Category: Music

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.

We are excited to share that saxophone student, Brayden Wang, received third place at the 2020 Metropolitan Music Festival, the Solo Brass/Woodwinds category.

“Brayden has flourished into a very confident and charismatic performer with a wonderful lyrical tone,” said Academy Instructor Ariel Williams, Brayden’s private lessons teacher. “His musical interpretations are compelling and show how hard he has worked to develop his craft as a performer.”

The competition attracts hundreds of young musicians around the world annually. Brayden said he had a rewarding experience performing and receiving feedback from nationally and internationally known artists.

“It was not as stressful as performing in front of the audience,” said Brayden. “It’s different from performing in-person. Because I was recording in my home, I felt less nervous.”

A young musician who actively participates in district band auditions and solo and ensemble competitions, Brayden said that these performing opportunities allow him to reflect on his progress and weaknesses and provide him a direction of what to improve upon for future performances.

Ms. Williams praised Brayden’s passion and commitment to playing the saxophone. “Coaching a student through a competition experience is challenging at the best of times. Competitions require a high level of focus and preparation and the ability to execute a great performance under intense pressure. Brayden’s competition placement was well-deserved and served as a great motivator for his studies this year.”

Earning a competition placement was not an easy task, and Brayden contributed his success to Ms. Williams’ coaching and two months of consistent practices.

Ms. Williams commented that preparing competitions during COVID added extra difficulties on the students, and they are overcoming obstacles in distance-learning with a positive attitude. “I have been amazed with the resilience and perseverance of my students during this time of virtual lessons,” said Ms. Williams. “They have shown a dedication to their craft even through the adversity we have all faced this year.”

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