Golden Key Paino School’s February 2025 Newsletter

Dear Golden Key Piano School Community,

As we open the calendar year, we are excited to share news of what we were up to last month and what this coming month has to offer.

1. Recital Date Change

We have a schedule update for our upcoming Berkeley Recital! Please take note of the new dates:

✨ Recital: Originally scheduled for Sunday, April 6th, 2025 has been moved to Sunday, May 18th, 2025.

✨ Rehearsal: Originally on Sunday, March 23rd,2025 will now be on Thursday, May 8th, 2025 and Sunday, May 11th, 2025.

We appreciate your flexibility and can’t wait to see you shine on stage! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

2. Quality Business Award

Golden Key Piano School has received its first business award of the year—the Quality Business Award! We’ve been recognized as the Best Music School in Berkeley, California for 2025. A huge thank you to our incredible teaching staff for making this achievement possible.

3. Master class with Temirzhan Yerzhanov

We are excited to have Teacher Temirzhan Yerzhanov back this year for another master class for our advanced students. We have one more spot open for the masterclass. If you are in advanced level and interested to join the class this February please discuss with your teacher and get started on preparing one piece.

Here are some information:

Date: Sunday February 23rd 2025 at 9am

Duration: 2 hours Location: Kassman Piano

Fee for participants: $90

Fee for observers: $15

Duration of the class: 2-3 hours. Each participant takes a 30-min lesson.

Sign up and pay here

About Teacher Temirzhan: Named ‘Best Performer of Year’ by San Francisco Classical Voice, pianist and conductor Temirzhan Yerzhanov launched his career by winning the First Prize and Gold Medal at the International Robert Schumann Piano Competition in Zwickau, Germany, and went on performing in 14 countries including at New York Carnegie Hall Auditorium Stern, Berlin Konzerthaus, Leipzig Gewandhaus, London Wigmore Hall, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Dresden Sempergalerie, Paris Salle Pleyel, St. Petersburg Grand Philharmonic Hall, just to name a few notable venues.

As a conductor he performed with Kazakh Philharmonic Orchestra, Google Orchestra, Capital Philharmonia Brasilia, Kazakh National Opera, Astana Opera, Orchestra Gradus ad Parnassum, and Ópera Cultura where currently he is a Music Director. A graduate from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory he’s been a faculty member of his alma mater before immigrating to the USA.

His students won top prizes at such competitions as The Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, The Tchaikovsky in Moscow, The Vianna da Motta in Macau, The Alessandro Casagrande in Terni, The AXA in Dublin, The Lev Vlasenko in Brisbane, competitions in Porto and Epinal, the US Open Music Competition in Oakland; American Protégé Competition in New York. He has given master classes at the Western Washington University, Bellingham; Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil; Yantai University, China; California State University, Sacramento; Kazakh National Conservatory, Almaty.

4. Student News

Disha

We would like to share a good news that Stella’s student, Disha, an online student, passed her RCM exam with Honors especially since she started and has continued her piano lessons on Zoom. Congratulations Disha! Thank you teacher Stella!

Jaslene

So proud of Jaslene! For the second year in a row, she has been selected to join the prestigious 2025 California All-State Ensembles. Each year, thousands of talented students from across California audition for this incredible opportunity. From January 15 to January 19, Jaslene traveled to Sacramento to participate in intensive rehearsals led by some of the world’s most renowned conductors. The experience culminated in an unforgettable performance at the music conference, where thousands of music educators filled the audience to celebrate these exceptional young musicians.

5. Follow Our Blog

We update our blog with a new post every week, where we post useful insights, advice, and more.

Check the blog here:

Supporting Your Child’s Piano Progress at Home: A Parent’s Guide