January, 2023

We are pleased to shine our next spotlight on MusicLink student Samuel Norton, a piano student of Sylvia Lange of Maple Grove, MN, who was recently awarded the 2022 MusicLink Senior Award of Excellence. Samuel began exploring music at the age of three through The Kiddie Keys Program in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He started private piano lessons at the age of five, followed by violin lessons a few years later. Throughout the years, Samuel has performed in the State Honors Contest, Minnesota Music Teachers Forum Recitals, several duets at the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Ensemble Festival, and will be playing Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique at the Senior Honors Recital this summer.

Samuel continues to advance his musical knowledge and skills through the completion of Theory and Syllabus Exams. Additionally, he has played for the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony as a violinist and sings with the Chesterton Academy Choir. He has earned High Distinction on 7 levels of piano exams and has received several Honors ratings in MMTF recitals. He has also participated in the MMTA Honors Concert as a State Contest winner. Samuel will attend Thomas Aquinas College, in Santa Paula, California this fall.

Samuel says, "I love sharing with others what I was fortunate enough to have had shared with me by my parents and music teachers, namely the often-forgotten beauty in Classical music. To me, there is no better feeling than introducing someone to a completely new style of music, and then watching them enjoy it even though they were initially hesitant. As I move forward into college, I am sure I will cross paths with those who were not as fortunate as I was. Thankfully the college I will be attending has a strong musical culture and curriculum."

June, 2023

Neil Alognon-Anani, age 12, guitar student of Lorie Parmalee, was accepted at the Interlochen School (Center for the Arts) for the summer 2023 program. Neil was one of only 50 students in NYC to receive a prestigious New York Philharmonic grant. Lorie said, "We had recorded a lesson together as part of his application materials. I couldn't be more proud! It's truly been a privilege to work with Neil these past two years." About MusicLink, Neil's mom, Morgane Alognon-Anani, wrote: "Best experience ever. Incredible opportunity to be part of this program. Lorie Parmalee is the most dedicated teacher he ever had." We congratulate Neil for his impressive accomplishments!

June, 2023

MusicLink lessons have been an extremely important part of my life. I grew up in a lower income family and being able to afford regular lessons was challenging at times, but I loved my piano lessons. Music helped me get through some challenging points as a teenager and the constant routine of lessons every week was extremely helpful, both with keeping me artistically engaged but also creating something I could look forward to and work towards on the weekly bases.

I'm now pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance at Lawrence University with Professor Michael Mizrahi. I love my studies here and am extremely lucky to be an accompanying fellow with one of the school choirs. I have been enjoying playing a lot of chamber music as well and this spring I have greatly enjoyed diving into Dvorak's Piano trio No 4 (Dumky) and Rachmaninov's Piano Trio No 1. I've also had the delight of performing Bach's Concerto for two pianos in C Major as well as Little White Salmon for two pianos and voice by Oregon Composer Bill Whitley, whom I had the chance to personally work with during the preparation of the performance. Working on music of living composers is something I have greatly enjoyed exploring since arriving here and have had the chance to premiere multiple pieces by various composers around the country. One of my favorite experiences since arriving here has been performing John Luther Adams' Ten Thousand Birds with members of Alarm Will Sound. The piece is an hour long semi-improvised piece that imitates the sounds of a landscape, imitating calls from birds and frogs. I love watching birds, so this experience was particularly rewarding for me as I could combine two of my interests. Away from school, I have been able to share my love of music by performing engaging concerts at Decoda/Mile Of Music Festivals and a very memorable concert my brother and I put on for 150 school children while we were in Switzerland last summer. This summer I am looking forward to premiering multiple works at the Yarn/Wire Institute on Long Island and performing more chamber music at the DeCoda Chamber Music Festival. MusicLink lessons gave me the musical foundation for me to study music at this high level and work professionally as a musician, something I am deeply grateful for.