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 – June 8/9, 2022
Jaron – good luck with your song performance!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (1 octave, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), G Major scale (2 octaves, and practice ascending scale replacing open strings with fourth finger – make sure to stretch fourth finger), and Etude (practice playing through without stopping and with a consistent tempo, and focus on second half of third line – remember that it’s the same descending scale as G Major).
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 remember that shifts to higher positions require less space between the fingers), Go the Distance (practice full run-throughs and watch out for key changes signifying when to use high or low 2), Spring (you tend to be a bit flat in this piece so make sure to move your left hand up the neck of the violin a little bit), and see if there’s anything you’d like to add to our Zero to Hero arrangement, especially for the speaking parts!
Amaia
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (1 octave, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), and Perpetual Motion (play fourth finger exercises 0-1-2-3-4-3-2-1-0 on each string, stretch and exercise pinky finger to build muscles and flexibility in that finger, and practice playing through without stopping and with a faster tempo – especially the second half).
Isabella – hope you had fun at your sister’s birthday with the cupcakes and daan go!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: Practice holding violin under chin with hands and no hands (in both plucking and bowing position, and make sure to maintain posture while playing exercises instead of just first few seconds of playing), review bow hold and window washer exercises, practice bowing down-up-down-up on each string, play A-string, D-string, and G-string bowing exercises on the second page of the packet, and practice first phrase of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme in Suzuki Violin Book 1.
Grace – missed you today!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: 2-octave Major and minor scales (focus on F Major scale and shift to fifth position – remember that the higher you go, the smaller the spaces between your fingers are), and Waltz (play through slowly and get familiar with the notes, and remove bowings and just focus on pitches if the bowings are too overwhelming).
Hendry – congratulations on finishing Yuu kyuu no Catharsis! I’m so proud of all the work you put into this!
– 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, and stretching fourth finger in E Major), D minor scale (2 octaves – natural, melodic, harmonic, review fingering positions for natural scale for the Gavotte), and Gavotte (watch out for shift to third position in second section, stretch pinky finger to keep fourth finger A from being too flat, and treble clef exercises on musictheory.net if you wish).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!
Weekly Homework Post – January 19th, 2020
I hope everyone is staying dry and warm in this weather!
Ramiro – congratulations on finishing your second lesson! I’m so happy you have decided to continue on with lessons and am excited for your musical journey.
– Reminder: purchase Suzuki Violin Book 1
– Recommended practice time: 15-20 min/day
– Practice: Fingering exercises 0-1-2-3 on A and E strings, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star first line. It’s a new instrument so don’t be afraid to toggle around with your fingers until it sounds right. Also, remember to pay attention to posture and practice in front of a mirror if you can. Questions you can ask yourself – how are my arms looking? Is my bow hand curved? Do the notes I’m playing sound right? If not, should I shift my finger lower (further away from your face) or higher (towards your face)? Should I put more or less weight on my bow to make this sound better?
Thank you and happy playing!