Greetings Hub teachers!

With a blink of an eye, we are already well into 2019. We at Lewis Eady hope that all of you have thoroughly enjoyed your well-deserved breaks and are now ready to make the most out of Term 2!

TOPIC

Elizabeth Lau Q&A

For this term, we’ve invited our fellow Hub member Elizabeth Lau, for a short Q&A. We’ve asked her to share her thoughts and opinions on a few matters…

1) Hello Elizabeth. How long have you been teaching piano for and what is the most rewarding aspect of your career?

I’ve been teaching since I was at university. It’s a very humbling learning path. The most rewarding aspect of teaching is to be able to share and facilitate skills and pathways for more people to enjoy music on different levels; bringing music to students and subsequently to their families and friends as well.

2) You have been a Teachers Hub member with us for a long time. How have your students benefited from you being a hub member?

We have been receiving great support from Lewis Eady on different levels. Discounts on purchasing pianos, facilities to hold student concerts, news and offers on concerts, music events hosted by Lewis Eady Charitable Trust and so on.

3) Why is it important that your students learn off a proper acoustic piano as opposed to digital pianos?

There is nothing that could beat an acoustic instrument. The soundscape, spatial awareness, level of depth in training, relationship to sound and tonal production, and the work with a living and breathable sound-space is incomparable to electronic ones. Although I do appreciate the state of art technology that companies invest into making the sound of a digital as close to a real piano as possible, it’s never the same. That’s why I’m a full supporter for acoustic instruments over digitals.

4) Why do you have a preference towards Steinway family pianos such as the Essex or Boston?

Steinway & Sons is THE world class brand, so firstly I’d imagine that there’s top quality control, guaranteed. I’ve had exposure and seen development of the Essex and Boston pianos over the years. It’s a sign that Steinway & Sons are continuously advancing their instruments for the better. This is important as quality should improve along with advancements in technology. Over the recent years, the actions on the Essex pianos have improved dramatically, being far more sensitive to touch. After a chat with John Eady, I have learnt that the piano has been set up and tuned by Steinway technicians prior to being distributed out. This is an example of top quality control, whereby setups are done by Steinway technicians.

5) Lastly, we are always trying to improve our Teachers Hub to benefit more piano teachers within our community. What would be one change that we can make to improve our current Hub?

Continue to build a musical community between collegiate levels and perhaps some annual or bi-annual gathering event would be nice . I’d like to see more teachers playing their instruments on top of teaching for their enjoyment and PD. I’m happy to assist in getting things going as well!

SPOLIGHT

Wallace National Piano Competition | 18-21 July, 2019

Since 2013, the biennial Wallace National Piano Competition has never failed to source the most talented young pianists to its premiere platform. Running from the 18th-21st July this year, it will once again select four Grand Finalists from a pool of 15 Semi-finalists to compete for prizes totalling over $20,000! Adjudicator Charles Owen is a Professor of Piano, at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. This is a wonderful opportunity for music enthusiasts to witness the spectacular talents and to inspire our younger generation of pianists. Key dates and information can be found below.

KEY DATES:

WNPC Opening Ceremony & Competition Draw on Thursday 18th July, 7:30pm.

WNPC Preliminary Competition Rounds on Friday 19th July and Saturday 20th July, with 3 sessions each day starting 9:30am, 2pm and 7pm.

WNPC Grand Finals on 21st July at 3pm.

VENUE:

Preliminary Opening and Competition Rounds are held at the Music Theatre, University of Auckland, School of Music, 6 Symonds St, Auckland

The Grand Final are to be held at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Silver Road, Newmarket

SPECIAL PRICINGS:

Preliminary Competition Rounds: FREE for students and $10 for adults.We can offer a FREE member pass for Hub teachers.

Grand Final: We can offer Hub members up to 2x FREE passes. Please email Michelle@lewiseady.co.nz if you would like to take up this offer.

Special pricing is also available for parents and students. We offer a 20% discount for both the opening ceremony and the final!

Lastly, congratulations to the following 15 semi-finalists! We look forward to your exceptional performances and wish you the very best of luck.

Chenxiao Chen, Frank Chen, Tony Yan Tong Chen, Jessica Chi, Phoebe Deng, Audrey Guo, Jiazhou Conroy Hu, Marianna Kang, Michael Li, Shuan Liu, Derek Long, Henry Meng, Siyu Sun, Ashani Waidyatillake and Madeleine Xiao.