Written by Roseline Yang (Community Relations Officer)
The annual Violin concerts have started with the Year 1 students performing on May 5. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the violin program at YCIS, we decided to interview both of our violin teachers Mira Yu and Sophie Zhang.
YCIS is very proud to have a violin program as part of the music education for the children. Could you tell us more about how this is structured? Which year levels benefit from this program and how often do the students have class?
Sophie: Students start the violin program from K4 all the way until Year 3. There are three 30-minute lessons per week. In total, students have 2 lessons of violin taught by the Violin Teachers and one practice lesson. 90 minutes per week altogether.
What do you think the violin program brings to the students?
Mira: K4 children are growing up and their fine motor skills are still in the development stage. At this age, it is difficult to control their fingers when starting to play the violin. However, after several months, they are able to put their fingers on the right string and with constant practice, they are able to improve their focus and concentration.
Sophie: Learning to play the violin can help the child have a balance between being active and being calm and focused. With the violin, children need to develop their listening skills to get the appropriate sound. Attention and focus are essential to be successful. Otherwise, you cannot understand how to play properly.
Mira: When children learn to play the violin, we have some accompanying music. This helps children to pay attention, to recognize when exactly they are supposed to start playing.
Sophie: Finally, since they are playing in a group, they learn to follow the speed and work with others.
Could you quickly tell me about your background and also why you chose to make violin your career?
Mira: I have a Masters Degree in Violin Performance and while studying, I supported my teachers as a teacher assistant and taught some students at the university for two years. I used to play in chamber music and orchestras in Shanghai. I started at YCIS teaching in Century Park campus and then became a Violin teacher in the Primary section here at Regency Park Campus. I realized that I developed an interest in violin during study, and was especially motivated by teachers who saw my performance. Music makes my life different and extraordinary. Otherwise, as a violin teacher, not only am I able to share my skill and knowledge to students, I am also learning the art of teaching. This profession has given me so much happiness.
Sophie: I have a diploma from Shanghai Normal University in Violin. Before coming to teach at YCIS, I taught for 2 years at Qingpu Theatre school for choir and orchestra to 7-9 year old children, then I taught in a specialized violin school.
Since you, Mira have been teaching here for 3 years and you, Sophie for 6 years at Regency Park Campus, can you tell us how you have seen the students progressing?
Sophie: It depends a lot on each student’s learning ability and the skills that develop differently for every age-level.
Mira: There are different types of children. Some just practice at school, others also practice at home and others take extra lessons to support their learning at school.
Sophie: What is nice is that there are many students who are joining the Violin ASA or the orchestra, and there are very talented students who take part in the advanced violin ensemble. It shows us that they are very interested in playing violin and are enjoying it.
What type of opportunities are there for the students at YCIS to extend their interest in violin?
Sophie: We offer a violin ASA for Year 2-3 who usually are joining for 2 years, where they develop their skills and play pop songs.
Mira: There is also the orchestra that Year 4 to Year 6 students can join after an audition. The students get to play at different events such as Christmas Tree Lighting and major concerts.
Mira: We have the end-of-year violin concerts, which give an opportunity for all the students to perform and show how much they have been able to learn across the year. Year 1 Violin Concert is about a one hour performance and the students are playing 12 different pieces: modern, classical… whereas Year 2&3 Violin Concert is more focused on one theme. This year, the theme is “Stars Wars”!
Sophie: Recently, 15 students of our Advanced Violin Ensemble played a 2 minute New Soul play at the international EAL conference hosted by YCIS at Regency Park Campus.
Mira: You also have the big annual Seeds of Hope Concert, which gathers all the best violin players of YCIS schools from China, Hong-Kong and Silicon Valley, where some of our students took part again this year!
What do you enjoy the most when teaching our students?
Sophie: For me, I like to find out different activities and exercises to attract the attention and interest of the students. YCIS students learn in a joyful way in other subjects, so I need to develop my creativity to meet their basic expectations.
Mira: As for me, since students come from diverse cultures and families, I find it very interesting to try to understand the psychology of the student in order to be able to motivate him/her.
Many thanks for your time and we are eager to see the Year 2/3 Violin Concert beginning of June!