Dr. Nayoon Choi Archives - Mason Community Arts Academy

Congratulations to our music faculty for a splendid evening of music and voice at yesterday’s Fairfax, Spotlight on the Arts festival performance. Our theme this year was music from film and television.

Pieces ranged from the main theme of Interstellar, performed by Dr. Nayoon Choi on flute and Dr. Estrella Hong accompanying on piano, to a selection of pieces from Star Wars and The Hobbit, performed by a guitar trio of Geoff Sawyer, Brian Slaymaker, and Hang Yin.

This year was our highest attendance to date with 150 attendees! We look forward to more performances by our faculty in the future and we hope to see you for next year’s Spotlight performance.

This performance was made possible with the generous support of the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts.

Introducing our Academy Woodwinds Area Coordinator, Dr. Nayoon Choi! The Area Coordinators provide a central connection for Academy faculty and staff with all private lesson studios at the Academy. They are experienced teachers and music professionals who serve as a resource, colleague, and leader within their instrumental area. We asked Dr. Nayoon Choi her thoughts on becoming a woodwinds area coordinator.

I am honored to serve as woodwind Area Coordinator. It is extremely rewarding to me to bring together and share bright ideas from our talented woodwind faculty and to help them to be the best teachers that they can be!
Dr. Choi

1) What is your earliest music memory?

My earliest music memory is my mom playing the piano. My mom loves music but she could not afford the musical lessons when she was young. She took the piano lessons with me and loves to play the piano.

2) What do you like most about playing your instrument?

I love to play my flute because it reproduces my emotion and voice. The flute is the instrument that represents human voice. When I play the musical pieces, I love to communicate with the piece and composer, and speak out with my flute voice.

3) What is one of your hobbies or interests outside of music?

I love cooking! I have traveled to many countries and enjoyed their traditional dishes. I purchase different spices and sauces and enjoy trying new recipes at home.

4) What has been a highlight of teaching at the Academy?

The staff and musical environment! I have been teaching at the Academy for 10 years and the staff has always been amazing in making a supportive and creative environment.

5) How do you prepare yourself to have a productive practice session?

Make a practice plan and set a goal. Before beginning each practice session, I think about what I need to work on to improve my playing such as learning a passage or part of a piece, improving my expression of the piece, or making better finger movement.