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HUGE congratulations to my online student, Phoebe, on successfully auditioning into SDCYO!

What makes this achievement especially meaningful is seeing how far she has come in such a short time.

Phoebe began learning the violin from scratch with a teacher in the US at the end of 2022.

In 2023, her dad reached out to ask if I could fit in a few lessons while she was in Singapore during her summer break. What was meant to be just a short stint of lessons somehow blossomed into a wonderful long-term musical journey together.

Despite being based in the US, Phoebe was determined to continue learning with me online. Every week, we navigated the Singapore–US time difference to make lessons work across continents. Watching her commitment, consistency, and enthusiasm has been incredibly rewarding.

Over the years, she attained High Merit for both her Grade 3 (2024) and Grade 5 (2025) exams, successfully auditioned for her school’s main orchestra, and steadily grew in confidence as a young musician.

Then, in April this year, she came to me with a new goal:

“Should I audition for SDCYO?”

My answer was immediate:

“Why not? Go for it!”

With only about a month to prepare, we took on two completely new audition pieces—Bach’s Violin Concerto in A Minor(1st Movement) and Meditation from Thaïs. It was an ambitious challenge, but Phoebe embraced it wholeheartedly with courage, discipline, and a genuine willingness to learn.

Moments like these are incredibly special, and it has been such a joy to guide Phoebe through the process of discovering what she is capable of.

Thank you as well to Phoebe’s parents for your trust, encouragement, and unwavering support throughout this journey. ❤️