January, 2020

Our first spotlight of 2020 is shining on MusicLink student Ethan Hemmings of Arlington, Virginia. Ethan has always loved music and started playing with kiddie instruments while he was still in diapers. In 4th grade, he was encouraged to try the violin by his elementary school music teacher Mrs. Estelle Roth. Mrs. Roth felt that playing an instrument came naturally to Ethan and encouraged him to continue to play. When Ethan began middle school, Mrs. Roth reached out to his parents and suggested private lessons through MusicLink. She paired him with a former student of hers, Claire Allen. Ethan began his lessons with Claire in the fall of 2013 and has been with her ever since. "Ethan is an incredibly passionate and motivated student, and I am lucky to be his teacher." said Claire. "He has been my student since he was a 6th grader, and helping him grow and develop his interest in music all these years has been a joy. It's very exciting to see him preparing to take the next steps into a musical career, for which his passion and persistence will serve him well."

Since joining the MusicLink program, Ethan has been immersed in his training to become a violinist. He has not only benefited from the knowledge of his teacher, but has also been exposed to opportunities that likely would have never been an option for him without MusicLink. In addition to lessons, MusicLink has also provided access to quality violins, repairs and sheet music when needed.

Over the years Ethan has played in various MusicLink performances, school concerts, studio recitals and volunteer performances. In addition to this, Ethan has participated in Masterclasses with Dr. Cora Cooper (Kansas State University), Professor June Huang (George Mason University), and Professor Akemi Takayama (Shenandoah University). He has also played with the Arlington County Honors Orchestras, VBODA District XII Senior Honors Orchestra and the Virginia Senior Regional Orchestra, participated in the Crescendo Arlington Philharmonic Youth Chamber Music Program, performed with the Arlington Philharmonic at Lubber Run Amphitheater, played with the Ovations Summer String Academy at George Mason University, and performed with the St Olaf's College Orchestra. Through scholarships, Ethan was also able to attend Violin Bootcamp at Mason Community Arts Academy (part of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University) several times.

Now a senior and concertmaster at Wakefield High School, Ethan is preparing for college auditions and plans to major in Music Performance. In his free time, Ethan loves to listen to music, learn about music production, volunteer through school clubs and spend time with his friends.

April, 2020

We are shining our MusicLink alumni spotlight on Sun Chang. She said, "Since graduating from Northwestern University with BMus in Piano in 2017 and from the Royal Academy of Music in London with MA in Harpsichord in 2019, I've been trying to live my best life!" Some highlights from her short career so far have been working with Trevor Pinnock and Royal Academy students on St. Matthew Passion, soloing with Utah Symphony, Camerata Chicago, and Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, co-founding a London-based baroque ensemble, Judith Collective, which focuses on sharing music by underrepresented composers from before 1800. Between degrees and during the summer she also played for Lincoln Center Stage which is a piano quintet "residency" on a Holland America line cruise ship. Sun also said, "Much gratitude to the MusicLink Foundation, and my wonderful teacher Dr. Peter Mack, who supported my education and still supports me in so many ways! I truly feel that I was loved into being and I consider it a great privilege to be able to do what I love." You can find more information and music on her website: sunchangmusic.com.

July, 2020

Ngorli Paintsil of Maple Grove, graduated from Hopkins High School in Minnesota. He has studied piano with Sylvia Lange for 5 years. Although he started with Sylvia as a teen, he showed an early interest in achieving at a high level. Sylvia said, "as he completed each goal, he was always ready to move on to a new level and eager to improve his skills. In his junior year he decided to reach for two musical goals: play in 9 recitals for the MMTF (our local music group) and to earn enough points from the MMTA to earn a Challenge Award trophy. In his senior year he played in two Ensemble Festivals, took a sight-reading proficiency exam for level 5, participated in the State Contest (both prelims and finals), and prepared solos from 5 eras of music history for the Music Bridges event." As the pandemic changed performance options, Ngorli submitted videos for judging and playing in Zoom performances to complete the requirements for Music Bridges.

Sylvia said, "Ngorli has always enjoyed music performance -- playing two instruments in school band in addition to his piano." He has accepted a full scholarship to Stanford University where he will study engineering.

November, 2020

Alejandro Galdo is a MusicLink alumnus who received the MusicLink Senior Award of Excellence in 2018. He began studying through MusicLink at the age of six with Ms. Cora Lee Khambatta, in Arlington VA. Over the course of 12 years spent studying with Ms. Khambatta, Alejandro prepared annual programs for adjudication through the National Piano Guild and participated in numerous piano competitions. These included the Steinway and Sons Piano Competition and the Nancy Peery Marriott Piano Competition. During this time Alejandro also earned scholarships to study at the Levine School of Music, Summer Sonatina International Piano Camp in Vermont, and the Summer Piano Institute at Ithaca College. The MusicLink Foundation provided financial assistance to help him attend these summer programs.

Alejandro is currently a junior at the Ithaca College School of Music where he studies piano performance under Dr. Dmitri Novgorodsky. Since beginning his college education, Alejandro has participated in masterclasses with artists including William Westney of Texas Tech University and Duane Hulbert of the University of Puget Sound. Most recently, Alejandro was accepted to participate in the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival in Germany where he was selected to play in a student showcase for the public. Coming up, Alejandro has been chosen to play in a masterclass with American pianist Garrick Ohlsson in November and is due to give a Junior Recital next Spring in fulfillment for his degree. He is featured performing Concert Etude No. 3 “Un Sospiro” by Liszt on the November MusicLink Video Spotlight.

In his free time, Alejandro enjoys discovering new music to listen to, learning Chinese, running, and hanging out with friends.