February was a tough for month for us at the Sesek String Studio. Sadly, we had a death in Amber's family. We needed to take time time to be with loved ones.
But now, we are back! We have a lot to share with you and plenty of things happening in the coming months! We will also come back to the practice challenge we were supposed to have this month. So come back to our newsletters to see what is happening! In this month's newsletter:
February Birthdays
Student of the Month: Anishka Gogoi
Music Theory Students Earn TOP MARKS!
Save the Dates!
Fanny and Felix's Follies
February Birthdays
Happiest birthday to our shortest month of the year born students! We hope you had an amazing day!
Sarah L.
Ankang L.
Vanessa L.
Student of the Month
Anishka Gogoi
City and state currently residing?
Bothell, Washington.
What are you playing/working on right now?
We just finished learning about secondary dominant and leading tone functions, and are starting the modulations chapter from the Tonal Harmony textbook. When did you start in SSS?
I joined the studio in June of 2019 through a friend's recommendation, learning both viola and music theory. After the studio moved down to Texas, I switched to only theory, but I'm starting viola again in March! What drew you to music theory?
I knew some basic music theory from piano classes and it always interested me but didn't really pursue learning it further. After joining SSS and learning Amber used to be a theory professor, I couldn't pass up the opportunity! To me, theory is mathematical, and doing analysis on pieces especially feels just like doing math problems, which I'm pretty good at. It helps me understand a lot of things I see and hear in music that I hadn't before, and makes me a better well rounded musician.
What is your favorite musical experience to date?
Recently, I got to see violinist Ray Chen perform the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. He played so well and it was awe inspiring to see someone I greatly admire perform live. Another musician I got to hear in the same hall with my piano teacher was pianist Yiruma. I played his piece River Flows in You that same year before the concert and it was an invaluable experience hearing it from the composer himself.
In what other activities do you participate?
I also take lessons in math and madhubani (an art style from India), both of which I've been doing for practically my whole life. In my free time I really enjoy skiing, playing the piano and viola, listening to music, reading, making glass paintings, and above all, napping.
Any other tidbits about yourself that you want others to know?
I was a big dancer up until a couple years ago. I did mainly ballet, kathak (Indian classical), and acrobatics. Acrobatics was by far my favorite, and I never told Amber this but she actually reminded me a lot of my acro teacher. I joined the studio a month or two after my last acro recital and was very sad about having to quit since I loved my teacher so much. The timing for joining SSS couldn't be more perfect!
Theory Students earn TOP MARKS!
Congratulations to TWO of our SSS students, Student of the Month, Anishka G. and Stefan C. Each of them passed their internationally recognized theory examinations. Anishka passed the highest level of the Royal Conservatory of Music Theory examination with distinction. Stefan passed the Royal Academy/College of London's Music Theory exam. Let's give our students a huge hand for their outstanding achievements!
Save the Dates!
Both Amber and Luka have solo performances in the state of Washington coming up in March. Luka will be performing the Bruch Violin Concerto with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra and Amber will perform the Arpeggione Viola Sonata with the Olympia Symphony. Both performances are on the same date, Sunday March 20th! For more details, check out the links to both orchestras!
Fanny and Felix's Follies
Well, February weather can be hit or miss here in Texas. Sometimes it's freezing but most days are fairly mild and nice and Miss Fanny surely took advantage of some nice weather, falling asleep next to the pool. Ahhhhhh, it's a dog's life ain't it?! We'll check in next month with both poodles for an update on their adventurous life!
TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
Help spread the word about our studio! If you refer a friend, and they sign up for lessons, you get 15% off of your next month's total tuition!
It's our way of saying "Thank You" for helping us grow! There is NO LIMIT to the number of people you can refer! (Just make sure they include you as a reference when they sign up!)
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