chamber music – LAUREN HALEY STUDIOS

Rochester Cello Society and Hochstein School of Music and Dance Welcome Ms. Haley for October Workshop

September 12, 2019by Lauren Haley Studios

The Rochester Cello Society and the Hochstein School of Music and Dance announce Strategies for Parents of Instrumentalists, a special event with Lauren Haley on Saturday, October 5th from 1:15 – 2:45 pm at the Hochstein School in Rochester, NY. All are welcome to attend this free workshop, which will include an intermission.

From Sandra Halleran, Founder of the Rochester Cello Society:

“The Rochester Cello Society and the Hochstein School of Music and Dance welcome Lauren Haley, renown author of Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation and Talent through Music. Lauren will give a session to Rochester’s parents of instrumentalists. Any parent who wants to learn strategies for supporting their young musician is welcome. Topics will include: the power of parents (and effective communication), developing practice routines that *really* stick, and helping young musicians and their families prepare for peak performance (competitions, auditions, etc!)
This workshop is FREE and will take place in the Hochstein Recital Hall.”

Tune in to KUHF 88.7 FM!

July 18, 2019by Lauren Haley Studios

Tune in to 88.7 FM KUHF on Thursday, August 1st at 12 and 7 pm to hear Ms. Haley’s interview with Michael Hagerty for Houston Matters / Houston Public Media!

To learn more about Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent Through Music, join violinist Gary Levinson (Senior Principal Associate Concertmaster, Dallas Symphony, and Artistic Director, Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth), pianist Baya Kakouberi (Artistic Director, Blue Candlelight Music Series, and Lauren Haley at Kawai Piano Gallery Houston on Saturday, August 3rd from 1 – 3 pm!

This masterclass and workshop is generously sponsored by Kawai Pianos and will be free and open to musical families (and teachers!) of all ages and instruments.

We are especially excited to welcome young musicians from Virtuosi of Houston to the masterclass for a special performance in collaboration with Baya Kakouberi! Many thanks to Karen Needham for facilitating Virtuosi’s performance.

LHS Young Musicians Earn 23 Grade 1 Awards at Solo & Ensemble Competitions

March 5, 2019by Lauren Haley Studios

Congratulations to LHS young musicians on last week’s stunning Solo & Ensemble performances! It’s thrilling to see everyone reach new levels of confidence and skill.

Special congratulations to players who performed Grade 1 pieces by memory. We look forward to their upcoming performances at State! We’re extra proud of everyone who competed in the ensemble category and earned an additional 1 there as well.

Studio News

February 13, 2019by Lauren Haley Studios

We’re excited to announce that Fishburn Violin Shop will carry Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent. Fishburn has shops in both The Woodlands and Tomball. We’re so happy to partner with them to make KAL available locally to more Texas families!

Photo & Design: Albertine Wang (River Oaks Bookstore, 2 February 2019)

Congratulations to Ananya B. (Clements HS), who has won a concertmaster solo for her Clements HS orchestra performance at Carnegie Hall on Monday, March 11th! We’re thrilled for Ananya and wish her the best for a fabulous performance.

Ananya in 2018 with her Outstanding Musicianship Award from Clements HS

Congratulations to Lauren H. for winning the J.S. Bach Musical Leadership Scholarship (a merit-based award) at Patrick Henry College in Washington, DC! Join us in celebrating Lauren at her upcoming senior recital on Saturday, April 13th.

Lauren H. (blue dress) and the rest of the Sugar Strings in 2018

We’ll see everyone soon at the LHS Winter Showcase Concert at Virtuosi of Houston on Sunday, February 24th at 6:00 pm! We’re thrilled to welcome back pianist Evelyn Lam to collaborate with LHS young musicians. Performances will feature works by Bruch, Walton, Lalo, Schumann, Kabalevsky, and others, and will be followed by a special performance by Ms. Lam. All are invited to join us for a reception following the recital.

LHS Collaborative Pianist & DMA Candidate (Eastman School of Music) Evelyn Lam

Announcing the February 2019 LHS Winter Showcase Concert!

January 7, 2019by Lauren Haley Studios

Happy New Year!

We’re excited to invite LHS musicians, families, and friends to the 2019 LHS Winter Showcase Concert on Sunday, February 24th, 2019 at 6:00PM in the Virtuosi of Houston Studio. We’re thrilled to welcome back pianist Evelyn Lam to collaborate with LHS young musicians. All are welcome to join us for a reception following the performances. See you there!

An Evening of Chamber Music with LHS, December 2018.

LHS Young Musicians Shine!

December 19, 2018by Lauren Haley Studios

We’re thrilled for everyone’s amazing performances this past Saturday at the LHS Evening of Chamber Music at the Virtuosi of Houston Studio! From Seitz to Lalo to Brahms (with a little bit of Twinkle!), LHS musicians performed both solo works and ensemble favorites.

As this semester comes to an end, we’re so excited to reflect on the leadership we’ve seen from LHS young musicians. From concertmaster solos (Jessica, Lizzie!) to principal viola solos (Jordan, Anika!), from coaching younger orchestras (Olivia, Jordan!) to leading ensemble performances in the community (Sugar Strings!), from being first chair (Morgan, Jessica, Jordan, Anika, Lizzie, Amanda, Christian…we’re surely missing a few young musicians in this list, let us know!), to performing in the Houston Youth Symphony (Christian, Archana, Catherine, Elizabeth!) from making region (LHS violinists/violists in ALL FOUR region orchestras!) to teaching lessons themselves (Molly, Lauren!), we have seen everyone grow tremendously.

This week, we send lots of luck to Seline (violin) and Dhruv (viola). Both are traveling to Chicago this week as members of the top orchestra at Austin HS. Dhruv and Seline will be performing in their orchestra at the Midwest Clinic. Have fun, guys!

Smile, everyone! Photo by Karen Needham

Amber (left) and Emily (Photo by Karen Needham)

Cheers! Photo by Karen Yang. Catherine (left) and Lizzie with Ms. Haley and Ms. Lam

LHS Studio Spotlight: Molly

November 27, 2018by Lauren Haley Studios

This week we’re speaking with Molly H. on what it took for her to make the top HS Region Orchestra (Symphony) just one year (!) after starting viola. Molly began playing the violin at age 6 and often leads The Sugar Strings in their performances around Sugar Land. In addition to playing violin and viola, Molly runs her own piano studio for young musicians.

You study three instruments in addition to your academic subjects! What’s your best piece of advice for other young musicians who want to pursue multiple areas of expertise?
Enjoy it! Don’t let your music just become a grade or a requirement. I feel the most accomplished when I can share my skills and bring joy to others!

How do you balance nerves and confidence in auditions and performances?
Before the region audition, I put positive affirmation statements on notecards, to tell myself I was prepared and would do well! At the audition, tried to block out all the other players and focus on being mentally prepared. At performances, I try to enjoy the music as much as I can and trust my muscle memory and all the hard work I put in!

Leading up to your audition, what was your practice schedule like?
When the music first came out, I made goals to have much of the music memorized fairly quickly. About a month from the audition, I increased my practicing to at least two hours a day. It was definitely challenging, but I found a drive within me. I had worked so hard, I couldn’t just give up! I knew that every minute I worked could be the difference of getting in or not.

Does your viola have a special story behind it? Tell us your favorite things about your instrument and why you chose it.
I really like my viola’s rich tone and, since it is only 14 inches I can switch between violin and viola. It’s an antique made in 1893 and I enjoy thinking of all the people who have heard it played!

What new pieces are you looking forward to adding to your repertoire this year?
I am looking forward to adding both viola and violin peices this year! I am currently preparing Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata on my viola.

An Evening of Chamber Music with LHS

November 16, 2018by Lauren Haley Studios

Lauren Haley Studios Presents

An Evening of Chamber Music

6pm on Saturday, December 15th, 2018

Virtuosi of Houston Studio

303 Memorial City Way Suite 235

Houston, TX 77024

We welcome everyone for an evening of chamber music, solo performances, and a guest appearance by the LHS Sugar Strings! Pianist Evelyn Lam (DMA candidate, Eastman School of Music) will join us from New York to collaborate with LHS young musicians.

We’ll perform music by Tchaikovsky, Lalo, Bach, and Rachmaninoff in addition to holiday classics! All are invited to join us for a reception following the performances. See you there!

LHS students Lauren, Molly, and Kyle are all smiles following their performances

Praise for KIDS AREN’T LAZY from the European String Teachers Association (ESTA) in ARCO Magazine, Fall 2018!

November 2, 2018by Lauren Haley Studios

“This book is absolutely brilliant…a must read for every teacher and music parent in the land…I shall be recommending it to all I know – go buy, now!!!”

-Vivienne Blumfield for Arco magazine (European String Teachers Association, UK), Fall 2018

Screenshot 2018-10-30 at 10.55.37 — ESTA UK Review of Kids Aren’t Lazy, Arco Magazine, Fall 2018

We’re over the moon to share the European String Teachers Association review of Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent Through Music from the Fall 2018 issue of Arco, which hits mailboxes today. For mobile readers, click through to your web browser to view the full review.

Welcome Back, Sugar Strings Chamber Ensemble!

September 27, 2018by Lauren Haley Studios

Welcome back, Sugar Strings! After their fabulous summer performances, the Sugar Strings are ready to begin rehearsals for their Fall/Winter 2018 Season and we’re excited to see what they have in store for us!