Piano Notes – Studio Newsletter March 2012

Congratulations

Congratulations to Andrew Tang for being awarded Honorable Mention Winner of the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition 2012! The organizer said “Andrew was selected from an extremely large field of competitive applicants, hailing from over 20 countries!” Andrew was invited to perform at the Winners recital in New York city, but is unable to attend. Andrew’s winning program consists of Bach Prelude and Fugue in D minor BWV 851, Beethoven Sonata Op. 79 (complete), Chopin Etude F minor Op. 25 No. 2, and Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu – a very difficult program for a 12 year old! He competed in the 11-14 age group. This was Andrew’s first attempt at an international competition; he hopes to do even better next year and perform at Carnegie Hall. I am very proud of his achievement!

On Feb 26, Andrew Tang competed in the MTAC Riverside Branch Southern California Junior Bach Festival, and was awarded branch winner!! Andrew will go on to compete at the District level in May. Well done, Andrew!

Congratulations to Maggie Liu and Andrew Tang for being selected to participate in this year’s Steinway Festival. The Steinway Festival is one of the most competitive piano events in Riverside and San Bernardino county. The festival has two categories, Junior and Senior, and only a maximum of 14 students from each category are selected to participate. Those selected to participate will each perform three pieces, two in a masterclass, and one in a recital. Maggie and Andrew are competing in the Junior category. Maggie is 9 years old, she is playing Mozart Fantaisia in D minor, Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1, and Debussy Dr Gradus ad Parnassum. Andrew is playing Bach Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Beethoven Sonata Op. 79, and Kabalevsky Sonata No. 3. Five study awards of $500 will be awarded to the winners. The festival starts at 2pm on March 4 at Xavier College Preparatory High School – Palm Desert 34-200 Cook St Palm Desert, CA 92211. I encourage serious students who would like to participate in this festival in the future to attend, so you have an idea what levels of playing are expected. I wish Maggie and Andrew the best of luck!

Music in Art Competition

This is an Art Competition. Click here for entry form and rules. Click here for last year’s winning artwork. I know many of our students are also great artists; I encourage you to participate!

Student Activities

Charmaine, Chanelle, and Cheryl Tan, Fiona Harley, and Maggie Liu are sitting the MTAC Certificate of Merit Evaluations on Saturday March 3. Good luck to them!

Shania Jin, Josh Barber, Nicole Jacob, and Anna Ingram are performing at the TVMTA Spring Recital on March 17 at the Grace Presbyterian Church.

26 students are participating in this year’s National Piano Guild Auditions held in June/July: Claire, John, and Catherine Howard; Josh Barber; JP Roseli; Lorenzo and Sebastian Mejia; Olivia Melton; Andreas Schaefer; Katie Ocampo; Meijke Balay-Mickelson; Alexa Willis; Hans and Jay Chen; Maggie Liu; Kaitlyn Hetsko; Fiona Harley; Sophie, Thien Sa, and Sam Luyen; Hailey Wiltse; Emma, Hudson, and Hunter Erickson; Cecilia Lopez; and Jason Hu. Most are participating at the National level (10 memorized pieces), some are doing the International program (15-20 pieces).

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