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 – March 30/31, 2022
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, make sure to check which strings has a 2-3 or 1-2 fingering position), and Etude (first line – play through slowly and watch out for low 1-2 second finger on A string, and look ahead at second line if you’d like!).
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 maybe prepare B and B-flat Major for next week since it’s been a while since we looked at those), Go the Distance (practice full run-throughs), Spring (first page shifts and bowings), and see if there’s anything you want to add to the Zero to Hero arrangement.
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 Long Long Ago (prepare for final play-through next week and practice playing through whole song without stopping).
Isabella
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: Practice holding violin under chin with hands and no hands, and also with hand in plucking position (make sure thumb is on the corner of the fingerboard while plucking), practice Les Toreador on first page of Violin Starter Packet and Three Point Shot on the next page (which includes G string), and review bow hold and have fun experimenting with bowing open strings!
Grace – congratulations on finishing Musette!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: 2-octave Major and minor scales (watch out for hand position so that intonation is not too sharp), and Hunter’s Chorus (play through slowly and get familiar with the notes).
Hendry
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: C, D, E-flat, F, and G Major scales (2 octaves, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing and checking for intonation), D minor scale (2 octaves – natural, melodic, harmonic, make sure it sounds different than D Major), Gavotte (make sure to retake bow at the beginning, watch out for accidentals in the middle, and make sure to pizz over the fingerboard at the end), and Catharsis (viola 2 – watch out for key changes between D and E-flat Major, and for high third finger for C#).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!
