Category: tmea

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

LHS Studio Spotlight: Molly

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Molly H.

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.

LHS Musicians Make Region, Perform this Weekend!

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We’re proud to announce that LHS violinists and violists will be performing tomorrow in ALL FOUR Region groups! (Mobile users, click through to website to view concert details.)

Special shout-out to Lizzie (6th grade, Dulles MS) for winning the Concertmaster spot (and solo!) in the MS Philharmonic. Musical leadership runs in the family — Lizzie’s twin sister, Catherine, will perform as Principal 2nd Violin in the MS Symphony!

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Image courtesy of The Sugar Land Moms 

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

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“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

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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.

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!

 

 

 

LHS Musicians Accepted into Top School Orchestras

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Hello, everyone!

It’s audition season, and that means we’re starting to find out which orchestras our young musicians have been accepted into for the 2018 – 2019 school year! We’ll update this site with results as they come in, as so far only a few schools have posted their audition results and many more are sure to do so between now and August!

Congratulations to Seline (violin) and Dhruv (viola) for reaching the top orchestra (Camerata) at Austin High School! Both Seline and Dhruv will have the huge honor of performing at the Chicago Midwest Clinic in December 2018.

Congratulations to Jordan (viola) for reaching the top orchestra (Symphony) at Travis High School! Jordan will attend the high school AFA program this summer as well. So exciting!

Jordan joins Esosa (viola) in the top Travis group. On that note, Esosa will be spending one month this summer in Thailand, having successfully applied for a summer abroad scholarship through the Council on International Educational Exchance (CIEE) program. Wow, Esosa!

Congratulations to Zayn (viola) for reaching the top orchestra (Camerata) at Garcia Middle School as a 6th-grader! Zayn will attend the AFA this summer as well.

Congratulations to Aishwarya (violin), who will stay in the top group at Clements HS and to Amanda (viola), who will stay in the top group at Ridgepoint HS.

*EDIT, 5/31* Congratulations also to Ryder (viola), who has reached the top orchestra (Symphony) at Sartartia Middle School!

*Edit, Fall 2018, below*

Congratulations to Hamsini for being the only freshman violinist accepted into the top group at Elkins HS!

Congratulations to Tarunikha for being accepted as a freshman violist at Elkins HS as well!

Congratulations to Catherine and Elizabeth for being accepted into the top group at Dulles MS as incoming 6th-graders!

Congratulations to Olivia for being accepted into the top group at Baines MS on viola!

To everyone who will be auditioning this week and next — good luck, and remember to perform with confidence! We are already so proud of you!

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!

 

 

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

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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/

Ready for Region

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Happy Fall, Everyone!

Back by popular request, our fifth and final middle school region workshop will be this Saturday, October 17th at 2pm. With just one week left before auditions, it’s exciting to see how much everyone has accomplished! Remember to RSVP at 832-600-5338 to reserve your spot.

Ms. Haley