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
Is Zoe Your Teacher?
Sign up now to get your weekly assignments delivered, and never lose your homework sheet again!
Weekly Homework Post – October 7th/8th, 2020
Jaron – great work today finishing learning Song of the Wind!
– Reminder: see if your school library has a copy of Suzuki Violin Book 1, or if you can purchase it on Amazon. I’ve included the link below
– Recommended practice time: 15 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: G, D, and A Major scales (going up and going down one note at a time, keeping an eye on your posture, especially your left hand – straight, no pancakes!), Twinkle (theme and variations A-E, particularly variation B playing straight through without pausing), and Song of the Wind (beginning till end, with focus on the 1-3-3-1-0 pattern).
Olivia – welcome back!
– Reminder: scan your orchestra music and email it to me so we can take a look together next week
– Recommended practice time: 30 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: review all scales on scale sheet, first few lines of Mirror duet (with focus on bowings and c-naturals), Avatar State (first few lines of violin 1, but you can look ahead if you wish!).
Hendry – congratulations on learning all of Disillusion! Now on to mastering and polishing!
– Recommended practice time: 20 min/day, 5 days/week
– Practice: C Major scale (two octaves, focusing on 2-3 or 1-2 finger patterns for second finger, and also watching out for posture and curved fingers in bow hand), Perpetual Motion (play through without pausing, stretch 4th finger), Allegretto (with focus on the third line, make sure to do short-short-long rhythm patterns), and Disillusion (full piece, remember 1-2 finger patterns on D and A strings).
Thank you and happy playing!
