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 – May 12/13, 2021
I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather this week!
Jaron – congratulations on finishing Long Long Ago and great work sight-reading Perpetual Motion!
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing and making sure our bow is in the middle of the bridge and fingerboard), Allegro (try not to slow down using the long bows in the third line), and Perpetual Motion (play through slowly and get familiar with the notes).
Olivia – good luck with your performance!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: review 2 octave Major and minor scales (with focus on B-flat and B Major scales, remember B-flat is the one with low 2 and low 1), Mirror duet (second section even rhythms and practice playing through without stopping so we can duet together), and Go the Distance (third and fifth position shifting).
Amaia
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing and making sure our bow is in the middle of the bridge and fingerboard), and Song of the Wind (now practicing through the whole thing, and remember to play three, not four, B’s at the end!).
Crosby
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: 0-1-2-3-2-1-0 fingerings on each string (warm-up), G, D, and A Major scales (doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing and making sure our bow is in the middle of the bridge and fingerboard), Twinkle (theme and variations A, C, and D – make sure to have C and D sounding different with C long-short-short and D all equal length), Over the Rainbow (with rhythms, and listen to song) and Lightly Row (include long notes in the first line and the rest of the song if you feel like you can!).
Hendry – congratulations on finishing Minuet 3!
– Reminder: compile a list of 3-4 songs you’d like for me to try to find
– Recommended practice time: 20 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and C Major scales (1 octave), C and E-flat Major scales (2 octaves, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), continue to review all Suzuki Book 1 songs, Happy Farmer (play through slowly and get familiar with notes), and Starting the Case (with dynamics at the end).
Grace
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), Perpetual Motion (with variations all using fourth finger, to exercise the pinky), Allegretto (watch out for up bow accents and add in fourth finger if you wish), and Andantino (play through slowly and get familiar with the notes).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!
