Los Alamos piano students Lyla Lo and Sean Lo achieve music milestone. Courtesy photoMUSIC News:
Two young piano students in Los Alamos—brother and sister Sean Lo, 9, and his sister Lyla Lo, 7, are well on their way to succeeding in their chosen study of piano and classical music by fulfilling a personal pledge to never miss a single day of practicing.
Both students participate in a national “challenge” to continually practice the piano without ever missing a day of practice. Sean has just completed practicing piano 635 consecutive days and his sister, has accomplished 545 uninterrupted days of practice.
To participate in the national program sponsored by the student magazine, Piano Explorer, a student’s practice must be for a minimum of 30 minutes, the practice must be supervised by a parent, then recorded by the parent online, with the log book of practicing given to the student’s piano teacher.
Together, the duo has now achieved more than 1,200 days of practice, without fail, even when going on vacation or international travel. For example, when on a recent cruise vacation, a full-size keyboard traveled with them on their trip. Later, when flying to Taiwan this past summer, they achieved their practicing on the plane by using a “dummy” keyboard as well as working on theory lessons.
For their three-month stay in Taiwan, the family arranged daily practice at a home with a piano.
These accomplishments all began when the students’ parents read about the national challenge in Sean’s monthly music magazine, Piano Explorer. He had been studying the piano for two years and thought that taking the challenge would be “a great way to get a lot better” in his playing. Certainly, that is paying off as he was First Place Winner in the Santa Fe Sonata Contest, won a Second Prize last fall in the District Honors Contest, and is once again, a contestant in the upcoming October Honor’s Competition.
Lyla began her formal piano study in the fall of 2018, after having studied with her mother for a year.
Already, her dedication to practicing is helping her to move ahead rapidly in her study. She too will be in her first Honors Competition and also participated last spring in the annual Dennis Alexander Piano Competition in Albuquerque. Both students regularly perform in the annual community Halloween Recital in Fuller Lodge, in two annual Studio Recitals, as well as participating in New Mexico’s State Performance Evaluation Program and the National Guild Auditions.
Their teacher, Dr. Madeline Williamson, said she is very proud of the Lo family students and attests that they are both outstanding students making a great deal of progress, always well-prepared, and bringing both preparation and a positive attitude to their weekly lesson. When asked “why” they were doing this, they both agreed “because it’s fun” and that they “could see how much better” they were getting.
Williamson said that it is quite unusual for someone at these young ages to take such initiative. She hopes that their dedication to practicing continues and that by example, they may inspire other students to do the same, regardless of which instrument they study. Williamson also stresses that essential to any accomplishment on an instrument, the key ingredient is the involvement and continual support from a student’s parents. Their parents are Hanju Tsai and Chienchi Lo, with one of them always attending every lesson. Both students attend Mountain Elementary School.