I am so so grateful to have been coached by all of you in the past two semesters. You challenge us to become better musicians, whether it is through refining our techniques, deepening our musical interpretation, or encouraging us to listen more thoughtfully to each other. Your guidance has not only made us stronger players but has also made chamber music an even more meaningful experience. Thank you for your patience and your unwavering support - it has meant more than we can express.

Have a great day,

Claire

Saturday coachings are always a highlight of my week because of you, and the insight and nuance you bring to the music is so eye opening (even though we often aren't able to bring it out. I think you all are too nice...) — I feel like each time I leave I hear more music, and not notes, than before.

Evanghelina, my group didn't receive any coachings from you, but I've heard a lot of good reviews from other groups so I'm sure something's going well. Thank you, also.

Mark

I learned so much from your Saturday coachings. I still vividly remember each piece of advice, and truly appreciate the nuance and broader perspective you brought to the dumka.

Yang, I’m still deeply impressed by how you interpreted the two chords — one brighter, one darker — drawing out the contrast between major and minor, even though both were marked forte. Your guidance on finding the climax within each hairpin helped me shape the phrases with greater contrast and expression.

Chengcheng, I loved your vision for the final section — describing it as "foggy" and "nostalgic" gave me a new lens through which to shape the atmosphere leading into the peaceful ending.

Giorgio, your guidance in building the harmonic balance among all parts was invaluable, and you truly inspired me to think about how piano and strings can coexist and breathe together.

Thank you all again for your inspiring coaching — it made such a difference in our performance!

Fengting

We were so lucky to be able to work with all of you this semester!

Evanghelina, we always enjoy learning from you. Your attention to detail is amazing; we always come out of coaching sessions with a more nuanced understanding of our piece and of our parts. Thank you for your encouragement and perspectives!

Giorgio, we only had you for one lesson, but we benefitted so much from your musicianship and input. Your big picture approach helped us put everything into perspective, and your phrasing suggestions helped us look for shapes and overall direction that guided us all the way from our lesson with you until our final performance.

Chengcheng, your descriptive suggestions and musical knowledge helped us focus on and establish character, and were invaluable in unifying our interpretations for thematic passages. We came out of our coaching with you feeling the Shostakovich edge singing in our blood. We're truly inspired by your immersion and unending passion!

Yang, your phrasing suggestions were always enlightening. Thinking in bigger phrases musically and physically helped to enhance our interpretation and playing in the final stages of putting the piece together, and it made our performance all the more cohesive. Thank you as always for your kind support and great advice!

Thank you and hoping to see you all again!

Karly, Zijun, Tomo

Your coaching has helped our Quintet truly develop our expressiveness and coordination when playing together! Without your dedication to helping us fine-tune notes and passages, we would not be nearly as cohesive as a group. When you all offer an hour out of your day to coach us, we benefit tremendously. I'd like to thank you for teaching us how to appreciate music not by simply going through the motions but by being very in-depth and meticulous about correcting errors. You've shown us how to shape phrases and bring out the musicality and emotion that would otherwise be lost in a sea of notes.

Thank you!

Austin