Congratulations, Dr. Lam!

Happy New Year, everyone! We’re so excited to share two pieces of happy news from our wonderful studio pianist!

Congratulations to Evelyn for officially becoming Dr. Lam! Evelyn completed her D.M.A. in Piano Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music this fall. Congratulations, Dr. Lam!

On New Year’s Eve, Evelyn married her fiancé, Nathan, at the St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Winchester, TX! Here’s the lovely story in Evelyn’s own words:

“Last week was one of the wildest weeks I’ve ever had, but I would relive it all in a heartbeat. Two days after Nathan proposed on Christmas, Nathan received some unexpected news that led us to completely change our initial plans of marrying in May.

With the love and help of Nathan’s parents, his cousins, and two of my very dear friends, we put together an intimate, simple, lovely reception at Nathan’s parents’ house. We made a delicious taco bar for the reception, with a cake for dessert.

The ceremony was sweet and simple, held at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Winchester, Texas — just down the street from Nathan’s parents’ house. 

It was a beautiful, sunny, clear day. Jim Haley (Lauren’s father) walked me down the aisle, with the Glasgow Love Theme from Love Actually as the processional.

No fancy dress. No bridesmaids, groomsmen, or big, fancy reception — just us and a couple of friends and family. 

We had a wonderful, wonderful time.

It took a village to make this special day happen, and we are extremely thankful.”

Best wishes and congratulations to Evelyn and Nathan!

Spring 2022 Studio News

It’s been a whirlwind season of recitals, auditions, and performances, and LHS young musicians have so much good news to share!

Congratulations to Sofia and her family on her senior recital! Sofia’s senior recital featured works of Walton, Schubert, and Faure, in addition to a gorgeous duet performance with her grandfather! Sofia is a graduating senior from the top HYS and Dulles HS orchestras. Sofia attended the NYU Summer Strings Intensive, Carnegie Mellon summer pre-college program, and Juilliard Theory Intensive. I’m so excited for Sofia to pursue her dreams this fall at NYU!

Congratulations to Christian and his family on his senior recital! Christian has been a key performer in just about every Houston music organization, from Virtuosi of Houston to HYS, Region orchestras, AFA, and of course the top Clements HS orchestra! Christian also attended the prestigious Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival in Miami. Christian’s senior recital at Virtuosi of Houston featured works of Reger and Stamitz, and his surprise encore performance of Take Me Out to the Ballgame inspired the whole audience to sing along. Congratulations, Christian!

Congratulations to Pramiti, Catherine, Elizabeth, and Ryder on receiving top marks in Austin at State over Memorial Day weekend! All received the highest marks (“1”) after performing their pieces by memory with collaborative pianists. Pramiti performed a movement of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Catherine performed a movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, Elizabeth performed Kreisler’s beloved Sicilienne & Rigaudon, and Ryder performed a movement of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata. Many thanks to their wonderful orchestra directors — Michael Isadore, Angela Yip, and Sabrina Behrens — for their support and encouragement!

Congratulations to Catherine and Elizabeth on their acceptance to the Juilliard’s music theory course this summer! Catherine and Elizabeth are violinists in the top orchestra at Dulles HS and will enter 10th grade this fall.

Congratulations to Ryder on being awarded the prestigious Interlochen Orchestral Scholarship, a full tuition merit scholarship to attend Interlochen this summer!  Ryder is a rising senior in the top orchestra at Travis HS, an All-State violist, and last year attended both the NYU Summer Strings Intensive and Juilliard’s college-credit summer music theory course.

Congratulations to Sohum for being awarded the TGAT summer merit scholarship to attend the AFA composition program this summer! Sohum is a violist and composer in the highest orchestra at QVMS and this year made Region, received top marks at Solo & Ensemble, and was awarded the 7th grade Orchestra Merit Award at QVMS. Way to go, Sohum!

It was such a joy earlier this semester to guest lecture for two courses at Eastman — String Pedagogy, taught by Dr. Lisa Caravan, and Studio Teaching: An Essential Career Component, taught by Prof. Maura McCune Corvington. It’s always inspiring and energizing to connect with Eastman students and professors, and I bring back so many of their good ideas to my own lessons!

Next up, we’re so excited to see Taruni and Hamsini perform in their collaborative senior recital this weekend, which will feature the show-stopping Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia in addition to solo works! You’ll recognize Hamsini & Taruni from their performances in the Elkins 2022 production of The Wizard of Oz. Hamsini is also the founder of Interludes, which provides free lessons and group classes for younger musicians. Best of luck to Hamsini and Taruni for a fabulous senior recital!

If you have some happy musical news you’d like to share with the studio, send us an email!

November Studio News

Here’s a little preview of what we’re up to this month!

Congratulations to the LHS young musicians who made Region!

Ryder, viola, Travis HS

Sofia, viola, Dulles HS

Christian, viola, Clements HS

Tarunikha, viola, Elkins HS

Catherine, violin, Dulles HS

Elizabeth, violin, Dulles HS

Rohith, violin, Quail Valley MS

Sohum, viola, Quail Valley MS

Kaitlyn, violin, First Colony MS

Emily, violin, Ereckson MS (Region 25)

Special congratulations to LHS violist Ryder J. for ranking #1 at HS Region and for making the upcoming final round of the Houston Civic Symphony Concerto Competition! Ryder is principal violist at Travis HS, performs in Virtuosi, & is currently accepting MS students. This summer, he attended the NYU SummerStrings program and Juilliard’s college-credit theory course. Yay, Ryder!

Very special shout-out to Rohith, who as a seventh-grader ranked #3 (!) out of the hundreds of violinists who auditioned for MS Region! Region orchestra concerts will be on Saturday, November 20th. Congratulations, Rohith! Goodness, it’s so fun to plan for 8th grade next year!

Congratulations to Hamsini for winning and performing the concertmaster solo for Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol with the Elkins HS orchestra! This year, Hamsini founded Interludes, a comprehensive mentorship program pairing advanced HS musicians with families of younger musicians to arrange free private lessons and group classes. You can catch Hamsini performing in the Elkins HS production of The Wizard of Oz in January. Can’t wait!

Congratulations to Georgie for performing for Chloe Trevor (!) last week — SO exciting! Georgie is growing SO FAST and is an expert on all things Vivaldi. She is counting down the minutes to starting de Beriot’s Scene de Ballet!

LHS families, if you have some happy studio news to share, please email Ms. Haley!

Studio News!

It’s finally fall and that means we have all sorts of happy news to share!

Congratulations to Jordan (viola), Elizabeth (violin), and Catherine (violin) for their acceptance letters to Virtuosi of Houston! We’re so proud of their audition success!

Next up, we’re delighted to share Ms. Haley’s Musikal Journey in collaboration with Samantha Steitz at Musikal Husky! Ms. Steitz and Ms. Haley met as guests of The Music Educator Podcast (Greg Childress) and mutual pedagogy nerdiness ensued, of course! Ms. Steitz is a pianist and pedagogue, as well as the co-author of Rhythm Keeper, Ms. Haley’s FAVORITE rhythm book. Mobile users, click through to your browser to view this link to Ms. Haley’s Musikal Journey. PS — If you and your family don’t yet have Rhythm Keeper (spoiler alert — you NEED this book!), you can save 15% on Rhythm Keeper with code LHSTUDIOS!

Photo by Albertine Wang

This past weekend, Ms. Haley flew to Rochester to speak for the Rochester Cello Society at the Hochstein School of Music & Dance. Many thanks to Hochstein for the Recital Hall and to Sandra Halleran and the RCS for hosting! While in town, it was amazing to reunite with Eastman mentors and colleagues and to celebrate Sarah C. Mangelsdorf’s inauguration as the UR’s 11th president! MELIORA!

One happy surprise was discovering this Eastman IML poster by the Sibley Music Library elevator. So neat! (Many thanks to Anna Schlia for the heads up!)

In other news, all three parts for Applause to the Musician’s series with Ms. Haley have been released! Watch the videos and subscribe to Applause to the Musician HERE.

Remember to follow @LAURENHALEYSTUDIOS on Instagram to keep up with the latest studio news!

Applause to the Musician Presents ‘How to Inspire Growth in Your Musical Child’

Applause to the Musician’s series How to Inspire Growth in Your Musical Child with Lauren Haley begins this week! Mobile users, click through to your browser and follow the link to this week’s video. Subscribe and tune in on Monday, September 30th and Monday, October 7th to watch Parts 2 and 3 of the series!

Many thanks to Maggie, Kevin, and Jerry at Applause to the Musician for this production!

Ms. Haley with Jerry and Maggie at Lauren Haley Studios. Photo credit: Kevin Hsieh

Institute for Music Leadership at the Eastman School of Music Features Ms. Haley in Spotlight Interview

It’s an honor to share this month’s Eastman IML Spotlight interview! Mobile users, click through to your browser to follow this link and read about balancing performance and education, advice to aspiring writers, and the inspiration behind Kids Aren’t Lazy!

So much of Eastman is reflected in Kids Aren’t Lazy and in my own studio. I was fortunate to belong to three ESM studios: Phillip Ying’s, Zvi Zeitlin’s, and Oleh Krysa’s. Phillip Ying shared with me the joy of chamber music. Zvi Zeitlin saw more potential in me than I saw in myself and invested so much in my development as a violinist. I will always be grateful for his determination. Oleh Krysa leads a studio full of kindness, friendship, and musical excellence, all while covering so much incredible repertoire!
I also had a fabulous mentor at the University of Rochester, Russell Peck. I took every English class he offered while I was studying at Eastman. He and his wife, Ruth Peck (a pianist) showed me that music and academics (writing, especially!) are hugely synergistic.

Ms. Haley as quoted in the Eastman School of Music’s Institute for Music Leadership (IML) Spotlight

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

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.”

LHS Violinist Anna M. Accepted into the Fort Bend Symphony!

Huge congratulations to LHS violinist Anna M. on her successful audition for the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra!

Anna’s first performance as a violinist in the FBSO will be the orchestra’s “Russian Fireworks” concert on Sunday, October 6th at 2 pm at the Stafford Center. Click here to get tickets to this performance, which will feature works by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov!

Congratulations, Anna! We’re so proud of your awesome work!

LHS Young Musicians Make Top Orchestras at School Auditions!

Congratulations to everyone on your stellar spring auditions! We are so excited to celebrate the successful varsity and JV audition results below!

Christian, viola (Clements HS)

Anika, viola (Dulles HS)

Seline, violin (Austin HS)

Hamsini, violin (Elkins HS)

Morgan, viola (Baines MS)

Jordan, viola (Travis HS)

Ryder, viola (Travis HS)

Berkay, violin (Quail Valley MS)

Zayn, viola (Garcia MS)

Taruni, viola (Elkins HS)

Rishab, viola (Fort Settlement MS)

Archana, violin (Clements HS)

Olivia, viola (Ridge Point HS)

Amanda, viola (Ridge Point HS)

Catherine, violin (Dulles MS)

Elizabeth, violin (Dulles MS)

Pramiti, violin (Fort Settlement MS)

#AuditionGoals (photo by Albertine Wang)

Tune in to KUHF 88.7 FM!

Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty

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.