Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Important Events, 2013


       Eileen, Maggie, Gaby and Charlotte catching up before Group Class I
April
Saturday, April 13-NVMTA General Student Recital, AWC, 2:30 & 3:45
Sunday, April 14-NVMTA Judged Recital
Saturday, April 20-SMC Student Recital, Jordan Kitts
Saturday, April 27, Piano Ensemble Festival

May
Sunday, May 5- NVMTA General Recital, 2:30 & 3:45,AWC
Saturday, May 11- NVMTA Piano Achievements Awards
Sunday, May 12- WMTA Hartman Awards, Catholic University, Washington DC
Sunday, May 19- NVMTA Piano Sonata Festival, GMU

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Fall Notes


Autumn has arrived, students have picked up a faster pace as they march to school buses during brisk morning hours. Not as many warm days left, but there is a  lingering scent of a pumpkin pie in the air. November for many is a busy and quick month thanks  to a fast approaching Thanksgiving Holiday.
                                Nicole, welcome to our studio!
 Past weekend, students participated in VMTA Fall Festival. Good work, everyone! 

“Superior”- Nicole, Sophia, Angus, Charlotte and Katherine
                              Angus at Jordan Kitts
Gabrielle and Maggie participated in Asian American Competition. Junior group had 22 participants this year. Gabrielle and Maggie  were both recognized, they received HM and high scores from judges.

Helen, Charlotte and Lucy performed at Reston Community Center before heading to Fall Festival. 
                                     Lucy performs at Reston Community Center


SMC held its first Student Recital:
Honors- Sophia, Eli and Maggie
NVMTA Judged Recital
HM-Maggie 

                               Eli and Maggie after SMC Students Recital at Jordan Kitts

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Student Achievements, 2011-2012


  Charlotte Cai at Carnegie Hall, NY

NVMTA Piano Concerto Festival/Competition


Grades k-3
Lucy Blazquez- 1st place

Grades 4-5  
Charlotte Cai- 3rd place

Grades 6-7
Maggie Kirtley- 1st place
Gabrielle- 2nd place

NVMTA Piano Duet Competition
Level 1B
Katherine Wang and Helen Yao-1st place

Level 2B
Charlotte Cai and Angus Chang-2nd place

Level 4A
Maggie Kirtley and Faith Lam-1st place

NVMTA Judged Recital
Gabrielle Li-Honors
Eileen Zheng- Honors

Faith Lam-Honors
Charlotte Cai- HM
Maggie Kirtley- HM


Asian American Piano Competition, 2011
Faith-2nd place, Junior Piano Division

Performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, NY
Charlotte Cai
Bach Baroque Festival/Competition
Charlotte- group winner and finalist
Maggie- group winner, finalist

Faith- group winner, received a 15 point award, finalist

Katherine-group winner
Angus-  30 point medal


WMTA Viola Hartman Piano Achievement Awards at Catholic University:
Group, age 10:
Angus- 2nd place
Group, Age 11:
Maggie- 3rd place
Group, Age 14:
Faith-3rd place
Group, Age 15-18:

Eileen Zheng-2nd place

NVMTA Sonata Festival

First round winners:

Eli Kirtley

Angus Chang

Faith Lam




Gabrielle Li

Maggie Kirtley

Lucy Blazquez

Jonathan Lam

Finalists, received Honors: 
Lucy Blazquez
Jonathan Lam
 Gabrielle Li
 Maggie Kirtley


SMC Honors:
Katherine Wang
Charlotte Cai
Eileen Zheng
Faith Lam
Theory Mastery Day Top Scores:
Eli Kirtley
Angus Chang
Lucy Blazquez
Eileen Zheng (level VIII)
VMTA Fall Festival “Superiors”- Angus, Charlotte, Eli, Gaby, Helen, Katherine, Lucy, Maggie.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Charlotte at Carnegie Hall, NY


   First week of May, Charlotte was invited to perform at the prestigious Weil Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, NY. Charlotte was one of the students selected from more than 600 participants  who auditioned for this opportunity. Charlotte played Toccata by D. Paradisi. 

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

From VA to DC

Hallways in elementary schools have become noticeably louder, spring weather has brought more warmth and sunshine. Teachers encourage students to keep up positive attitude along with serious preparation for SOL tests. Our performance calendar has only one event left, NVMTA Sonata Festival. Directions and guidelines will be posted this week. Quick update about latest events here:
 WMTA Viola Hartman Piano Achievement Awards at Catholic University, Washington DC

                            Angus takes a deep bow at Hartman competition

Group, Age 10:
Angus- 2nd place
Group, Age 11:
Maggie- 3rd place
Group, Age 14:
Faith-3rd place
Group, Age 15-18:
Eileen-2nd place

NVMTA Judged Recital
Eileen Zheng- Honors
Charlotte Cai- HM
                                                 

Springfield  Music Club Honors:

Katherine Wang
Charlotte Cai
Eileen Zheng
Faith Lam
Charlotte, all smiles

  In May, Springfield Music Club will continue Honors Concert Series at the “Woodlands” Retirement Center, Fairfax. This event has such a welcoming and friendly aura. First event will be held on Thursday, May 17th .




Monday, May 7, 2012

Piano Duet Competition



  April turned out to be a busy month for our studio. Parents, thank you for your dedication! Many of you spent weekends driving to different festivals and competitions instead of enjoying beautiful spring weather outside. To add even more adjustments to your busy schedules, many families worked out time to arrange practice for duet competition. 
Results from NVMTA Piano Ensemble Competition:
Level 1B
Katherine and Helen- 1 stplace
Level 2b
Charlotte and Angus- 2nd place
Level 4A
Maggie and Faith- 1st place
Helen and Katherine
                                                                   
After Festival, Helen wrote:
 I like a piano duet because it is fun, especially when I play with my friend, Katherine who is also my partner.  It is cool when both players use body language like going forward at the same time.  Also, I like it when a player plays louder and other one plays softer. For example, Katherine was the melody and I was accompaniment.  

However, piano duets are more sophisticated than solos because there are four hands playing at the same time.  This means both players have to listen to each other to avoid mistakes.   

Because Katherine and I practiced a lot for the piano duet festival, we also had many play dates J.  It is so fun when I get to play with my friend.  Also, when we went the festival last week, both of us won the first place blue ribbons.     

 Helen Yao 


                                                           Charlotte and Angus
 Eli and Maggie participated in Duet Festival, they did great job playing together!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

NVMTA Piano Concerto Festival

Charlotte at performance

Grades K-3
Lucy Blazquez- 1st place

Grades 4-5
Charlotte Cai- 3rd place

Grades 6-7
Maggie Kirtley-1st place
Gabrielle Li-2nd place













Maggie and Gaby