Aug. 28 – Sept 1
Building Open: 9am-10pm
Office Open: 9am-5pm
September 2-4
Building & Office Closed
Sept. 5-8
Building Open: 9am-10pm
Office Open: 9am-6pm
Sept. 9
Building Open: 8am-10pm
Office Open: 9am-2pm
Sept. 10
Building Open: 9am-5pm
Office Closed
September 11: Fall term begins and regular hours apply
The 2014 winter break for VAM will begin from Monday, December 22 and end on Sunday, January 4. During this time, there will be no classes or lessons. All regularly scheduled classes & lessons will begin on Monday, January 5.
Our office will be open on certain days during the break, the dates of which you can find below:
Monday, December 22
Tuesday, December 23
Monday, December 29
Tuesday, December 30
Friday, January 2
The office will be open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on the dates above.
We hope you have a happy and safe holidays with your family, friends and other loved ones and we look forward to seeing you again in the new year!
The Vancouver Academy of Music Society’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2014 at 7:00 pm. Everybody is welcome to attend.
All members of the society – including donors and families who have paid their registration fee – are entitled to vote. What does this mean? If you’re a member, you are welcome to vote on any motions presented during the course of the meeting. If you’re looking to get involved at VAM, this is a great way to start!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Here at VAM, we understand that the ear training portion of the exam can be the toughest part for most exam takers. We want our students to succeed, and that’s why we have developed special Ear Training workshops to help those exam takers who struggle with ear training and playback.
Led by Voice instructor and Club Choir director Caroline Jang, these workshops will help you identify: intervals, chords and cadences, and help you develop your playback and clapping skills. There are multiple sessions for each grade level, and we highly encourage you to attend both – the more you attend, the better you will get at these skills!
Preparatory to Grade 3 – December 6 & 13, 2:00 pm ($30 for both sessions)
Grades 4 to 6 – November 22, 29 & December 13, 3:00 pm ($45 for all sessions)
Grades 7 to 10 – November 29, 22, December 13 & January 10 – 4:00 pm (January 10 at 3:00 pm; $65 for all sessions)
Register for any of the workshops by clicking on the links above.
Good luck!!
In the mornings, I would go to group class to learn from Mr. Allen Lieb. Then I would go to the church to watch solo performances. Lunches were all-you-can-eat buffets, held in the campus cafeteria! After lunch, I would go to technique class with Ms. Helen Higa, followed immediately by orchestra rehearsal with Ms. Gaye Detzer. It was my first orchestra experience, and it was hard work learning to play “Dragon Dance” as a group, but it was really fun! At last, I would attend master class with Mr. Joseph Kaminsky.
During the week-long camp, I made a lot of friends and learned a lot of new techniques from different teachers. But I am only telling you about the violin program and my schedule, and there was so much more going on at the camp! Try it next summer, and you will have lots of fun too!”
— Aaron Kwok
Group Class with Mr. Allen Lieb
Technique Class with Ms. Helen Higa
Orchestra rehearsal with Ms. Gaye Detzer
Masterclass with Mr. Joseph Kaminsky
For students who are taking the Fall 2014 Theory and History exams, we will be holding practice exam sessions November 22 and November 29 to help prepare you for exam day. We will have exams available for the following subjects:
Basic Rudiments
Intermediate Rudiments
Advanced Rudiments
The sessions will start at 2:00 pm in the Library – drop in and practice your examtaking!
VAM will be closed on Tuesday, November 11 in observance of Remembrance Day. There will be no classes or lessons on this day.
Activities will run as usual on Saturday November 8, Sunday November 9 and Monday November 10, unless mentioned otherwise by your teacher.
Thank you for your understanding.
The Suzuki Piano Program will host a Parent’s Night on “Effective Piano Practice with Your Child” on Thursday, November 27, 2014 at VAM’s Mary Olson Hall (formerly Orchestra Rehearsal Room) from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This event provides a great opportunity to meet parents who are experienced in practicing with their children. Please come and be inspired for an hour filled will effective piano practice ideas and lively discussion. Light refreshments will be provided.
The 2014 Senior-Secondary Competition brochure is now available for download! This year’s competiting instrument group is Winds/Brass/Percussion.
The Bjorn & Lori Hareid Senior-Secondary Competition is open to all students in Secondary School around British Columbia. Every year, the competition focuses on one instrument group: piano, strings and winds/brass/percussion. Competiting students have the chance to win one of 5 cash prizes – the total pot is $5,250!
Applications are due December 19th, so get yours in today! Find out more information about the Senior-Secondary Competition here, and download application forms here.
Yesterday afternoon’s Orpheum Theatre concert played host to our first ever Concerto Extravaganza. The culminating event of our Provincial Concerto Competition, held this past May and June, this concert featured seven soloists chosen from a range of ages and instruments. The finalists were:
Hanson Kang, clarinet
Chloe Kim, violin
Jack Le, piano
Eric Xi Xin Liang, piano
Edward Su, piano
Tate Zawadiuk, cello
Ryan Zhu, piano
We were so excited to have the VSO’s Associate Conductor, Gordon Gerrard as our adjudicator for the day. All the soloists played beautifully, and it was definitely a close call. Ultimately, the grand prize ended up going to Eric Xi Xin Liang for his striking rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor. Eric is currently a student of Amanda Chan and is also part of our Chamber Music Institute.
Congratulations to Eric, and to all of the soloists who performed yesterday!
