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Young Pianists Perform in New York
College News
ALL Saints' College Year 3 student Arielle Lu, and Benjamin Chia in Year 8, were two of eight talented young Perth musicians to be invited to perform at the world renowned Carnegie Hall in New York in April.
ARIELLE and Benjamin, both under the tutelage of Mr Yoon Sen Lee, were selected after winning medals for their solo performances at the Passion of Music 2010 International Young Musicians Festival. This annual festival is organised by the American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented (AADGT). The philosophy and aspiration of the AADGT are to afford talented young musicians and artists an opportunity to reach the highest pinnacles of their potential.
The All Saints' students were joined by other young musicians from around the globe. It was an amazing, dream-come-true opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall for these up-andcoming musicians. Arielle and Ben were also invited to perform at Steinway Hall, the concert hall housing the headquarters of the famous Steinway and Sons pianos.
Memories from New York
OUR family left for New 9 April 2010. We stayed at a hotel opposite Carnegie Hall. There was also a piano practice studio for hire, right opposite where we were staying. I practised for two hours on the piano each morning, before we spent the rest of the day sightseeing the 'Big Apple'.
WE visited the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, the biggest Toys R Us store in the world, many museums and art galleries. We also enjoyed running around Central Park and watching Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was a fun time experiencing such a big and crowded city as New York.
After spending slightly more than a week in New York City, our family also visited Washington DC for four days before making our way back to Perth. In Washington DC, we visited famous landmarks such as the White House, Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. We also enjoyed visiting the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. I RECENTLY had the opportunity to visit New York to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall. It was an unforgettable experience. I performed in front of a full crowd of 400 people and the Steinway and Sons grand piano was beautiful to play. The hall itself was classically adorned and the acoustics were fantastic.
Carnegie Hall was not the only memorable thing about New York, although it was certainly a highlight. There were many other sights to see including the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and Yankee Stadium. The Museum of Natural History is the museum where Night at the Museum was filmed. There were lots of interesting things on display such as the fossils of a mammoth and a tyrannosaurus rex.
I saw the Broadway musical Phantom of the Opera, which I loved from start to finish. The stage effects were spectacular and the music was beautiful. The day we visited the Wall Street financial district, President Obama was visiting. As you can imagine security was tight, but luckily the police did not block off the famous Golden Bull and I managed to take a photograph.
