Piano Notes – Studio Newsletter March 2014
Congratulations
What a busy time we have had this past month! Our students participated in so many events, and everyone did an awesome job! Congratulations to the following students:
Inland Empire Piano Competition
Congratulations to all the students that competed at the Inland Empire Piano Competition on Feb 2 at University of Redlands. This was such a high level competition, and I am so proud that our students did so well! Congratulations to the following winners:
Emma Erickson – First Place Winner
Hunter Erickson – First Place Winner
Hudson Erickson – Honorable Mention
Claire Howard – Honorable Mention
Catherine Howard – Honorable Mention
Murrieta Rotary Club Music Competition
Congratulations to Catherine Howard for getting Second Place at the Murrieta Rotary Club Music Competition on February 12! This was open to all instrumentalists, including voice, and the competition was fierce! Catherine will go on to compete at the Rotary District level.
Inland Valley Symphony Library Recital
This is the studio’s second performance for Inland Valley Symphony’s Library Recital Series. Our last recital “Children’s Corner” was a great success. This last recital was titled “Musical Offerings” – I played selections from New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn’s piano collection “Musical Offerings,” and outstanding students from the studio shared their talents with the community. The following students performed beautifully:
Kaitlyn Hetsko, Zheng Hua Xia, Jonathan Lee, Fiona Harley, Shania Jin, Meijke Balay-Mickelson, Grace Couturier, Kelly Rausch, Hannah Diep, Emma Erickson, Hunter Erickson, Hudson Erickson, Chanelle Tan, Cheryl Tan, Charmaine Tan, Catherine Howard, Joseph Howard, Claire Howard, Alexa Willis, Cole Willis, Katherine Shepherd, Lucas Schaefer, Emilly Law, Kristen Law.
Certificate of Merit
We had 20 students participate in this year’s Certificate of Merit test. Everyone passed! 18 students got Branch Honors (students must be Level 3 or above and score a minimum of 4+):
Emma Erickson (5+), Hudson Erickson (5+), Hunter Erickson (5+), Jessica Kim (5+), Jeffrey Kim (5+), Alexa Willis (5+), Shania Jin (5+), Fiona Harley (5+), Charmaine Tan (5+), Jonathan Lee (5+), Chanelle Tan (5), Cheryl Tan (5), Ron Lycan (5), Kaitlyn Hetsko (5), Rachel Hong (5), Charys Hong (5), Anna Stone (5-), Sam Luyen (4+)
The following students scored 90% or higher in the Theory test:
Ethan Phan (Prep): 99%
Ron Lycan (Level 5): 99%
Rachel Hong (Level 5): 97%
Hudson Erickson and Jonathan Lee (Level 4): 96%
Chanelle Tan (Level 3): 96%
Jeffrey Kim (Level 6): 95%
Charmaine Tan and Cheryl Tan (Level 3): 94%
Kaitlyn Hetsko (Level 3) and Hunter Erickson (Level 5): 93%
Jessica Kim (Level 6): 91%
Fiona Harley and Sam Luyen (Level 4): 90%
Hal Leonard Piano Composition Competition
Emma Erickson has entered the Hal Leonard Piano Composition Competition. Emma has been writing her music since last year, and has written many beautiful pieces. Her latest composition titled “Mysterious Dreams” was premiered at the Inland Valley Symphony Library Recital Series on February 22. You can view her beautiful performance of this beautiful piece on YouTube. Good luck to Emma on the competition!
March Schedule
March 8 – I will be playing in the Inland Valley Symphony “The Planets” concert. Some of the lessons on that Saturday will be rescheduled to Sunday March 9. I will email the rescheduled times individually. The students that received Certificate of Merit Branch Honors will be performing that day at the Honors Recital at the Temecula Public Library on Pauba Road.
March 21-25 – I will be attending the MTNA National Conference in Chicago. This is my third year attending a National Conference, and this year I will be doing a showcase presentation for Musica Teachers Helper. I am also invited to present at the MTAC Conference in LA in July as well. I am very excited about these opportunities!
Student of the Month – Catherine Howard
Catherine is 16 years old and attends Riversprings Charter as Junior. In addition to her high school classes, she also participates in a dual enrollment program which allows her to takes classes at a community college along with college students.
This year will be Catherine’s fifth year of piano study under Miss Yiyi. She has participated in many events since then including the International Guild Auditions, the Certificate of Merit, the Royal Conservatory Music program, the Inland Valley piano competition, and the Murrieta rotary competition, all of which she received high rankings. Catherine also plays the organ and is the choir accompanist at her church. She hopes to attend the Pipe Organ Encounter this summer and also plans on studying music in college.
A favorite hobby of Catherine’s is cooking and baking. Recently, one of her recipes was published on Allrecipes.com, the most-viewed cooking website that serves globally, and received fantastic reviews.
Catherine has been one of my very first students since I opened my studio in Murrieta. She has come such a long way. She was only an elementary level student when she came to the studio, and this year, she will be doing Royal Conservatory Music Development Program Piano Performance Level 9. I am very proud of how much progress she has made in the last few years, and I look forward to seeing her talent blossom even more!
