Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Celebrating Students' Achievements

We had such a fruitful year that worth celebrating. Although the online lessons were not as ideal as in-person, it was amazing how students progressed and became more independent throughout this test of time! Not only they have speeded up through their RCM exam levels, but they also had quite a victory in the competitions, both video submission, and in-person. For those students who are not yet ready to take the exam or enter a competition, they have worked hard and performed well in the virtual recital. 

Here is the summary of their achievements for the recent US Open Music Competition and Pelican International Music Competition for Young Musicians. Everyone scored a winner place!! Some of the students have advanced to the open category for the exceptionally gifted students, and hard-working :) For a complete list, please check out our studio page.

Sanyi Yao: 
Grand Prize Winner Pelican International Music Competition Grand Prize Showcase Award
1st Place Winner, and Outstanding Gold Medalist and the special scholarship: Showcase Piano Solo Category 12, Junior Division, USOMC

Jeffery Wang: 1st Place Winner Open Solo Category 1, Classical, level 4; 4th Place Winner Treasury of Classical Composers Category 3, Intermediate, USOMC

Cindy Liang: 2nd Place Winner Open Solo Category 1, Romantic,  level 4, USOMC

Erin Tiangnaka: 2nd Place Winner Treasury of Classical Composers Category 3, Intermediate, USOMC

Claire Tiangnaka: 2nd Place Winner Open Solo Category 1, Romantic, level 2, USOMC

Maggie Sun: 3rd Place winner Showcase Piano Solo Category 12, Elementary Division, and Open Solo Category 1, Romantic, level 5, USOMC 













Tuesday, April 20, 2021

A great honor to present a session entitled “Eight fundamental techniques for tension-free piano playing.” at the California state university East Bay 3rd Piano Pedagogy Symposium! I have adventures into the 2nd installment of teaching "Fundamental Techniques." which focus on intermediate and early advanced techniques. We had a great turnout and thanks to many teachers who are on my contact list for joining this virtual symposium!

Session Content: Do your students struggle with techniques and have trouble playing at fast tempi? This session provides eight tension-free fundamental techniques that help intermediate students move freely on the piano. I will use Czerny op.599 to demonstrate how to apply these techniques to playing trills, jumps, repeating notes, and more.