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 1/2, 2022
Just a reminder to in-person students that I will be back in the studio next week and we will resume our lessons in-person!
Jaron
– 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 not to do both 0 and 4), and Etude (practice playing through without stopping and with a consistent tempo and remember to read the notes on the staff in addition to the numbers).
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 focus on B and B-flat Major – make sure to stretch fourth finger for B Major), Go the Distance (practice full run-throughs and watch out for your hand sliding up the neck of the violin), Spring (first and second pages with focus on the second page, especially the chromatic phrase), 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 – remember that “Allegro”tempo marking means a little fast).
Isabella – missed you today!
– 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 drawing treble clefs and E, A, D, and G notes on a staff.
Grace – congratulations on finishing Long Long Ago!
– 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
– 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), Gavotte (watch out for shift to third position in second section and remember that the treble clef phrase is the same as the first phrase in alto clef – you can do treble clef exercises on musictheory.net if you wish) and Catharsis (focus on playing second page with faster and consistent tempo and prepare for final duet play-through next time).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!
