Jacob Wins 1st Prize at Golden Classical International Competition

We are delighted to announce that Jacob Jonson won 1st Prize Winner at the Golden Classical International Competition & won 2nd Place at the BTHVN Wien Competition! Congratulations, Jacob! Jacob also made his debut this past July at the famed Musikverein in Viennat at New Mozart’s 20 Year Anniversary concert. We are incredibly proud of your exceptional achievements!

Q & A w/Teacher Young (cello/piano)

What do you love most about teaching?

I love when I see students come in with a smile because at the end of the day, we are doing this for the joy.

1.How old were you when you started taking music lessons and what was your first instrument?

I started taking piano lessons at the age of 5, then transitioned to the cello at age 7.

2. Who/what inspired you to become a musician and music teacher?

I was very fortunate to have supporting parents who helped me continue my cello journey while growing up, and so they would have to be my inspiration to becoming the best musician I possibly can. My passion for teaching began while I was getting my undergraduate at the University of Washington. My professor at the time made me realize how important it was to have a good teacher from the very beginning. That being said, I had to relearn everything during my undergraduate studies with Saeunn who is a world class cellist, and could not have been any luckier to be under her guidance. I wish for no one to go through what I did and want to make sure I pass on the techniques I learned to the younger generation. I am grateful for all my teachers because I’ve learned many different things from each and everyone, and they would have to be my inspiration to become a teacher.

3. Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

Attending concerts regularly growing up influenced me the most in my musical life, and it wasn’t until I first heard a cellist play a concerto for the first time with the symphony. That was the defining moment where I knew I wanted to continue playing the cello and taking music seriously. Now thanks to YouTube, I am able to look up legends such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Jacqueline du pre, Steven Isserlis, and many more.

4. Tell us about your musical and teaching background.

Since I started learning the cello at 7, my mom immediately signed me up for cello lessons and the Hawaii youth symphony, and was a part of a symphony since then, and also continued lessons ever since then. My first real student was when I was a sophomore in College because I knew I wanted to teach one day and wanted experience in teaching. Although I did not have many students, I’ve been teaching since then.

5. Do you have important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

Yes, I truly believe that good foundations from the beginning can come a long way and help enjoy playing the cello more. There is a misconception that you have to practice many hours every day but that is not true, the most important thing is consistency for me, and even 10 minutes a day is better than practicing 1 hour once a week and so I do try to drill that into my students. I also recommend going to concerts as much as you can because getting inspiration through others is really powerful.

6. What do you love most about teaching?

I love when I see students come in with a smile because at the end of the day, we are doing this for the joy. I want all my students to be excited for lessons rather than it being something they have to do because they are forced to.

7. Do you have a practice tip you want to share with our students?

Yes, warming up with scales early on I think is very important. Everyone knows this yet has a hard time doing this. I am guilty of this but when I started doing my scales every morning, playing my pieces was more enjoyable because it sounded better. The most important thing about doing scales is not to just play the notes, but carefully think about every detail possible because it is a lot harder to think about the details when the pieces start to get harder.

8. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not teaching, practicing, or performing?

Apart from teaching, practicing, or performing, I enjoy going out for a run and drinking coffee in the morning. Recently I’ve been learning how to golf because my whole family golfs, but I have long ways to go.

Creative Crescendo - Write a Song in 5 Weeks!

We’re so excited to bringing our new program, Creative Crescendo: A Journey Into Songwriting to our families.

have you ever dreamed of creating your own song? Then this is the class for you! Teacher Maria will take you step by stepy in your journey becoming a songwriter!

We are offering 100% Money Back Gaurantee so there is nothing to lose! (scroll down for detials)

Creative Crescendo: A Journey Into Songwriting

Learn to channel your emotions, ideas and creativity into crafting songs in New Mozart’s Creative Crescendo: A Journey into Songwriting!

Let's dive into the enchanting world of songwriting together! Discover the magic of crafting your own melodies and lyrics, and uncover the power of expressing your individuality through music.

You'll not only learn essential songwriting skills but also explore how each song reflects your own unique personality and perspective. Imagine the joy of creating something truly your own!

New Mozart students receive $50 off the summer camp and $100 off the fall classes.

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If you’re not 100% happy with your 1st class, just let us know within the 1st 24 hour hours and we will refund you in FULL. We are that sure you will love our songwriting class, Creative Crescendo.


Meet Keaton Wan: New Mozart’s Exceptional Piano Student with a Radiant Smile

1. What is your name and how old are you?

My name is Keaton and I am 9 years old and will turn 10 next month.

2. How long have you been studying music and how old were you when you first started?

I have been playing piano for 4 years and I was 5 years old when I started doing it. I completed Harmony Road 1 and 2 with Teacher Valerie, and then started having private lessons in September 2020.

3. Who is your teacher?

My teacher is Larisa. She is a great teacher. She gave me suggestions for my recital piece.

4. What are you currently working on?

I am working on "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin. I am going to play this piece for my honor recital. I learned "Ivan Sings" by Aram Khachaturian a few months ago, and I enjoy it so much that I still play it every day.

5. How often do you practice?

I practice once a day.

6. Why do you love music?

I like music because it sounds nice. It is also fun to perform!

7. What are some things you like doing besides music?

I like to play chess and build with legos.

9. What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a car inventor, but I also like music and playing piano.

New Mozart Honor Students 2024

Congratulations to New Mozart Honor Students 2024!


New Mozart Distinguished Honor Students 2024

We proudly recognize the New Mozart Distinguished Honor Students for their dedication and excellence in music. These outstanding students will receive certificates celebrating their achievements and will showcase their talents at the New Mozart Honors Recital.

Mia Apostolopolous
Lia Arditi
Kenneth Baker
Malaika Boros
Paloma Boros
Simon Braun
Aiden Chao-Parvizi
Abigail Cheng
Maidi Crawford
Nikolas Daily
Jackson Dann
Avarya Das
Dhriti Deepak
Aditya Deka
Diana Doran
Aiden Fan
Paloma Fatehi
Paxon Fatehi
Madeleine Gifford
Soham Gupta
Chloe Ho
Sarabeth Huang
Neil Iyer
Eleanor Jiang
Jacob Jonson
Yuki Kaitayama
Elsa Lagerblad
Matthew Lee
Asher Leppert
Elijah Leppert
Jackson Leung
Angela Lim
Ella Miikkulainen-Katila
Malhar Nair
Marlene Ng
Sherrie Osborne
Saina Priyadarshi
Evelyn Ren
Evelyn Ren
Annelise Sailer
Narsim Setlur
Anoushka Sinha
Elizabeth Siva
Kipling Song
Levi Strohman
Kyle Tokiwa
Wesley Tsai
Dalton Vega
Aarthi Venkatraman
Elizabeth Wahl
Keaton Wan
Sunny Wei
Ava Wu
Nathan Wu
Nathalia Yang
Ayla Yarnall
Annabel Zhao

New Mozart Honor Students 2024

We proudly recognize the New Mozart Honor Students for their dedication and hard work. They will be awarded certificates in celebration of their musical achievements.

Yohann Aaron-Pracht
Zacharie Aaron-Pracht
Aesta Abraham
Arav Agarwal
Ayaana Ahmed
Samantha Almanza
David Angelo
Rebecca Armenta
Aino Bach
Sarah Baker
Seore Bright
Alexander Burch
Ettore Caragiulo
Alice Cavalotti
Sherilyn Chan
Zoey Chan
Rohan Chandra
Nyla chandra pal
Angela Chen
Allie Chen
Claire Cheng
Kai Chung
Sebastian De Lecea
Dhriti Deepak
Maxon DeMidio
Zara Donepudi
Grace Du
Emma Eren
Luca Eren
Emma Eren
Timothy Feng
Soren Garcia
Altalina Geller
Rebecca Grey
Robin Grey
Quin Guedelhoefer
Chloe Guo
Zaara Gupta
Soham Gupta
Austin Guydish
Chantal Herath
Pierce Howard
Brian Hu
Bennett Huang
Artin irani
Ayan Iyer
Anya Jain
Avni Jain
Anya Jain
Avni Jain
Gaurav Jain
Aiden Jamiolkowski
Adam Ji
Layla Jioussy
Alexander Kayal
Jugat Kholi
Sophie Ko
Sofia Kolotinsky
Rihito Koshimizu
Eva Koshnick
Evelyn Kuan
Adya Kumar
Ryan Lampe
Anna Lee
Carina Lee
Eleanor Lee
Amelia Lee
Zion Lee
Caroline Leong
Carolyn Lewis
William Li
Julia Li
Reina Lim
Jonah Lippert
Justin Lu
Jasmine Ma
Tejo Madhavarapu
Elizabeth March
Aaron McLaughlin Rodrigues
Jack Mcnab
Meera Mediratta
Chiara Monatanari
Aveen Nassiri Toussi
Kiyan Patel
Elie Paul
Yana Petrova
Michael Petrova
Eva Petrova
Zuri Philpot
Valentina Price
Khyl Putcha
Alex Rampell
Cameron Rampell
Harrison Rampell
Lillian Ren
Evelyn Ren
Lillian Ren
Will Rinne
Jack Rosen
Matias Santisteban
Felix Sarris
Lily Sazdanoff
Ian Schwarz
Emmett Seeger
Samanvika Senthil Kumar
Maya Sevinc
Leo Shang
Michael Shikin
Andrew Stevenson
Tarek Tag
Aneesh Tiwari
Kai Tsai Knutson
Charlotte Urban
Otto Van Roessel
Matias Velasquez
Llibertat Viadiu
Charles Villanueva
Vedika Vivek
Hugo Vu
Marcus Vu
Levi Walter
Tristan Wan
Grace Weir
Callia Wen
Kate Wong
Lana Wong
Zara Wong
Vincent Wu
Bruce Xu
Sophia Yan
Oribella Yang
Haha Zhang
Stella Zhang

From New Mozart to Yale - Congratulations Claire Spence

From New Mozart to Yale University!

Meet Claire, our talented pianist who joined us when she was just 2 years old. After completing the Harmony Road program at age 5, she continued her piano study with Dr. Alexander. She won numerous competitions and is now off to Yale this fall! We couldn't be prouder and will miss her dearly. Congratulations Claire!

What instrument did you study at New Mozart and for how long? I have been a student at the New Mozart School of Music for 16 years. I started in the Harmony Road class at 2 years old, and went on to study piano with Dr. Alexander for 13 years

Which high school did you attend? I recently graduated from a French-American bilingual high school called the Lycée Français de San Francisco (LFSF).

What are you doing next? I am attending Yale University where I study English literature and poetry and continue studying music.

Tell us about your experience of learning music at New Mozart and how it has impacted your life. I have been a student at the New Mozart School of Music for as long as I can remember. I am so grateful to all of the teachers and staff who in many ways have watched me grow up. Teacher Alexander has been a real treasure. He was able to make piano lessons fun with his jokes and life advice, and always prepared me to play my best and win competitions. I grew so much thanks to him as a pianist, a musician, and even as a person, and I will always remember him with gratitude and love. To my family, he was much more than just a teacher, he was a dear friend. I have learned so much at New Mozart starting from the Harmony Road class where I was singing and playing my first notes on the piano to Teacher Alexander's advanced music theory lessons which were instrumental in my getting a top score on the AP music theory exam. Most importantly I learned how to touch others with my music. I know for certain that whatever I do in the future, music will remain an integral part of my life. I am so thankful to my parents for connecting me to this musical world and to New Mozart for giving me the foundation to truly become a musician.

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