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 – April 21/22, 2021
I hope everyone is having a good week back to school from spring break! If you have decided to play in our recital on May 1st, make sure to register by calling the office!
Jaron
– 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 try not to stretch fingers too high when going back down the scale), Long Long Ago (make sure half-notes are held long with your bow), and Allegro (watch out for eighth-note fast phrases).
Olivia
– Reminder: scale sheets are in the Google drive if you need to look at them!
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: review 2-octave major and minor scales (maybe focus on B-flatl Major this week and try to memorise fingering pattern for each scale), Go the Distance (third and fifth position sections and watch out for 3-4 and 2-3 fingering positions), and Mirror duet (we’ll try to get to this one next week, listen to the piece on YouTube or Spotify so you can get a sense of how the two violins sound together).
Amaia
– Reminder: get your violin tuned before the recital if possible; however, I understand it is a difficult time to do much of anything so if it doesn’t happen, it is completely fine!
– 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 keep your bow in the middle of the bridge and fingerboard), Lightly Row (play beginning to end without pausing and try not to mix up first and second lines), and Song of the Wind (first line, and look ahead if you wish!).
Crosby
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: 0-1-2-3-2-1-0 fingering pattern on each string (warm-up), G, D, and A Major scales (doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), Twinkle (theme and variations A and C – for C, practice first 2 lines and look ahead if you wish, the rest of the notes are the same as the theme and A), and Lightly Row (first two lines, make sure to count how many C#s and Bs there are!).
Hendry
– Recommended practice time: 20 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and C Major scales (1 octave), C and E-flat Major scale (2 octaves, doing our usual posture and bow hold check each time before playing), Minuet 3 (play through and get comfortable with the notes, and look out for grace note!), and Starting the Case (make sure first finger is a little lower and use your elbow to help with string crossings).
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), Long Long Ago (make sure to play half notes to full length), and Allegro (watch out for staccato and legato sections, and play through and get comfortable with the notes).
Thank you, stay safe, and happy playing!
