Golden Key Piano School’s July 2025 Newsletter

Dear Golden Key Piano School Community,

As we step into a new month, we’re excited to share highlights from the past month and give you a glimpse of the exciting opportunities ahead this month!

1. Annual Exams

We would like to extend a big congratulations to all the students who participated in this year’s annual piano exams!

We are so proud of your dedication, hard work, and musical growth. Your commitment to practicing and preparing truly shines through, and we’re thrilled to celebrate your accomplishments.

Keep up the great work, and here’s to even more musical milestones ahead!

If you have not taken the exam, please schedule it here.

2. Summer Package

Summer is a great time to catch up with your piano practice and make it your focus. We are running a summer program to help the students improve their stature and focus.

The packages are;

In Person Lessons

• Two piano lessons per week.
• Duration of class is 60 minutes.
• Monthly informal performances.
• Monthly “polish up” 20 minutes lesson with headteacher.
• $90 per month.

Online Lessons

• Two piano lessons per week.
• Duration of class is 60 minutes.
• Monthly informal performances.
• Monthly “polish up” 20 minutes lesso with headteacher.
• $700 per month.

Space is limited. Please reply to this email to register.

Here are more details on the package.

3. Teacher News

Teacher Anthony

We want to inform you that Teacher Anthony will be leaving Golden Key Piano School and will no longer be teaching here as of this week.

We sincerely thank him for being a part the Golden Key Piano School’s teaching staff! We are incredibly grateful for the time, talent, and dedication he has brought to our school and to our students’ musical journey.

Thank you Teacher Anthony for being a valued part of the Golden Key Piano School family.

Special Thanks to Teacher Nicole

We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to Teacher Nicole for her generous donation to the Golden Key Piano School Scholarship Fund.

Her support helps us provide music education opportunities to students who might not otherwise have access, and we are deeply thankful for her kindness and commitment to our school community.

If you would like to join Teacher Nicole in supporting the Scholarship Fund, donations can be made here. Every contribution, big or small, helps us nurture the musical journeys of more young students.

Thank you once more, Teacher Nicole, for your contribution!

Donate to the Elaine Scholaship Fund

Welcome Teacher Ina to our New York Team

Ina Jun is a pianist and educator specializing in solo, chamber, and collaborative performance. Certified in a few traditional piano pedagogy programs and trained in our school’s teaching method Ina taught at the Hartt Community Division’s Preparatory Program, coaching chamber music and preparing students for competitions and examinations. Her students have won major regional and national prizes. She also serves as an adjudicator and emphasizes strong technical foundations and expressive individuality.

Ina has appeared in series including Puerto Piano & Strings, Festival of New American Music, Music at Noon, Renaissance Society Concerts, Saturday Musical Club, and Pacific Institute of Music Faculty Concert. In 2021, she won the Moshe Paranov Concerto Competition at the Hartt School with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Her chamber duo was featured at the Beethoven Institute at Mannes College. She also received first prizes in the Watson and Hartt Chamber Music Competitions. As a collaborative pianist, she has worked with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, Camellia Symphony, Sacramento State Opera, and Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre.

Awards include first prizes in the Fresno Musical Club, Sekwang Piano, and Fine Arts Scholarship Competitions, along with scholarships from the Hartford Musical Club, Sacramento Saturday Musical Club, Hartt Performing Arts, and W.M. Vincent funds.

Originally from South Korea, she began piano at age four and trained at Fine Arts middle and high schools. She earned a BM (summa cum laude) from the Hartt School, MM from CSU Sacramento, and a DMA from the Hartt School under Paul Rutman. Her principal teachers include Richard Cionco, David Westfall, and Joo-yi Yoo.

She joins the collaborative piano program at The Juilliard School in Fall 2025 and we are thrilled to have her join our Manhattan Piano Academy teacher’s team starting fall 2025.

Welcome Teacher Andrew to our New York Team

Pianist Andrew J. Wilson committed to creating a supportive and engaging environment where students of all ages can build strong technical skills, learn to express themselves musically, and develop a lifelong love of music. His teaching approach blends structure with creativity, aiming to meet each student where they are and guide them toward meaningful musical growth.

Andrew has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist in Puerto Rico, Poland, and across the United States. His wide-ranging repertoire spans from Bach and Mozart to contemporary composers, and his performance career includes winning first prize in the Kansas State University Concerto Competition and making his orchestral debut with the KSU Symphony Orchestra in 2022.

He holds a Master’s degree in Piano Performance and an Advanced Certificate in Piano Pedagogy from New York University, where he also taught as an adjunct instructor in keyboard studies. Andrew is currently on faculty at both New York Piano School and Manhattan Piano Academy. He believes that teaching and performing music can transcend cultural boundaries and bring people together in meaningful ways.

We are delighted and excited to have teacher Andrew start with us at Manhattan Piano Academy in Fall 2025.

4. 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:

Making the Most of Summer: Stay on Track with Piano Practice