Category: Music

Four aspiring string players received merit scholarships for their stellar accomplishment in the Summer Arts at Mason 2021 strings programs. Reflecting on their experience, the scholarship recipients shared their excitement of performing together in person and their most memorable experience in the summer.

The merit scholarship is sponsored by the Associated Chamber Music Players (ACMP) in support of our summer music programs, Mason Strings Camp and Mason Chamber Music Intensive.

 

 

Isaiah Garrett, Halyn (Chloe) Kim, Avery Lee, and Abby Poppe received this year’s ACMP scholarships after a comprehensive review of their applications, essays, program participation, and feedback from the program director and string faculty.

Garrett, a first-time program participant assigned as the First Violinist, said that attending the Mason Chamber Music Intensive program “was like a breath of fresh air,” and the diverse group of instrumentalists reminded him of the joy of creating music and learning from one another along the way.

“I learned how to lead an ensemble without a conductor and how to communicate with the pianist,” said Garrett. “Additionally, I enjoyed playing with the second violin soloist and learned both of our parts well to understand how they fit together.”

 

 

Poppe said that working with other committed musicians motivated her to be a better violist and taught her valuable lessons of being a collaborative artist. “When we finished playing, I was proud of what our hard work could accomplish,” said Poppe. “The challenge of this camp expanded my range of abilities and showed my potential. I was proud when I learned a more difficult song.”

 

“There is no better way to emerge from the isolation of the pandemic than by playing chamber music!” said Professor June Huang, assistant professor of violin and director of strings at George Mason University, who directed both of our strings and chamber ensemble as summer programs. “This past summer, the participants at the Mason Strings Camp and Mason Chamber Music Intensive came together determined to create music. Their positivity, resilience, and musicianship made the world a celebratory place to be and reminded us all that every note counts.”

Mason Strings Camp and Mason Chamber Music Intensive are summer music programs designed for serious young musicians who wish to gain ensemble experience in their music learning. Directed and coached by Mason Dewberry School of Music string and piano faculty, programs include small ensemble and chamber music performance opportunities, and students work directly with esteemed musicians and orchestra directors in all aspects of music enrichment.

In addition to challenging repertoires and talented faculty, Lee, who was selected as a Concertmaster, shared that the close-knit community made playing music enjoyable. “It has been a pleasure to make new friends in both my orchestra and quartet who enjoy playing an instrument as much as I do.”

Although the programs have ended in the summer, our young musicians found new opportunities to apply their recently developed skills and continued collaborating with other young musicians.

 

 

“I really enjoy how the viola sounds with other instruments,” said Poppe, who decided to try out another orchestra program and auditioned for The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras.

“Through the Mason Strings Camp, I learned the importance of being able to cue to start performing at the right time,” said Lee. Shortly after the program, Lee auditioned for the American Youth Debut Orchestra, the beginner-level orchestra of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO). She was selected as the concertmaster and started her very first full-year orchestra experience.

Congratulations on our ACMP scholarship recipients and program participants. We wish all the best to our young musicians as they embark on the next chapter of their musical journey.

 

Seven piano students received recognition for their high-level performance and skillsets in national standard examinations created by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM). Three students received Gold Medals for earning the highest score in the Southeast Region, and seven students achieved the highest marks among all Virginia contestants.

“This is a great honor and a huge congratulation to our RCM winners this year,” said Piano Teaching Artist Faith Zúñiga, who teaches private lessons and coaches the students in preparing for their exams. “It’s because of my students’ hard work and their parents’ support.”

The seven students who received the recognition are:

Gold Medalists:
Annabelle Yeh, Preparatory A
Madison Do, Level 1
Keira Konson, Level 8

State Certificates:
Annabelle Yeh, Preparatory A
Emerie Wonnum, Preparatory B
Madison Do, Level 1
Grace Amartuvshin, Level 5
Chloe Tan, Level 6
Jayden Nguyen, Level 7
Keira Konson, Level 8

RCM provides national standard examinations for numerous instruments guiding young musicians for a holistic music study. The examination assesses students’ musicianship through several testing components such as performance, sight-reading, aural skills, and technical tests. Students progress through levels of difficulty from Preparatory A to Level 10.

Congratulations again to all our RCM winners. We are so proud of all your accomplishments. Check out our RCM winners’ pieces of advice for our young musicians who are preparing for a music exam or competition:

 

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Grace Amartuvshin
Years of Piano Study: 7 Years

“Exams and competitions aren’t everything, and if you don’t do as well as you wanted to, it doesn’t define who you are as a performer. Don’t compare yourself to others- focus on being better than you were yesterday.”

 

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Madison Do
Years of Piano Study: 5 Years

“Practice a lot without burning yourself out, and then play with confidence and have fun.”

 

 

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Keira Konson
Years of Piano Study: 13 Years

“When you are preparing for a recital or competition, practice in as many ways as you can! Once you feel confident that you have the piece ready and can play it from memory, get creative: making recordings is a great way to test yourself and prepare for a performance. Or play in front of your family or friends exactly how you are going to for the performance. You will feel more confident when you get up on stage to perform for a broader audience if you have already played in front of different groups of people you know and trust. The last thing is to have fun with it! Performing is an incredible opportunity, so don’t lose sight of that!”

 

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Jayden Nguyen
Years of Piano Study: 7 Years

“Participate in as many piano recitals or festivals as possible that give you the opportunities to perform in front of many people and to help build the confidence.”

 

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Chloe Tan
Years of Piano Study: 7 Years

“Persistence makes a long way. The closer you are to the events, the more tiring it will feel. But persistence will help you get closer to your best.”

 

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Emerie Wonnum
Years of Piano Study: 6 Years

“Always keep practicing and focus a lot on your technique; it will help you a lot.”

 

 

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Annabelle Yeh
Years of Piano Study: 6 Years

“Practice with helpful things like the metronome and counting out loud to help you learn rhythms.”

 

 

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Ambitious. Talented. Cheerful. These are just a few words to describe Alexandria Hunter, named Miss Black USA Talented Teen 2021. Hunter works hard through authenticity, which leads her on a path to unapologetically chase her dream of empowering young girls.

An all-star student with active involvement in choir, theater, cheerleading, student government, and national honor societies, Hunter traced her love for music to writing music and starting voice lessons at age six.

“I fell in love with singing and continued,” said Hunter. After discovering that she could pursue classical singing as a career in 10th grade, Hunter began working at full speed to become an influential opera singer uplifting others’ spirits through music.

“When I had that revelation, I never stopped, and I have been working toward being a professional opera singer and performer ever since,” Hunter said.

Hunter received classical vocal training at the Brevard Music Center Summer Institute and opera training with Academy Voice Teaching Artist James Myers throughout her high school career. With total effort and dedication in her vocal training, Hunter captured lead roles in her high school theater productions and was selected for All-County, All-District, and All-Virginia Choir. In summer 2020, Hunter made her first international opera performance through the AAMS International Summer Music Institute in Tampere, Finland.

Hunter didn’t stop grasping her dream after becoming a vocal performance student at James Madison University. She continued pushing herself to be the best of the best and tested her strengths through the Miss Black USA Talented Teen competition.

“Watching all of these talented young women who looked like me left a lasting impression on me,” said Hunter, who first participated in a pageant program when she was eight. “I made it a goal of mine to compete as a teen when I was old enough.”

Hunter’s hard work paid off. She earned Miss Black Virginia Talented Teen title in 2019 and competed against 50 contestants for the national title, all while finishing up high school, applying for colleges, and juggling her involvement in the English and music honor societies, a school theater production, and the student government.

“Winning the national title still feels surreal,” said Hunter. “I was with my mom at the time [when I found out the result], and we were jumping with joy. It really was a great moment.”

Alongside fame and success from the competition, Hunter will share her incredible voice and launch her heartfelt campaign—providing encouragement and inspiration to communities desperately in need through stories and the sound of music.

As she has always been true to herself, Hunter is ready to serve as a voice for women of color to redefine the narratives around women of color and empower young girls to become compassionate and confident individuals.

Academy Piano Teaching Artist, Faith Zúñiga, published a collection of sonatinas, “Five Fun & Flashy Sonatinas for Ten Tiny Fingers: Easy Sonatinas for the First Years at Sonata Festival,” featuring five original solo compositions for beginning piano students.

Written for students ranging from 5-8 years old in the first one to two years of piano lessons, Ms. Zúñiga, Summer Piano Academy coach and private lesson instructor, composed five sonatinas inspired by nature and the enthusiastic stories her students shared at their private lessons. A sonatina is a simple or short composition performed by young pianists as a solo repertoire.

 

 

“There is a scarcity of accessible sonatinas for early beginning piano students,” said Ms. Zúñiga, whose students frequently participate in regional and national piano and music competitions. “Currently, there are only a couple of other sonatina books for this level and age range, which makes for minimal repertoire options for students who want to attend piano competitions such as the Sonata Festival by Northern Virginia Music Teacher Association.”

The collection starts with an easy piece, “Panda Sonatina,” dedicated to the newborn panda, Xiao Qi Ji, at the Smithsonian Zoo, and progresses with slightly more difficulties throughout the book, ending with a three-part repertoire, “Fancy Fingers Sonatina,” that includes a scale-based first movement, a steady-tempo second movement, and an orchestral soloist third movement.

Ms. Zúñiga hopes the new options will encourage young pianists to participate in music competitions or festivals as they can learn valuable playing and performance experiences throughout the process. For students who are preparing their first Sonata Festival, Ms. Zúñiga provided a few helpful tips:

• Be careful to choose one fast and one slow movement, according to the sonata festival guidelines.
• Have fun learning the music and play with flexible arm and wrist motions.
• Pay extra attention to all the details like dynamics and articulation as judges love it when students show careful technique.

 

 

Ms. Zúñiga is an accomplished educator and performing artist who was semifinalist in both the Victor Elmaleh Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Byrd International Piano Competition. She is an active adjudicator and has judged competitions such as the Robert & Frances Allen Young Artist Competition, the Bland Competition, the NVMTA Spring Festival and Sonata Festival, the MCAA Music Competitions, the MCAA Juried Recitals, and the Mason Piano Academy (Advanced) competition.

The book is available to purchase on Amazon. If you are interested in receiving piano instruction from Ms. Zúñiga, join our Summer Piano Academy for ages 8-13 or Summer Piano Academy (Advanced) for ages 13-18.