Ms Emily Sun
Piano , Violin & Viola (Virtual Class)
A native of Taiwan, Emily Sun is a versatile violinist, certified OCT (Ontario Certified Teacher) & Alexander Technique teacher. Ms. Emily began her study of violin in Taiwan at the age of seven. She comes from a family of music. In 1999 she moved to Canada where she met Sydney Humphreys who had a great influenced on her later music training. She holds a Bachelors and Master of Music in Performance from McGill University, chef diploma from Liaison College, Bachelor of Education from UOIT and AT teacher from Toronto School of AT. Her violin teachers included Yehonaton Berick, Mark Gothoni , and Denise Lupien. She has performed with Cathedral Bluff Symphony Orchestra and Georgian Bay Symphony as second principal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Montreal Symphony, Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Ontario Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra, Esprit Orchestra, Canadian Sinfonietta, Sinfonia Toronto and Mendelssohn Choir. Emily has performed with Celtic Woman, Chantal Kreviatzuk, Diana Krall, The Canadian Tenors and Sarah Brightman. Along with performing and adjudicating various festivals, Ms Emily enjoys playing guzheng and piano. Ms. Emily is currently a string teacher with TDSB and an occasional teacher with DDSB.Ms. Emily has over 18 years teaching experience. Her students won different awards at North York Music Festival & Kiwanis Music Festival Toronto. Recently one of her students won the 2016 RCM gold medal award in Ontario.
Ms. Jennifer Mak
Piano, Violin & Viola
(Virtual/In Person class)
Ms Jennifer has over 16 years of experience teaching piano, violin, and theory to all age groups at beginner and intermediate levels. She has prepared students of all ages for music festivals, RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) practical and theory examinations, arts school auditions, and recitals. Jennifer is a motivating teacher who believes that learning should be fun and exciting, and she strives to help students of all ages develop a love and appreciation for all forms and genres of music. She values the relationships she has with her students, and she is always thinking of ways to support her students and help them grow as budding musicians. While she stresses the importance of good fundamental basics and technique, Jennifer encourages her students to be creative and to express themselves through their music. In addition to teaching, Jennifer is an experienced arts administrator who works as the Artistic Operations Manager at Toronto Summer Music, one of Canada’s top classical music festival. In her role at the festival, Jennifer manages all of the Academy programs as well as the entire festival schedule for over 100 musicians each summer. Jennifer holds a Master of Arts in Child Study and Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
Ms. Regina Lam
Piano & Rudiment Level 5 to ARCT Level (Virtual Lesson)
As an affiliated teacher with Royal Conservatory of Music for fourteen years, Regina has been successfully preparing students for RCM piano examinations, rudiments examinations and history of music examinations, in which a majority of her students have achieved First Class Honours with Distinction (90-100) in the three subjects and at each level ranging from 1 to 10. Having taught at York University for nearly ten years as a teaching assistant for two courses, Classical Piano Performance and Piano for Non-Majors, she has developed a high level of professionalism and strong interpersonal skills in her interactions with students. In her classes at York University, students who major in Classical Piano Performance Stream and students who are non-music major earned excellent grade (A) at end-of-year juries. Prior to her teaching at York University, Regina was a Pianist-in-Resident for the Opera Workshop and Chamber Music at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
As a piano teacher, Regina’s work includes preparing students for annual piano recitals, and coaching students for competitions in the GTA where her students awarded prizes at Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival, Peel Music Festival, and North York Music Festival. As a rudiments and history of music teacher, Regina has brought the subjects to life. Her students demonstrate strong understanding of music theory and history of music in Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
Professionally trained since age of six, Regina graduated Summa Cum Laude in Piano Performance from the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music. She continued her piano studies at York University, Toronto where she earned her BFA specializing in Piano Performance. Since returning from Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she furthered her professional training at the Master's level in Piano Performance under the guidance of Professor Timothy Steeves, she completed her MA in Ethnomusicology at York University, Toronto. Her research interest focuses on "Canada Classical Music: Women Composers of 19th and 20th Centuries" in which she is examining the impact of both colonialism and post-colonialism on the development of classical music in Canada.
Ms. Cynthia
Ms. Cynthia Yau (Piano & Cello)
Cellist Cynthia Yau is a musician and music educator from Hong Kong. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Cello Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance from the University of Iowa with a full scholarship and a Bachelor degree in Music Education from Hong Kong Baptist University majoring in Double Bass and Piano.
Dr. Cynthia has appeared as a chamber and orchestra musician. She has won several symphony orchestral positions in Hong Kong and the United States. As a musician who believes in the power of music to connect people, Cynthia has performed in places like orphanages, senior homes, prisons, public parks and carnivals. In addition to her performance experiences, she is also a devoted educator who has worked with students of all ages and levels of experiences for over 14 years. She has also coached small ensemble groups and chamber orchestras in elementary schools and high schools.
Cynthia emphasizes on the importance of organic learning in order to help students to develop both their personality and musicality. Through experimenting with different ideas and evaluating traits and areas to improve, students gain the ability to meet any composition’s demands, and at the same time their self-confidence, openness and perseverance.