Category: concertmaster

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

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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.”

Studio News

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

 

LHS Young Musicians Shine!

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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

Audition Season is Here + a NEW Local Resource!

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https://thesugarlandmoms.com/4-easy-ways-to-boost-audition-performance-for-orchestra-kids/

Happy Fall, Y’all!

HS Region Auditions will be this Saturday, October 13th, and MS Region Auditions will be next Saturday, October 20th. To celebrate these exciting auditions and help everyone prepare, I’ve teamed up with the Sugar Land Moms Network for an article sharing my audition prep tips! https://thesugarlandmoms.com/4-easy-ways-to-boost-audition-performance-for-orchestra-kids/

Sugar Land Moms is a new go-to site for families and is a chapter of The Local Moms Network, https://thelocalmomsnetwork.com. It’s a great resource for everything from local event calendars, arts and activity resources, and parent interviews to deals from nearby businesses.

In LHS news this week, we’re extra proud of Anika, who as principal viola in her Dulles orchestra will perform a solo in tomorrow’s orchestra concert. We’re also absolutely thrilled for Jordan, who (in the top group at Travis) has started coaching viola sectionals for a lower ensemble and has her own principal viola solo coming up!

 

 

 

Kids Aren’t Lazy Climbs to the #1 New Release Spot in 2 Categories!

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We’re thrilled to announce today’s launch of Kids Aren’t Lazy: Developing Motivation & Talent Through Music (PDP, 2018)!

As of this evening, Kids Aren’t Lazy has become the #1 New Release in TWO Amazon categories — Gifted Students Education and Violins!

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Follow this link to purchase your copy! http://a.co/6jXT2rC

LHS Violinists Hamsini and Ananya Receive Orchestra Awards

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Congratulations to Hamsini, who last night received the Director’s Choice Award at Fort Settlement Middle School! Hamsini is in the top orchestra at FSMS and in December she performed the concertmaster solo for Fantasia on Greensleeves (Ralph Vaughan Williams).

Congratulations to Ananya for receiving the Outstanding Musicianship Award from her orchestra at Clements High School! A few weeks ago, Ananya led her orchestra to Sweepstakes at DC Fest with her fantastic concertmaster solo for Pavane (Gabriel Fauré).

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Ananya and her Outstanding Musicianship Award!

 

 

Congratulations, Hamsini!

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Congratulations to LHS violinist Hamsini on her successful audition for the extended concertmaster solo in her school orchestra’s upcoming performance!

Hamsini has won the first violin solo for Fantasia on Greensleeves (Ralph Vaughan Williams) and will perform it as concertmaster of the highest Fort Settlement Middle School orchestra at their winter concert this Monday, December 4th.

Hamsini, in eighth grade, also successfully auditioned for and performed in the 2017 MS Region concert. She received the top mark (“1”) for her 2017 Solo & Ensemble performance and is a member of the National Junior Honor Society. We are so proud of you, Hamsini!

 

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Ms. Haley and Hamsini (with her little sister!) at the Winter 2015 Showcase Performance

 

LHS Presents the 2017 Arts Résumé Workshop

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LHS Presents

The 2017 Arts Résumé Workshop

Saturday, May 6th, 2017

2:00 – 3:00PM

Sugar Land Art Center & Gallery

Yellow Room

$35 Admission Per Student-Parent Team

Families should bring a laptop, charger, and records of the following accomplishments:

  • Awards, Honors, Scholarships
  • Region/All-State Participation
  • Solo & Ensemble
  • School Leadership Positions
  • Youth Orchestras
  • Summer Festivals
  • Chamber Music
  • Significant Performances & Venues
  • Teachers, Coaches, & Directors
  • Teaching & Paid Performance Experience

Students will leave with their completed current musical résumé and a template for adding future accomplishments.

Space is extremely limited. Spots are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested parties should contact Ms. Haley directly to reserve their space.

LHS Welcomes 2017!

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As we celebrate the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 it’s wonderful to take a look back at the accomplishments of LHS students! As your teacher, I’m so honored to have the opportunity to work with all of you. In the past few months alone we’ve launched a new, larger studio space at the Sugar Land Art Center and Gallery, performed all over Houston, and celebrated recitals, competitions, auditions, academic awards, and youth orchestra performances. It’s so tremendously exciting to see everyone take on leadership positions in their school orchestras as well. Bravo, 2016, and here’s to starting 2017 off on the right note!

 

Catherine & Lizzie perform at the Sugar Land Art Center & Gallery
Even the tiniest violin needs to be exactly in tune!
Ms. Haley and Daelyn
All smiles after a group class
Ananya at Carnegie Hall!
Manasa and Manjunath performed at an event for the Fort Bend Women’s Shelter!
Congratulations on your new medal, Amanda!
Way to go, Catherine and Lizzie!
Ms. Haley with Dr. Donna Brink Fox (Eastman School of Music)
Ms. Haley and Irina Walters after Ms. Haley’s lecture and performance at ACS Egham International School
Let’s go, team!

 

 

 

22 LHS Students Win 27 Grade 1 Awards at Solo & Ensemble

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The final award count for Solo & Ensemble is in and it’s wonderful to announce that 22 LHS students won Grade 1 marks, with 5 students competing in both the Solo and  Ensemble categories and securing Grade 1 in both competitions. Every Solo & Ensemble contestant who performed in the 2016 LHS Student Showcase Recital on February 13th received a 1 for their solo grade. Well done, kids!

We’re super excited for Amanda, Ananya, Chris, Deepa, Nikita, Paige, Sharon, and Sophie, all of whom received Grade 1 marks on Class 1 (highest HS level) pieces. Sharon and Amanda are still in middle school (7th grade) !

Congratulations to Danae, Deepa, Sophie, Kayle, and Isaac for auditioning for both solo and ensemble competitions and securing Grade 1 marks in both categories!

Well done to Sneha for earning the current concertmaster spot of the Bowie Symphony, to William for maintaining the concertmaster spot in his orchestra at Elkins, to Amanda for maintaining her principal viola spot at Baines, and to Jacob for maintaining his principal viola chair at Quail Valley. We’re all so excited for Deepa, who will play first desk viola for Travis HS’s upcoming performance in Carnegie Hall over spring break!

MS and HS performers are graded on a scale from 1 (best) to 5, so without further ado, here’s the complete list of the LHS students who were awarded Grade 1:

Amanda

Ananya

Anisha

Ayushi

Chris

Danae

Deepa

Enara

Esosa

Isaac

Kayle

Maggie

Megan

Neha

Nikita

Paige

Sarah

Seline

Sharon

Sneha

Sophie

Taruni

Congratulations to everyone on your wonderful progress!