Student Achievements, 2010-2011

NVMTA Piano Achievement Awards Competition
Faith Ellen Lam- 1 st place, $300

Springfield Music Club Composer Competition
Eileen Zheng- 1st place $100 award
Maggie Kirtley-2nd place, $25 award

NVMTA Bach Baroque Festival/Competition
Lucy Blazquez- Group Winner
Angus Chang- Group Winner
Eileen Zheng- Group Winner
Jonathan Lam- Group winner
Gabrielle Li- Honors, Evening Concert
Sarah Zhou- 15 point Award, Bach/Baroque Plaque
Eileen Zheng- 30 point Award, Bach/Baroque Festival Medal

NVMTA Concerto Festival/Competition
Gabrielle Li- 1 st place
Angus Chang-3rd place

WMTA Speciality Competition, French Music
Faith Lam- 2nd place
Lucy Blazquez- 3rd place

WMTA Judged Recital
Faith Lam – Honors

WMTA Hartman Piano Performance Awards Competition
Lucy Blazquez- 1st place
Charlotte Cai- 3rd place
Maggie Kirtley -3rd place
Eileen Zheng- 3rd place

NVMTA Judged Recitals
Jonathan Lam- Honor
Faith Lam- Honors
Maggie Kirtley- Honorable Mention

NVMTA Piano Duet Competition
Lucy Blazquez/Jonathan Lam- 2 nd place, level I
Gabrielle LI/ Maggie Kirtley-2 place, level II
Charlotte Cai/ Angus Chang 3rd place, level II
Stephanie Chen/Faith Lam- 2place, level IV

Healy/Ford Scholarship
Faith Lam- $200

NVMTA Sonata Festival Winners:
Charlotte Cai- Honors
Sarah Zhou- Honors
Gabrielle Li- Honors

Springfield Music Club Recitals:
Sarah Zhou- Honors
Gabrielle Li- Honors
Jonathan Lam- Honors
Lucy Blazquez- Honors
Angus Chang- Honors
Katherine Wang-Honors
Eileen Zheng- Honors
Maggie Kirtley- Honors
Faith Lam-Honors

Theory Mastery Day Top Scores:
Gabrielle Li
Eileen Zheng
Sarah Zhou

Young Artist Musicale at GMU
Faith Lam, performed compositions by Liszt and Prokofiev




AFAF Winter Gala at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall
Faith Lam

NVTMA Achievement Awards Competition, 2011

Faith Ellen Lam is a NVMTA Achievement Award Competition winner! She was one of 19 performers who participated in the Intermediate Level. Her program included compositions by J.S. Bach, G.Faure and S. Prokofiev.

"Spanish Dance" By Gabrielle Li

Duet Competition. I flashed a nervous smile and Maggie returned it. Our eyes shined with infinite excitement and courage. The crowd’s thunderous applause engulfed us like a thousand; cheering and calling. Then they stopped, leaning forward eagerly; hungry for music. Reassurance and encouragement seeped in me, radiating an everlasting hope, glowing gently. 123. 123. A tranquil, mellow tune seeped from the piano. We were in Spain. Ladies dance, wearing ruffle dresses and crimson red roses. Tinkle of trills scatter and melodies rang everywhere. Like a gust of wind, it was all gone, and we were in the world of fantasy.
Free. Our fingers skitter up and down the keys. The song erupts and powerful chords and melodies pricked with staccatos bursts. The song is in rage. Everyone dances and laughs with joy/a joy that cannot be explained, but only embraced. The sky cried tears of happiness and the sun radiated its miraculous light. It was paradise. Suddenly, my fingers sank into the lowest key. Mysteriously, the sound wavers. We play with passion, melancholy, and holler. We’re free. Free of practice, free of stress, free of everything. We soar in world of music, as we stir a beautiful dance. The last skitter of notes fades and the piano sings the last gentle note.

WMTA Viola Hartman Performance Awards and More

From my garden.....

It is getting hot outside, sun is spoiling us a little more as we approach June. Students are eager to finish assigned homework projects and are noticeably more anxious about getting off the school bus as they try to make most of their free time. When I volunteered at my daughter’s school library, I noticed that hallways were getting louder, almost like little beehives buzzing with a new discovered energy. Teachers must summon all their patience to contain pupil attention as most of the grades are preparing for the end of the year SOL tests.

Here are results from WMTA Viola Hartman Performance Awards, event that takes place on Mother’s Day. It was a beautiful day. Moms were greeted with colorful greeting cards and Mother’s Day kisses, and many could expand their family day celebration with beautiful music. Our studio was represented by a dynamic quartet: Lucy, Maggie, Charlotte and Eileen.

Lucy- 1st place (Group B)
Charlotte- 3rd place (Group D)
Maggie- 3rd place (Group E)
Eileen- 3rd place (Group K)

Faith prepared a big program and entered Music Concerts at the Alden 2011-2012 Auditions. She has been selected to perform next season, and I hope our studio will be attending this wonderful event to hear Faith play. The date of her performance will be announced later.




From NVMTA newsletter:

Pianist Yong Hi Moon shared her extraordinary talents as a performing artist and teacher to the NVMTA for a Master Class featuring three students. Faith Lam was one of the students invited to this master class.
Young Hi Moon, Professor of Piano at the Peabody Conservatory, illustrates a musical point to Faith Lam during her presentation at the NVMTA April meeting.

I am sure piano practice takes even more commitment and discipline at this time since many have been looking forward to a chance of an outdoor recess and weekend get-together with classmates for favorite sports activities. Keep it up…we are almost there.

photo from the NVMTA photographer, L.Bogart

Spring Report Card

Bright yellow daffodils are cheering up a studio driveway, and deer already have helped themselves to my beautiful Dutch tulips that didn’t last even a few days. Spring is here! Even though temperatures are still hanging on to 40-50’s, I see students optimistically wearing summer t-shirts, and several even managed to get some nice tan while playing outdoor games. It is time for a summary of the latest events.


SMC Recitals:

Lucy- Honors,November
Sarah- Honors, January
Jonathan-Honors, January
Gaby- Honors, January
Maggie- Honors,January
Faith- Honors, February


Before spring forward, we had a busy winter time. The first week of February was dedicated to Theory Exam, the last week-to Bach Baroque festival. You had a chance to read about Baroque Festival, so here are our top three Theory scores:

Gabrielle- 98%, level III
Sarah- 96%, level IV
Eileen- 95%, level VII

In the middle…..Springfield Music Club Student Recitals, NVMTA and WMTA Judged Recitals, Young Artist Musicale and a memorable trip to New York for two families in our studio.



Faith deserves a double cheer and should be named a “star student” this season. She received Honors from the NVMTA Judged Recital. In March, Faith was also featured on the Young Artist Musicale at the GMU. Faith has even more good news to tell us: American Fine Arts Festival chose Faith to be one of the performers at the Winter Gala at the prestigious Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall!

Bach Baroque Festival, 2011

Another Festival/Competition is completed, and we can look back at this event with a feeling of an accomplishment. For several years, our studio has been participating in NVMTA Baroque Festival. It has become an important part of every student’s performance calendar in my studio. Studying Baroque music takes skills and knowledge; it is also essential that we explore compositions from this era, especially music written by J.S. Bach. We go beyond recognizing Minuet in G. This winter, I noticed that many students and parents pointed out their favorite Inventions and Scarlatti Sonatas, or even expressed their opinions about other student performances or interpretations of a certain piece. After attending last weekend’s a festival and hearing wonderful students from other studios, several students have asked me to include new pieces in their repertoire. It is a sure sign that we are on the right path.

This winter, I have encouraged several students to participate not only with playing, but also with writing, and perhaps with a contribution to this blog. I am planning to include the first essay very soon. Our children have to write daily, why not write about impressions from the Festival or Studio Group Class, or a review of a Talent Show at school? It has become most evident to me that there is no shortage of opinions in my studio. In the mean time, we will continue to study, and listen to different performances, in the class and from recordings.

Gabrielle Li- Honors, performed at the evening Winners Concert
Angus Chang- Group Winner
Lucy Blazquez-Group Winner
Jonathan Lam- Group Winner
Eileen Zheng-Group Winner
“Superior”- Maggie, Sarah, Jessica, Gabrielle, Lucy, Jonathan, Eileen, Angus
Sarah Zhou- received a 15 point Baroque Festival plaque
Jonathan Lam- received a 15 point Bach Baroque Festival Plaque
Eileen Zheng- received a 30 point Medal