Master of Music (Boston University)
Bachelor of Arts (Brandeis University)
Zoe Fong is a M.M. graduate of Boston University School of Music and B.A. graduate of Brandeis University, where she studied music education and music composition respectively. She is a viola, violin, and ukulele player and has performed (primarily as a violist) in Canada, the United States, Austria, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the Philippines. As a composition student at Brandeis, she focused on film scoring and minored in film studies, and additionally went abroad to Vienna, Austria for one semester to focus on viola performance. She loves musical theatre as well and has experience as a music director, conductor, performer, pit orchestra musician, and producer in various community and university productions.
While Zoe has found joy in many musical areas, she has found her true calling in music education. She has taught a range of ages and musical subjects including preschool music, elementary chorus, band, strings, and general music, middle school jazz band and strings, high school strings, chorus, and music theory, and private viola, violin, and composition lessons. There is nothing she loves more than sharing her passion for music and helping her students find their own passion and artistic voice.
Get to know Zoe…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: Teaching myself new instruments, dancing, reading
Musical influences: Kim Kashkashian, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Danny Elfman
Favourite food: Dumplings
Least favourite food: Broccoli
Favorite music: A little of everything!
Favourite song: Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
Favourite movie: Ladybird
Favourite movie music: Edward Scissorhands – Danny Elfman
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Les Miserables, Hadestown, and Hamilton
Best quote from your teacher: “Don’t leave your baggage at the door. Bring it in and let’s make music with it.”
Favourite quote: “This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” – Leonard Bernstein
Favourite book: The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon…and also Harry Potter by JK Rowling
Latest Homework from Zoe
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Weekly Homework Post – August 31st, 2022
Today was my last day of teaching at ABC – thank you all for a wonderful past couple of years! I will miss you and am so proud of all the progress you have made! <3
Olivia
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: Review 2-octave Major and minor scales (try to memorise fingering patterns for each scale and see if your muscle memory kicks in, and focus on smoothing shifts in E and F Major), Spring (play through last page slowly and get used to the notes, and remember the ending section is the same as the beginning), and see if there’s anything you’d like to add to our Zero to Hero arrangement before we wrap it up!
Hendry
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: C, D, E-flat, E, F, and G Major scales (2 octaves, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing, make sure to stretch fourth finger in E Major), D minor scale (2 octaves – natural, melodic, harmonic), A Major scale (1 octave, open positions with high 3 on G and D strings), Gavotte (focus on first line of second page, making sure the pinky finger is stretched and that the open A string and the shift to A on second finger sounds the same) and Hibari (remember to stretch third finger for sharps).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!
Weekly Homework Post – April 19th, 2020
Olivia
– Reminder: Try to set up and locate the Zoom link a few minutes before class starts.
– Recommended practice time: 30-45 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: Our basics review – 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, open, and Spock hand positions; speaking the note letters before playing, and notation review on musictheory.net. For G, D, and A minor scales, think about the hand positions before playing the entire two octaves. Finally, for the Mirror Duet, once you decide which person plays upside down, feel free to sight read the first few lines and get a feel of the music! Look it up on YouTube as well and see which recording may be your favorite.
Thank you and happy playing! I hope everyone is staying healthy and well!
