industry professionals with Backline Care, teaches Tai Chi at a local athletic club, and supports wellness work with a Parkinson’s group. 

He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance, Wind Conducting, and Jazz from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He also embarked on an extended journey of study in Tai Chi, meditation, and contemplative practice at Dharma Realm Buddhist University in Northern California, deepening the integration between music-making and inner cultivation.

Wellness for Musicians:

• Tai Chi for Musicians: 

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Sonoma State University

• Music Industry Wellness Provider

Backline Care

Selected Teaching Experiences:

• Faculty, One Heart Institute, 2023, 2024, 2025

• Associate Director, University of Cincinnati Bearcat Jazz Band, 2022

• Undergraduate Saxophone Studio Teaching Assistant, CCM, 2020

• Woodwind Instructor, University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands, 2021-22

• Lecturer and Saxophone Instructor, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Preparatory Department, 2019 - 22

Selected Awards:

• Winner, Beverly Hills National Auditions, 2025

• Laureate, Carnegie Hall Gala Audition, 2024

• First Prize Winner, Advanced Category, Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition, 2022

• Finalist, CBS Celebration of Music Competition, 2018

• Semi-Finalist, North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, 2016

Professional Affiliations: 

• North American Saxophone Alliance (NASA)

• Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC)

• Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)

Barbara Bogatin has been a cellist with the San Francisco Symphony since 1994. In addition to her career as a symphonic musician, she has created a curriculum on Mindfulness Meditation for Musicians where she integrates contemplative practice with music performance and instrumental practice. She has presented these seminars at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of Southern California, University of Nevada, Reno, and the Juilliard School. Along with her husband, neuroscientist Clifford Saron, she has given workshop presentations called “The Buddha, the Brain, and Bach” that explore the intersection of meditation, creativity, and neuroplasticity at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Esalen, Stanford University, Telluride Compassion Festival, and at conferences in Italy, Spain, and South Africa. 

Barbara has performed chamber music at the Lucerne Festival, Spoleto Festival, Casals Festival, Classical Tahoe, Music at Kohl Mansion, and Davies Hall Chamber Music Series. She has published articles on music in The San Francisco Chronicle, Strings Magazine, SF Classical Voice, and Senza Sordino. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School.

Jessica Valeri has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony since 2008. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Valeri was a member of the Saint Louis Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, and the Grant Park Orchestra. After studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ms. Valeri went on to earn her Graduate degree and Performance Certificate from Northwestern University.

Ms. Valeri has participated in many recording projects including the National Brass Ensemble and a Grammy-nominated recording with the Bay Brass. She is a frequent guest with the Grand Teton Music Festival, Mainly Mozart, the Arizona Music Festival, and the Lakes Area Music Festival. Passionate about education, she is currently on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, maintaining a horn studio as well as teaching a class called Wellness for Musicians, in which she delves into the practice of yoga and various intersections with life as a musician. She served as faculty for the SFCM Precollege and horn coach for the San Francisco Youth Symphony. Ms. Valeri enjoys teaching yoga as a certified yoga instructor, practicing sketch comedy, gardening and travel.

Dr. Wenbo Yin is a saxophonist, wind conductor, and musicians' wellness coach noted for his bold, versatile artistry across classical, jazz, contemporary, and beatbox saxophone. He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, collaborated with Grammy-winning artists, won the Beverly Hills National Auditions, and played principal saxophone with prominent groups such as the CCM Wind Symphony.

As co-founder of the One Heart Institute, a nonprofit that integrates music, wellness, and holistic practices, Wenbo is dedicated to supporting the well-being of musicians and individuals alike. He has facilitated music and mindfulness workshops in the U.S., Bhutan, and China, and continues to develop the Tai Chi for Musicians workshop, offered at various universities and institutions. Wenbo is also a certified wellness provider for music industry professionals with Backline Care, teaches Tai Chi at a local athletic club, and supports wellness work with a Parkinson’s group. 

He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance, Wind Conducting, and Jazz from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He also embarked on an extended journey of study in Tai Chi, meditation, and contemplative practice at Dharma Realm Buddhist University in Northern California, deepening the integration between music-making and inner cultivation.

Clifford Saron, PhD is a Research Scientist at the Center for Mind and Brain and MIND Institute at the University of California at Davis. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1999. Dr. Saron has had a long-standing interest in the effects of contemplative practice on physiology and behavior. In the early 1990s he conducted field research investigating Tibetan Buddhist mind training under the auspices of the Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama. A faculty member at Mind and Life Summer Research Institutes in the US and Europe and a former member of the Mind and Life Institute Program and Research as well as Steering Councils, he received the inaugural Mind and Life Service Award in 2018. 

Dr. Saron directs the Shamatha Project, a multidisciplinary longitudinal investigation of the effects of intensive meditation on physiological and psychological processes central to well-being. In 2012, Dr. Saron and his research team were awarded the inaugural Templeton Prize Research Grant in honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama. Currently his research team is investigating how meditation experience may mitigate the effects of the pandemic on chronic stress and cellular aging, as well as examining consequences of compassion vs. mindfulness training on engagement with suffering. His other research area focuses on sensory processing in children with autism spectrum disorders to better understand how these children experience their everyday sensory environments.

Jeremy Cohen’s electrifying violin performances have earned him nationwide accolades. Classically-trained and a student of Itzhak Perlman and Anne Crowden, Cohen’s eclectic style reflects his respect for a wide range of violinists from Perlman and Fritz Kreisler to Joe Venuti and Eddie South. Cohen has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras including the Virginia Symphony, the California Symphony, the Oakland East Bay Symphony, and the Reno Philharmonic. His recording credits include motion picture and television soundtracks including The Dukes of Hazzard and Jane Fonda’s Dollmaker, and as concertmaster on recordings with Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Aaron Neville, Howard Keel and Cleo Laine. He appeared on Carlos Santana’s Grammy-winning CD Supernatural, Santana’s Shaman, and the original Star Wars compilation CD with John Williams. On the stage he was the solo violinist in San Francisco’s two-year production of Forever Tango and toured nationally with the Broadway production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. He has toured and recorded with the Turtle Island String Quartet.

Jeremy Cohen founded the pioneering string group, Quartet San Francisco, and has toured extensively with the group throughout the United States, China, Japan, Italy, Germany, and South Korea since 2001. Quartet San Francisco was awarded the Grand Prize in the First International Tango Competition at the Argentine Consulate in New York in 2004. QSF’s CDs have garnered seven Grammy nominations since 2006 in the categories of Best Classical Crossover, Best Engineered Classical, and Best Instrumental Composition. Cohen composes and arranges for the group and is in demand as a composer/arranger for other ensembles as well, including the Marin Symphony, the Sun Valley Music Festival Bronfman Chamber Music Series, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco Bay Area’s Peninsula Symphony, the Reading Philharmonic, the Reno Philharmonic, the Del Sol String Quartet, the Bridge Virtuosi, and the San Francisco Symphony.

A faculty member of the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles (1997 to 2006) and visiting artist at the Frost Music School, University of Miami (2015 and 2016), Cohen also taught for six years at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He has recorded three CDs with his ViolinJazz quartet on the Violinjazz Recordings (Violinjazz and A Taste of Violinjazz) and Dorian Sono Luminus labels (The Music of Eddie South). In 2004 he released Jeremy Cohen and Friends Celebrate Joe Venuti –100 Years, his DVD tribute to the great jazz violinist. Cohen publishes original works and arrangements for string players on his Violinjazz Publications imprint, many of which are accompanied by online tracks and YouTube videos.