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Welcome back to another episode of the Piano Part.

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I'm Clara Zhang.

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I'm Eric Hunter.

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I'm Yukimi Song.

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Thank you for watching the first episode of Conquer Anxiety with Dr. Skidmore.

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We have received such great feedback from you and appreciate your support.

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The TPP is a podcast show where three of us invite a guest speaker each month who is in

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a field of piano pedagogy, performing arts, recording, recording artists, music technology,

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and the wellness of piano studio, the mental health of students, parents, and teachers.

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We're very excited about this opportunity to explore a variety of piano related topics

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with you and share them.

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We already have several exciting guest speakers lined up for the coming months.

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We can't wait to learn from each guest and discuss this topic with them on this platform.

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If you want to find out more about who we are, what we do, why we started this podcast,

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please watch our introductory video on our YouTube channel, or you can listen to it on

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our SoundCloud account or click the links listed below.

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The guest of this episode is Vera Asamo from Asamo Academy, who is a classical concert

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pianist, a piano teacher, and the founder and director of the Formal Piano School of

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New York City and now Asamo Academy.

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She is going to talk to us.

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Hello Vera.

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Hello.

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Hi Vera.

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Hi.

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Thank you so much.

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Yes.

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Thank you so much for inviting me.

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It's an honor.

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She's going to talk to us about her life as a musician in Russia and in the U.S. and her

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experience in building the Piano School and Asamo Academy, one of the most established

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piano school and nonprofit organization in New York City area, and how she's transitioning

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from PSNYC to now Asamo Academy.

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Hello Vera.

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Thank you for being with us today.

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Yes.

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Hello, Clara.

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Pleasure.

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Can you tell us a little bit of your background, where you're from, how you started your piano

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journey, and how you ended up in New York City?

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Yes.

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Well, it's probably a traditional story of many immigrants that come from Europe or Asia

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or any other country in the world.

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I grew up in Soviet Union in the city of Moscow, which is a capital.

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It was a difficult life living in the Soviet Union because of the past regime and the government

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restrictions and regulations.

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However, being raised by my parents, my mom was a well-known classical piano teacher with

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many, many years of traditions and having students graduate from her studio and then

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go to music college and complete their degree.

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So she had the legacy that she had built for many years.

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And so me growing up in that environment really sort of helped me, like music helps many people

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to kind of forget about the maybe not so favorable environment that you live in, but music helped

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uplift your spirit and motivate you and inspire you from a human emotional level.

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So I have to say I have had rich childhood and teenage years as far as musicians and

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artists that were friends of my mom who surrounded her and therefore I was part of that circle.

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These were some of the very well-known musicians in Russia.

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And it was a very enlightening experience when I look back after being in the United States

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for over 30 years now, when I look back, I don't even recall the problems in the Soviet

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Union economy and the regime.

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I only really remember I have good memories of my upbringing.

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And of course as probably you know Russian culture is considered to be one of the top

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level musicians and artists and in the performing arts industry whether it's ballet or theater

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or even actually literature.

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So Russia has produced so many phenomenal masterpieces for all of us to enjoy and grasp

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for the rest of our lives and many more generations to come.

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So I feel very blessed to grow up in that kind of environment that certainly helped

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form me as a musician.

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I probably should just say that I've developed that dedication to the arts from I guess young

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teenage years.

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I knew that music, no matter what I was going to be doing, I knew that music was going to

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be a big part of my life because I left Moscow when I was 21.

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But very, very young.

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I'm here, you know, not equipped with life skills or skills to live on my own or do anything

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of that sort.

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But on the other hand, I was already, you know, how shall I say, I was not only committed

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but I was ready to take some next steps to develop something important.

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I didn't know what it was at the time.

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Once you came to New York and you went to the junior school for work, right?

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And that's absolutely beautiful.

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And eventually you started in New York City as a piano teacher.

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And how did you start the beginning days as a piano teacher?

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What was it like?

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It's actually a quite simple story.

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I mean, I followed the traditional footsteps of many aspiring, you know, pianist teachers

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who after graduation, I want to also mention that after Juilliard, I went to Manus College

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of Music to do my masters.

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I now also teach part-time at Manus Prep, which I am proud and honored to be on a faculty

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for more than 25 years.

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So after graduating, I, you know, didn't really know what exactly I was going to do.

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I did some performing.

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I did some teaching.

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I was putting flyers on bus stops.

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I was on my bicycle, you know, riding around the city.

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And, you know, from one of those flyers, I got a call from a church in Harlem.

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And that was in mid-90s, maybe 97.

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So at that time, you know, Harlem was not what it is today.

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It was, you know, many buildings were abandoned and burned down.

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And so it was not an area where you would typically, you know, go for piano lessons.

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But the woman I spoke on the phone with was very warm.

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And somehow we connected on the phone really well.

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And she simply said, I saw your flyer on the bus stop.

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We are a church.

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We have many kids.

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But we cannot afford your private lesson fee.

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So maybe you can teach a group class at the church on Sunday after church.

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And you know, maybe each child would pay $10.

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And I, you know, initially was a little concerned about going to an area I don't know.

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But something inside me was like, I should really figure this out and give this a good

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try.

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I've never taught a group class before.

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And so I was still, you know, in my 20s.

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I didn't have that much teaching experience, only one-on-one, you know, private lessons.

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And so I was kind of intrigued and thought, hmm, I think I can learn something from this.

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Right.

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And that was really, that was, you know, my initial motivation.

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And after I finally went and met the kids, I instantly felt that that was a great, great

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opportunity, not, you know, just for me, but also for these kids to get exposure to music

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education.

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I can definitely help them learn.

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Nobody had an instrument at home.

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So they were, you know, elementary age kids.

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Sure.

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And we only used a church electric organ that they practiced on throughout the week.

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It was not a beautiful church that you would imagine.

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It was just a storefront, right?

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So they had that gate that they pulled in and pulled out.

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So it was a very simple setup.

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But people there were very, very warm and very interested and very thankful in advance

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and very grateful.

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So that inspired me to really give this my best.

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And at first it was like, let's see where that goes.

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But then I really was inspired deep in my heart because I saw that kids were progressing

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from one week to the next.

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They, you know, we used a method book.

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I made copies for them and gave them homework and they practiced throughout the week.

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So it really was, I didn't know at the time, but it really was a fundamental kind of like

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a point in my life where something was happening inside me.

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I didn't know it at the time, but it was kind of building up.

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And after that experience, I really thought, wait a minute, I think I can do something

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with this idea and I can maybe go to local schools and promote group piano lessons for

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the children who cannot afford private lessons, which is always a costly commitment for many

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parents to take on, especially if they have more than one child.

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So that really is how I started.

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And then when I saw that became successful, I decided to start an organization.

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So how did you come up with the name Piano School of New York City?

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It's actually as a funny story because even before I started the school, I was teaching

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many private students and one of the parents of my students, she was the one who said,

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you know, you should start like a school or something.

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You'd be really good at that.

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And I was like, really?

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And then I went home to my husband and I said, you know, this parent think that I should

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start a school.

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And so we started talking about it.

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Then I went back for my next lesson with the same family next week and I said, what shall

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I name the school?

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And I think she was drinking cup of coffee and walking between kitchen and living room.

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And she was like, I don't know, Piano School of New York.

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Oh my gosh.

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Yes.

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And so and she didn't even think about it.

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Right.

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And so as she said it, I was like, okay, that sounds good.

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I didn't know exactly what, how you were operating your school until I talked to Clara a few

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days ago.

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And so could you tell us a little bit more?

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So I didn't realize it was basically based on the group lesson.

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Am I correct?

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Correct.

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So from the beginning, like I was talking to Clara, my idea of the school was not only

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to implement private lessons, but actually grow this kind of programs at local schools.

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So as we started the Piano School of New York, that was my mission from the beginning to

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really implement group piano class programs at local schools.

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We started in Manhattan, you know, all throughout the city.

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And we expanded to Brooklyn, to Queens, then later in New Jersey, Rockland County, and

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Westchester, little by little.

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But it kind of took off rather quickly because there was no such program in many schools.

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And we, you know, just promoted with a simple flyer for parents to sign up for inexpensive

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classes that their children can join right on the premises of the school for after school.

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And yes, it was really a simple idea that took off.

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And I'm actually very, very proud of it because I think it helped many children to get their

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first, you know, to get their feet wet, if you will, in exploring what the music education

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is about.

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Some children transitioned from that to private lessons.

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Some didn't.

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Some really just, you know, stuck with it just for it being an enrichment program.

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And you know, we are all musicians, but for those who, let's say, are not musicians, I

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think it's important to mention that music as enrichment, it doesn't have to be a serious,

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you know, it doesn't have to be serious approach to learning from everyone.

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So some children just want to explore and simply see what it's like and simply see if

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they like it.

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And you know, just even see what it is about because they have no idea.

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I think it's a great platform for many children of any age to learn what it is about.

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It obviously, we as musicians know it improves their abilities in many ways for young children

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from motor skills to coordination to brain activity.

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Older kids do better in school and in math, et cetera.

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So I think that it's a very important platform, not just for those who want to take it seriously,

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but just as an addition to their life and improve their quality of life and their schooling.

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So from my understanding that you started as just a regular profit organization or company,

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then you had a nonprofit portion of it, correct?

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Correct.

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So can you, could you tell us about the story, please?

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Yes, of course.

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So because we were expanding to some not economically well-established areas, as we would go to

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different schools, we would be faced with a situation that some parents even at a lower

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price for group classes would ask us, do you offer discounts?

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Can you give us scholarships?

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Can you help us?

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What can I do, et cetera?

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And that prompted us to do something about it because we wanted all the children to join

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regardless of the economic background.

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So it was in 2003 that we created a nonprofit scholarship fund that was called Pony, P-O-N-Y,

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which is Piano Outreach of New York.

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And that was approved by IRS.

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And with that scholarship fund, we started raising money among our private students.

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So in other words, private students would help us raise some money for our scholarship

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fund to be able to give scholarships and discounts to students in economic needs so they too

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can join our group classes.

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So it remained to be such, you know, so the two organizations function as sisters.

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It was the Piano School of New York and Piano Outreach of New York that supported each other.

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And it continued through 2016, at which point, well, let me back up a second.

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I had a fantastic mentor.

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He was actually my student, adult student, who was a, I guess, associated with Goldman

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Sachs.

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And that adult student helped me greatly to understand the structure of business.

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He invited me to participate in different workshops that were free at Goldman Sachs.

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They have a program that supports entrepreneurs and also, you know, small business and nonprofits.

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So they invited me to be part of that program.

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And through that program, they helped me understand that I really should merge my business, the

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Piano School of New York, into the nonprofit that we already have and just simply have

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one organization that we call Piano School of New York, which is what we did in 2016.

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D, C, C, C, C, rest, rest, repeat, C, C, C.

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It's so wonderful what you've been doing with the Piano School of New York.

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You mentioned your board of directors and it got me thinking, you know, you just started

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out as one person teaching group lessons and then you develop this organization and then

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a nonprofit.

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And what was it like to grow that and work with all these other people?

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How do you manage those transitions from starting small to building now this huge successful

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organization citywide?

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It's a lot of hard work.

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I'm not going to, you know, give it an impression that it's something easy to do.

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It's sometimes seven days a week, you know, 12 hours a day work on a phone, email, took

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years to, you know, to figure out what, which way, which is the right way, many mistakes

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along the way.

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Coming from mistakes and figuring out what's not to do next time.

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Kind of the experience that ultimately made me stronger, made me believe through the positive

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experiences that this is worth doing, that this is worth pursuing.

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And gave me huge satisfaction to see so many kids and so many families feeling grateful

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from the experiences of our programs.

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So many teachers also expressed great feeling of reward being part of the organization.

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00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:51,520
But Jazz at Lincoln Center is one of the very famous, you know, venues, musical venues in

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the world.

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And you actually rent that place the entire day or something or two days and you host

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that piano recitals and they were amazing.

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And the venue was obviously fantastic, but also there were so many little students who

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participated and played.

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And so those students who participated, are they from the piano school who took group

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lessons and private lessons?

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Yes, absolutely.

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A lot of, so because we became a nonprofit in 2016 as a whole organization, the recommendations

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00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:37,840
that we have received from many advisors were to open up the opportunity for Jazz at Lincoln

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Center recitals to local community teachers, to teachers who teach in New York City and

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metropolitan area so that it becomes more of a community recitals rather than just feature

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the piano school of New York students, which I think is fantastic.

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I'm really thrilled that we can do that and invite local teachers to really, you know,

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demonstrate their work, to demonstrate their students, to unite as a community, to applaud

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teachers for their hard work and feature them.

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So that, yes, that has started in 2016.

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We have hosted recitals at Jazz at Lincoln Center for many years, but that was just for

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00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:25,800
our own students.

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But from 2016, it became a community type of recitals where teachers like you bring

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the best students to participate.

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And we feel that we hope to be able to continue now everything is closed, but we hope to be

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able, of course, to continue that tradition that lasts.

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It would have been, let me think for a second.

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I remember our first recitals we hosted when I was pregnant with my daughter and she's

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13.

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00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,000
Oh my goodness.

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Yeah, so 13, 14 years that we've done annual events at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

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So we certainly hope to continue that tradition we want.

279
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,480
So can you tell us now a little bit about Enselmo Academy?

280
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,640
Yes, with pleasure.

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00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:35,360
It kind of became a natural development to change the name of the school because we have

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started offering lessons in other instruments as of last fall.

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00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:49,640
So in the fall of 2019, we decided to expand our group piano classes that we had offered

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in many schools because we received many inquiries.

285
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Do you also teach guitar?

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Can you do violin?

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Can you do voice?

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Can you do this?

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Can you do that?

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And so because we have a board of directors that is very supportive to guide me in the

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00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:22,840
process, we decided to, yes, implement additional subjects, additional curriculum to different

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schools to give it a try and see how it goes.

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So we had hired guitar teachers and violin teachers and voice teachers and promoted it

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to many group classes, group class programs at local schools.

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And it took off beautifully.

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We had great feedback.

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And so little by little, the name Piano School of New York sort of became obsolete as we

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were promoting those other subjects.

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So we started thinking, well, what is the future, what do we do now after so many years

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00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:02,780
of being the Piano School of New York, what shall we do?

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And it was really the board of directors and our advisors who said, well, you know, you've

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been the piano school for so many years.

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I think you need to think broader.

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And since you are implementing so many other subjects and it can only grow in many other

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00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:26,160
directions that you should really think of a new name and perhaps it should become something

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00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:31,980
more defining who you are, your story, your life, et cetera.

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So it kind of came naturally.

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We thought of the name and Anselmo Academy kind of, you know, was a natural choice to

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00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:52,800
kind of became our brand, our, you know, story to kind of tell our story as to what we have

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done.

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And it's also unique.

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It stands out.

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There is no other organization that, you know, is called that name.

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So we felt it was a good choice.

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And so what we did, we, you know, created a DBA, which is doing business as Anselmo

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00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:17,120
Academy of Music and the Arts as of this summer, this past summer.

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So it's very new.

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We created a new website with the help of volunteers.

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It's unbelievable as a nonprofit, we get to, you know, be, it's a fantastic platform as

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a nonprofit that you attract other businesses, organizations who want to give, who want to

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help you.

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And so we received a free website from a Braun and Wise organization who worked tirelessly

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00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:57,960
for eight weeks and created this great new website for us and helped us with tools to

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run it, you know, easily and make it easy for navigation for our clients and teachers,

325
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:08,240
et cetera.

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00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:15,080
And so we're very grateful to the group of volunteers who helped us with the transition.

327
00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:21,840
And now with Anselmo Academy, we strive to expand to many categories.

328
00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:28,640
We currently offer piano, violin, guitar, voice, and drama, which is brand new because

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00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,160
we've had some inquiries about theater.

330
00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:37,280
And so we felt it was natural because it's also performing arts.

331
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,760
So we expanding in that direction.

332
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:46,860
And we also starting to offer tutoring because especially nowadays as children do hybrid

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00:29:46,860 --> 00:29:53,960
version of schooling and maybe some parents are too busy to help them with homework, et

334
00:29:53,960 --> 00:30:02,680
cetera, we think that it's a good platform for our academy to help students to do online

335
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:12,120
tutoring, math, reading, science, et cetera, to help them, you know, feel confident and

336
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:17,880
be able to still do well in school under very difficult circumstances that children are

337
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,880
in today.

338
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:21,120
Yeah.

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00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:27,680
So I was going to ask you actually, obviously the big elephant in the room is COVID and

340
00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:32,920
how it's affected all of us in music and entertainment and educational industries.

341
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,320
How has it affected you guys?

342
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,280
No different than anybody else.

343
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,760
It's definitely a struggle.

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00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:50,080
You know, we obviously try our best with our wonderful administrators that we have who

345
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:58,480
work very hard to communicate with parents and inspire them to continue with music studies

346
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:03,160
or theater classes at this time.

347
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:11,200
But of course, it's a very challenging times that I'm sure we all going to remember forever

348
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:19,800
for all musicians and professionals in performing arts.

349
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,120
We are struggling along.

350
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:30,640
It's a lesson that I think we are learning of how to deal with unprecedented type of

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00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:32,920
circumstances.

352
00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:41,160
And I think that overall though, we're going to all hopefully going to come stronger and

353
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:42,160
better.

354
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:49,280
And I think I, you know, I strongly believe that music has such power.

355
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:51,640
So I think COVID is nothing.

356
00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:58,360
I think that we're going to come out stronger than ever after this is over.

357
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:07,400
And it's going to be a renaissance of arts and music blossoming all around the world.

358
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:17,760
And we, you know, the huge payback, so to speak, is coming for all musicians and professionals

359
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:21,560
in this industry, because I believe that it's just a pause.

360
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:29,600
We are on pause to reflect, to see what it is that we need to do, be creative, don't

361
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:31,520
complain, right?

362
00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:36,160
Be positive, learn, learn a new skill.

363
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:44,280
And it's, we are definitely going to reap the fruits of our labor later on.

364
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,000
So I'm just sticking with that thought.

365
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,800
I love it.

366
00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:51,200
Yes, thank you.

367
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,680
Yeah, it's so inspiring to hear you speak that way.

368
00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:54,680
Thank you.

369
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:58,720
I think that's some inspiration that we could all use right now.

370
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:04,640
And I agree with you, you know, we've been so isolated all this time, all of us miss

371
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:09,240
being together in person, making live music, attending live performances.

372
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:14,320
So I absolutely love this idea of this flourishing that's going to happen once all of this is

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00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:17,320
over.

374
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:28,920
I was wondering for new teachers and pianists starting out today, especially in this scary

375
00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:33,480
new world, what would your advice be for them?

376
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:41,120
You know, the advice would be to be patient, to stay positive, to learn a new skill, read

377
00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:49,040
books, you know, learn new repertoire, read biographies of great musicians, you know,

378
00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:56,360
we all, you know, who obviously went through great struggle in their life, just learn from

379
00:33:56,360 --> 00:34:03,320
it, take it as a learning experience, as a learning curve in their life, and stay positive.

380
00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:08,120
This will pass, we will overcome.

381
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:14,440
And then after this is over, I guess stay true to yourself.

382
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:21,040
You know, follow your heart, see what your heart is telling you to do.

383
00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,580
It's a journey, right?

384
00:34:22,580 --> 00:34:29,280
You have to discover what passion you have in life, whether it's performing, composing,

385
00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:35,760
teaching combination of all of the above, something else, creating schools or festivals

386
00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:42,560
or, you know, online lessons or whatever that you feel your passion is, follow your heart

387
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:47,720
and be passionate about it and work hard.

388
00:34:47,720 --> 00:34:52,720
Combination of those few things will get things done.

389
00:34:52,720 --> 00:34:55,040
Thank you so much.

390
00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:58,680
Well, our website is self-explanatory.

391
00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:06,000
It's very easy to see our offerings in piano, violin, guitar, voice.

392
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:13,640
We actually just added saxophone as of a couple of days ago because we had a student who inquired

393
00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:17,680
and we now have a new saxophone teacher.

394
00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:24,680
It's AnselmoAcademy.org and anyone who's interested can explore our websites and ask

395
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:27,440
questions, we would be happy to answer.

396
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:37,680
And as far as what's so special about Anselmo Academy, it's the community of our staff,

397
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:48,780
of our teachers who are deeply dedicated to the work, to the pursuit of implementing music

398
00:35:48,780 --> 00:35:53,040
and arts education in student lives.

399
00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:58,160
We currently offer online and in-person lessons.

400
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:01,960
It really is just based on the client preference.

401
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:09,800
So if someone is ready to start doing in-person lessons with social distancing, we would find

402
00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:17,420
a teacher who's also comfortable doing this kind of lessons and we would implement that.

403
00:36:17,420 --> 00:36:29,880
So we just navigate one day at a time about this hybrid form of lessons.

404
00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,240
Thank you so much, Vera, for being interviewed by us today.

405
00:36:33,240 --> 00:36:38,240
It was such an honor and I always consider you as one of my great mentors in the beginning

406
00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:39,960
days in New York City.

407
00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:46,360
And I think what you talked to, you know, Yuhimi and Eric about these managing artists

408
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,640
and I think I can be a great testimonial, right?

409
00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,240
And in the beginning days, really, it was just very different.

410
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:57,360
You know, I was teaching in the university before I came to New York.

411
00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:01,560
And I remember when you hired me, you know, within a few hours, really, when I wrote to

412
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:04,840
you, you were so efficient and you were like, Clara, you can do this, you know.

413
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:10,120
And I went to this tiny little preschool in Queens and taught these like two, three-year-old

414
00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:12,160
toddlers piano lessons.

415
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:14,920
And a few months in, we were performing jazz in the center.

416
00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,600
You were like, Clara, you know, they have it and just be patient.

417
00:37:18,600 --> 00:37:20,320
So I really learned so much.

418
00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:26,520
And I think that's really just the most wonderful way as artists, actually, it's a very humbling

419
00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,720
experience to have all this.

420
00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:37,360
And so, and I really think that you are one of the most successful, probably, business

421
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,600
lady in New York City in the music education sector in New York.

422
00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:53,120
So I would love to hear all of your website and your, you have a social media account

423
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:57,000
on Instagram and on Facebook, is that right?

424
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,000
Yes, correct.

425
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:03,160
All of the social media icons are on our website.

426
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:11,640
So any interested individuals can just click on the icon to go to our Facebook, Instagram

427
00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:19,520
pages that is updated with many videos and recitals and et cetera.

428
00:38:19,520 --> 00:38:26,960
So besides the gifted and talented recitals that we spoke briefly, I want to also mention

429
00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:30,320
that a few years back, we started a youth competition.

430
00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:39,000
And youth competition has the same formula as gifted and talented recitals that we invite

431
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:45,360
local teachers to demonstrate the best students at our youth competition.

432
00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:52,400
We actually just strategizing now to see what can we do this year because nothing is open.

433
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:56,560
So are we going to postpone it or do it online?

434
00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:57,560
We don't know yet.

435
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:00,280
We're still, we're still thinking about it.

436
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:01,280
Wow.

437
00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:06,640
It, you have such creativity and you know, it's really a combination of being an artist

438
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:11,000
and being an entrepreneur or a business lady.

439
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,400
And yeah, it's all of these is combined.

440
00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:19,600
That is really an inspiration, I think for the musicians of this generation.

441
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:24,000
So thank you so much for being on our panel.

442
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,880
Thank you so much.

443
00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:27,880
Thank you so much.

444
00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:28,880
Thank you so much.

445
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:30,320
I love you, Clara, you Kimi, Eric.

446
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,560
I really am deeply honored.

447
00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:39,040
And you know, I cannot thank you enough for this time today and for hearing my story.

448
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:40,600
I really appreciate it.

449
00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:45,760
So that concludes our second episode of our piano podcast.

450
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:49,280
Thank you Vera Samo for joining our program.

451
00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:54,400
And we want to thank our audience for watching or listening to this episode.

452
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:58,860
If you enjoyed today's episode, please hit the thumbs up button down below and be sure

453
00:39:58,860 --> 00:40:00,680
to subscribe to our channel.

454
00:40:00,680 --> 00:40:03,600
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455
00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:06,280
The links are down below.

456
00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:12,280
If you missed our introductory and first episodes, you can catch up by watching on our YouTube

457
00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:16,960
channel or listen to them on our SoundCloud account.

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00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:18,960
All the links are listed below.

459
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:26,160
If you have any feedback for us, you can email us at the pianopodnyc at gmail.com or you

460
00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:28,160
can leave us a comment below.

461
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:47,040
Please tune in again next time for our third episode of the Piano Clot.