Another admirer, this time a widow from California - also gifted him with a violin worth $2000 after one such performance.įor the record, Vallejo was the first violinist to debut at the New York's Town Hall to great acclaim. He also studied the piano, became proficient in French and excelled in tennis and swimming at the same time.Īfter only three years of violin studies in the United States, he held his first series of concerts in Florida, Ohio, Washington D.C., and Boston, among others.Īfter one such concert, an admirer gifted him with a 200-year-old Ferdinand Dondolfi violin, costing $10,000 in the late 1920s. The young Vallejo was not just an exceptionally talented violinist but a renaissance man probably in the mould of Jose Rizal. It was Ellman himself who suggested that Vallejo be given the chance to study abroad. If piano prodigy Cecile Licad impressed Van Cliburn at age 11, Vallejo at age 12 impressed no less than the great Russian violinist Mischa Ellman when the latter visited Manila in 1921. Vallejo was the first Filipino violin soloist of the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO), which was founded in 1926. In that regard, I am very thankful for everything this place has done for me so far and who knows maybe one day I'll be able to play Liebestraum too.But to Manila's music world, the holocaust of 1945 was also the year the first Filipino celebrated violin prodigy-Ernesto Vallejo-met his untimely death in the hands of the Japanese invaders. While I don't think I'll ever be able to play quite like the fictional piano prodigy that inspired me, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop playing either. While I could certainly still practice more (you always can) it never feels like a chore and my teacher, Sensei Pratt, finds a perfect balance between helping me learn the necessities (scale, rhythm, etc.) but then also letting me learn songs that I am really excited about and look forward to. Now, a year and a half later, I am still at Piano Sensei and I love every minute of it. This being said, I knew that I didn't want to go back to the way I was learning before, and so I asked one of my, now choir teacher, friends if she knew anyone "cool." Turns out she did. Oddly enough, I started missing the instrument more and more and after having watched a TV show where the main character was a piano prodigy I decided that I wanted to be able to play like him and reversely begged my mom if I could start lessons again my senior year. When I got into high school I eventually begged my mom to let me quit all together, which I did for three years. While I've always liked the piano itself, I never liked the lessons that I was receiving (going through a conventional lesson book, while effective, was never really for me. truly liked what I was doing and never really practiced for more than 30 minutes before the start of class. My parents started giving me piano lesson when I was really young. I have a Master’s degree in piano as well as several certifications, I regularly attend and present workshops at local, state, and national music teachers conferences, I’m a judge for various festivals, exams, and contests, and I’m on numerous committees to help shape the future of music education.Īll of that is because I love teaching! But students don’t care about my credentials, they just enjoy lessons because I balance the hard work and discipline with light-heartedness, fun, and making music! My comprehensive background helps me to be effective at helping a variety of people learn music through the piano. ![]() ![]() I’ve been teaching piano for the last 20 years, and I’ve been playing for over 30 years! This isn’t a hobby or something I do on the side, this is my career, my profession, and my passion. ![]() Having lived in Japan as a child, I feel a strong connection to Japanese people, culture, language, and food! Combine this with my musical upbringing, training, and expertise, and you end up with Piano Sensei!
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