Recently, I was honored by tying for 3rd place in the 18 and under category of the Lincoln Poetry Contest! My poem “Land of Dreams” was submitted into the “Should we be thinking about today or tomorrow” category. Unfortunately, I could not attend the awards ceremony, as it was in Lincoln, California this past weekend. My poem was read there in my stead. There will be a chapbook released with all the winning poems, in which I will be included. I was elated when I found out – it is always nice to know that my poetry is accepted and appreciated.
Author: ekbaer
Piano Recital 2019
Another wonderful recital with my fabulous piano teacher, Ms. Irina! I am so lucky to have her as my mentor, friend, and instructor. This was a great recital and all of the students played beautifully – the older ones gave me something to aspire to. Below is the recording of my performance!
Atlanta Festival Academy
This summer, I had the honor of attending the first annual Atlanta Festival Academy. The festival academy was founded by Ms. Lin Wei, Ms. Amy Chang, and Mr. William Pu – who is now my teacher. This intensive is connected to the Menuhin violin competition, so I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Gordon Back, the artistic director of the contest and world-renowned pianist, and Chloe Chua, the 2018 winner. There were several other incredible professors, accompanists, and performers from all over the world, and it was incredible to get to work with and speak to all of them. I was part of an orchestra, and over the course of two weeks we prepared four pieces for the final performance. I also got two private violin lessons and a masterclass, both of which were incredible learning experiences. Below are the links to the pieces that we performed at the final concert. I am so excited for next year!
Atlanta Festival Academy Performance – 1
Atlanta Festival Academy Performance – 2
Atlanta Festival Academy Performance – 3
Voice Recital 2019
Somehow, summer has rolled around and is rushing by so quickly! Just recently, I performed at my voice recital, ending one school year and just about starting the next. I performed two pieces – Shenandoah and Oh What a Beautiful Morning (from Oklahoma!). Check out the recording below!
I am so fortunate to have Ms. M as my teacher! She prepares me so well for all my performances, and I have learned so much from her.
Violin Recital 2019
After much practice, I performed Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro last weekend. I have never played anything like it – five minutes of playing, with only one short rest! But boy was it fun! Now moving on to Mozart’s violin concertos. Check out the recording below – I hope you enjoy!
Final Emory Concerts!
The season is truly coming to an end! Last week marked my last Emory concert this school year! This has been a wonderful and fun experience.
A weekend or two ago, a large part of my orchestra went up to Nashville for the weekend. We toured various museums, listened to some fantastic music, made our own custom goo goos (those did not last very long… :-)), performed at Belmont University, and most importantly – we ate every 3 hours.
Check out the recordings at these links:
Art Tales 2019
Recently, I submitted to the 2019 Art Tales Writing Contest, which is based in Ventura County, California. Each year, three or four pieces of art are chosen from the Municipal Art Collection, and contestants must base their poem on one of these. Just last week I found out that I had placed first in my division! Woohoo! I was really excited when I heard the news – it is always wonderful when my poems are accepted and find a home. I submitted last year and placed third. Check out my poem:
