LHS Musicians Accepted into Houston Youth Symphony!

We are delighted to share the happy news today that all four LHS musicians who auditioned for the Houston Youth Symphony have been accepted! Congratulations to Christian (viola), Archana (violin), Catherine (violin), and Elizabeth (violin)! The 2018 – 2019 season will be Christian’s first year in HYS, Archana’s second, and Catherine and Elizabeth’s third. We are so proud of their wonderful accomplishments in an especially competitive audition year!

Additionally, Catherine and Elizabeth have been accepted into the top orchestra at Dulles MS, where they will begin 6th grade this fall. Christian and Archana will perform next spring at Carnegie Hall with the Clements HS orchestra. Thrilling news all around!

 

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Evelyn Lam, Catherine, Ms. Haley, and Lizzie

 

 

Congratulations, Emily!

Congratulations to Emily, age 8, on her stunning violin performance today for all of the students and teachers at Bentley Elementary! Out of the 31 students across grades K – 5 who auditioned for a panel of four judges, Emily was the only second-grader (!) selected to perform for today’s talent show. She will follow up today’s performance with another one tomorrow for parents. Keep up the amazing work, Emily!IMG_3078 2.jpg

 

LHS Senior Spotlight: Nikita

 

As we celebrate the end of this school year, I’m so thrilled to acknowlege everyone’s achievements. In particular, I’d like to recognize Nikita for her outstanding academic and musical accomplishments.

Nikita will graduate in June as Valedictorian at DeBakey High School. In addition to her musical achievements in middle and high school (including the Arts Supplement, Region, Houston Youth Symphony, LHS Showcase Concerts, Solo & Ensemble awards, performances at assisted living centers, and the Virtuosi of Houston Summer String Workshop), Nikita has demonstrated exceptional leadership as a violinist in our studio.

Nikita’s college acceptance letters included offers from UPenn, Rice, and the Houston Premedical Academy (HPA). Pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor, Nikita will attend the Houston Premedical Academy, an 8-year program that leads to graduation from the Baylor College of Medicine(!). Just 6 seniors per year are accepted into HPA. WOW, Nikita!

On a musical note, Nikita has accepted the position of Violin Teacher at Century Fine Arts in Sugar Land and is now welcoming new students into her very own studio!

Congratulations on your amazing accomplishments, Nikita! You have earned them all and we are thrilled for you and proud of you!

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Nikita & Ms. Haley rehearse (February 2016)

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LHS Violinists Hamsini and Ananya Receive Orchestra Awards

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!

 

 

LHS Violists Receive Top Marks at 6th Grade Solo & Ensemble Competition!

Today we have the honor of announcing the Solo & Ensemble results for our wonderful 6th-graders! As you all may know, many schools host the Solo & Ensemble competition for 6th graders a few months after the February Solo & Ensemble competition for older musicians (7th – 12th grade).

Congratulations to Zayn (6th Grade, Garcia Middle School) and Morgan (6th Grade, Baines Middle School) for receiving top marks (“1, Superior”) on their Solo & Ensemble performances this spring!

Special congratulations to Morgan for choosing to compete in both the solo AND the ensemble (chamber music) categories and receiving top marks in each. We are so proud of her and wish her the best of luck as she auditions this week for her school’s advanced orchestras!

Special congratulations to Zayn, who has already auditioned for and been selected into his school’s highest orchestra! We are so happy for his amazing progress this year!

On another inspiring note, both Zayn and Morgan have successfully auditioned for and been accepted into the American Festival for the Arts Summer Music Conservatory. Way to go, guys!

You can read about this past February’s wonderful Solo & Ensemble results for 7th – 12th grade LHS musicians here: https://laurenhaleystudios.com/2018/03/23/lhs-musicians-awarded-26-grade-1-medals-at-solo-ensemble/

LHS Musicians Awarded 26 Grade 1 Medals at Solo & Ensemble

We’re already off to a fantastic year at LHS, with our young musicians bringing home 26 Grade 1 medals in both the Solo and Ensemble categories at this year’s Solo & Ensemble competition. You’ll notice that the number of Grade I Medals exceeds the number of names on this list, indicating how many of our young musicians chose to compete in both categories and were awarded top marks and medals in each!

Katelynn, Clements HS, viola*

Neha, Fort Settlement MS, viola*

Anisha, Quail Valley MS, violin*

Amanda, Ridgepoint HS, viola*

Jacob, Quail Valley MS, viola*

Tarunikha, Fort Settlement MS, viola*

Archana, Clements HS, violin*

Anika, Dulles HS, viola*

Jordan, Travis HS, viola*

Aishwarya, Clements HS, violin*

Jessica, Fort Settlement MS, violin*

Olivia, Baines MS, viola

Hamsini, Fort Settlement MS, violin*

Mustafa, Travis HS, viola*

Ananya, Clements HS, violin*

Esosa, Travis HS, viola

Seline, Austin HS, violin*

Isaac, Dulles MS, viola*

Christian, Sugar Land MS, viola*

Paige, Dulles HS, violin*

Special congratulations to students who chose to compete in both categories and received top marks in each, and to our high schoolers who chose to perform their Level 1 pieces by memory and, in receiving top marks, qualified for state auditions in May!

*Indicates musicians who received the top grade for performances of PML Level 1 pieces. This is the highest HS level on the PML, and we’re thrilled with the number of middle school (!) and high school musicians who pursue these advanced studies!

Our new 6th-grade musicians on violin and viola will be competiting in Solo & Ensemble for the first time later this spring. We wish them luck and will keep you posted on their amazing progress!

Congratulations, Hamsini!

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 Young Musicians Make Region!

Congratulations to our young musicians who have made Region this year!

It is a tremendous achievement for performers to be selected from an exceptionally large number of competitors to represent their schools in the Region concerts this November!

Amanda V., viola, Ridge Point HS

Aishwarya M., violin, Clements HS

Christian B., viola, First Colony MS

Hamsini M., violin, Fort Settlement MS

Isaac R., violin, Fort Settlement MS

Neha C., viola, Fort Settlement MS

Riya P., violin, Sartartia MS

Tarunikha S., viola, Fort Settlement MS

Congratulations, Winter Showcase Musicians!

Congratulations to all of the LHS families who participated in this Saturday’s Winter Showcase Concerts! Violinists and violists performed works ranging from Suzuki Book I favorites to Beethoven’s Spring Sonata and Schumann’s Märchenbilder. From Bartók to Mozart, our LHS performers demonstrated command of a wide range of musical styles.

We were thrilled to once again offer students the opportunity to work with LHS pianist Evelyn Lam (https://laurenhaleystudios.com/meettheartists/) as Ms. Lam completes her doctoral degree in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Virtuosi of Houston and Karen Needham hosted both the 5:30pm and 7:30pm LHS recitals in their beautiful studio. Thank you again, Virtuosi and Ms. Needham!

Parents can submit their photos from the recital to be posted here. Congratulations again to all performers! 

 

Below: Ms. Haley and Sophie, Sebastian and Ms. Haley

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LHS Pianist Evelyn Lam, B.M., M.M., Eastman School of Music

 

LHS Welcomes 2017!

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!