12.31.25 - Happy New Year!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne ?
For auld lang syne, my jo, for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

12.20.25 - Winter is coming!

Today is the last day of Fall 2025. How quickly this year is coming to an end! Ms. Lee wishes everyone a restful Winter Break (or at least more free time to study for finals that are on the near future). For those whose semester/quarter is over, enjoy some fun time with family and friends!

12/18/25 - Happy Birthday, Steven Spielberg!

At 79, he is one of the world's best film makers. He went to CSU Long Beach Film School. His film credits include Jaws, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, West Side Story, and more. Steven, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen founded DreamWorks in 1994. His latest movie from Universal will be called Disclosure Day, to be released on June 12, 2026.

12.12.25 - Congratulations! UCLA student teachers!

The violin classes presented concerts by UCLA Music Education Department at the Warner Elementary School (LAUSD). Parents were surprised how well their children could play, without any home practice! Students demonstrated three songs playing with their skills of pizzicato and arco.

12.10.25 - Last day of Singing/Guitar classes!

There were three Singing/Guitar concerts at Charnock Elementary School (LAUSD) presented by UCLA Music Education Department to parents and several primary classes. The program included single tone and chords playing on guitars and singing five songs, incorporating Spanish language singing and body movements.

12.5.25 - Another life for us to celebrate, Frank Gehry!

With degrees in architecture from the USC and Harvard University, Frank Gehry became one of the most celebrated architects in the world. Among his many masterpieces are the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Berlin’s DZ Bank Building.

12.3.25 - Kennedy Center may get a new name, but...

On this day in 2023, Kennedy Center Honors ceremony held for pop singer Dionne Warwick, singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, comic-actor Billy Crystal, operatic soprano Renée Fleming, and singer-actress Queen Latifah, in Washington D.C. This year's celebration is set of for Sunday, 12.7.25.

12.1.25 - Happy December, everyone!

Franz Liszt, Liszt was a child prodigy as a pianist and grew to be a virtuoso concert performer. He gave his first solo performance in Vienna at age 11, on this day in 1822. One of his early teachers was Carl Czerny, who had been a pupil of Ludwig van Beethoven. One of his famous compositions is the Hungarian Rhapsody #2.

11.27.25 - Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Let's give thanks today and everyday. Ms. Lee is thankful that she is healthy and have a wonderful family and lots and lots of great friends and colleagues!
Here is César Franck's "Panis Angelicus" for Thanksgiving Day.

11.11.25 - Happy Veterans Day and B-day to Leo DiCaprio!

At the end of WWI, the Armistice with Germany went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of November, 1918. Veterans Day (aka Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, honoring military veterans - persons who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

11.1.25 - Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series!

After four straight winning games in the National League Championship, the Dodgers went on to win the World Series 25! They overcame three losses, a crazy 18 innings Game 3, and won with a score of 5-4 at the end of the 11 innings Game 7! That shows patience and perseverance. Congratulations!

11.1.25 - Celebrate Native American Heritage Month!

Happy November! This month is designated for us to celebrate the Native American heritage. We can learn about Native American good news, the native land that we are on, the challenge Native American communities have faced, read books written by Native American authors and poets, and enjoy indigenous arts.

10.10.25 - Happy Birthday, Mr. Jim (Ms. Lee's husband) !

It took nearly 1,000 steps for Ms. Lee's group to climb from the Charles Bridge to the Prague Castle on the hill! The chamber music concert in Lobkowicz Palace was performed by a trio of piano, flute and viola. The program included works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Smetana, and Ravel.

10.5.25 - Warsaw is beautiful as ever!

A 9-hour train ride took Ms. Lee's group from Berlin, Germany, to Warsaw, Poland. The Chopin piano solo concert next to the Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, dated 1339. The next stop was Krakow, Poland, and the group visited Auschwitz, Poland, via a 5:00 am private coach.

10.2.25 - Berlin Philharmonics, we love you!

Ms. Lee and her friends enjoyed a concert at the Berlin Phil Concert Hall this evening. The program included Carl Maria von Weber's Overture of Oberon, Franz Schubert's Symphony No.7, (Unfinished Symphony) and Beethoven's Symphony No.7, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

8.25.25 - Happy Birthday, Leonard Bernstein!

The most famous American conductor, composer, pianist, and educator, Leonard even has movies made about him. His compositions included Ballets, Operas, Musicals, Film Scores, Orchestral, Chamber, Vocal, and Piano Music.

8.22.25 - Happy Birthday, Claude Debussy!

French composer, Debussy developed a musical harmony and structure that expressed in many respects the ideals to which influenced the artists during his time. His famous works include Clair de lune, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, and La Mer.

8.19.25 - Happy National Aviation Day & Birthday for O.W.!

Today we celebrate the science of flying! And, born in 1871, Orville Wright had jobs as a printer, publisher, bicycle retailer, and most famously, inventor. Wilbur, his older brother, and Orville invented airplane together, starting with a glider at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

8.1.25 - Happy birthday, Francis Scott Key!

This American lawyer, author, and poet wrote the poem "Defence of Fort McHenry" that was paired with the British pop tune at the time, "To Anacreon in Heaven", on September 14, 1814. The title was changed to "The Star-Spangled Banner" later and became the National Anthem of the U.S.A in 1931.

7.19.25 - What a fun vacation!

Ms. Lee, with many of her family members, went on an Alaskan cruise to celebrate her mom's 90th birthday (even though she is turning 92), and toured Olympic National Park, and western Canada for two weeks.

7.17.25 - Celebrating 70 Years of Disneyland!

Opened in 1955, Disneyland was NOT successful at first. With nearly 800 millions visitors, it is the most visited theme park in the world! Disneyland has more than 35,000 employees, not counting the guest performers, such as the IUSD Honor Chorus, led by Ms. Lee.

7.1.25 - Happy Canada Day!

Welcome to the second half of 2025. Today Canadians celebrate the Dominion Day that is the National Day of Canada. The anniversary of Canadian Confederation was first celebrated in 1867. One can expect Fireworks, parades, barbecues, concerts, carnivals, fairs, picnics.

6.20.25 - Happy Summer 2025, everyone!

The summer solstice 2025 arrives today and with it that marks the astronomical first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Today is the longest day of the year. Let's go outside to enjoy some sunlight and fresh air for 14 hours and 24 minutes!

6.17.25 - Happy Birthday, Stravinsky!

Many of us have seen Disney's "Fantasia" but didn't know the music was composed partly by Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky. Some of his famous works include "The Rite of Spring", "The Firebird", "The Soldier's Tale", "Petrushka", "The Rake's Progress", "Symphony in C" and more.

6.14.25 - Celebrating the U.S. Flag Day!

The 1777 flag of the United States was adopted on June 14th, with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars, representing the original thirteen states. President Woodrow Wilson designated that June 14 as Flag Day in 1916, with more flag designs followed of course.

6.5.25 - Happy Birthday, Maestro Carl St.Clair!

Born on this day in 1952, Hochheim, Texas, Maestro Carl is a world class music director and conductor. He started many educational programs with the Pacific Symphony, and created Youth Ensembles.

6.4.25 - Listen to KUSC Classical Californian tonight @ 7:00pm!

This week’s Classical Californian is Carl St. Clair, the longest-serving American-born conductor of an American orchestra. For 35 years, he has shaped the sound and direction of the Pacific Symphony.

5.22.25 - Today is the Singing Basics Day!

Ms. Lee's books, both "Singing Basics - Singer Version" and "Singing Basics - Singer and Piano Version" are now on the Amazon listing! These books cover rhythm and solfège trainings, original songs that teach specific music elements, and come with video accompaniments.

5.21.25 - Civilization IV, composed by Christopher Tin!

Celebrating his birthday today, Mr. Tin was the composer for the video game, Civilization IV. He graduated from University of Oxford, Royal College of Music of UK, and Stanford University. The music of Civilization IV was a Grammy Award winning composition!

5.16.25 - Celebrating the International Drum Month!

A little drum history from different African countries through the Middle East, Asia, Pacific Islands, and circled back to Europe allows students to learn about the variations of drums. How about the steel drums, an accidental invention in the early 19th century in Trinidad?

5.11.25 - Happy Mother's Day to ALL!

Ms. Lee wishes everyone a wonderful Mother's Day!

Moms, enjoy your family and let the children and husband do something for ONE day! Everyone knows that we are the rocks in their lives!

5.7.25 - Happy Birthday, Pyotr Tchaikovsky!

Sharing a birthday with Brahms, Tchaikovsky was born in 1940, in Votkinsk, Russia. Tchaikovsky was maybe the most famous and popular composer from Russian, thanked to his famous ballets - "The Nutcracker Suite", "Swan Lake", 6 Symphonies, Piano and Violin Concertos, and more. His music is frequently used in movies.

5.7.25 - Happy Birthday, Johannes Brahms!

Born on this day in 1833 in Hamburg, Germany, Brahms was famous for composing music in the Romantic Period with many of the Classical Period techniques. All four of his Symphonies were in the Classical style, rather than the Programmatic style. His famous works were Hungarian Dance No.5, Lullaby, German Requiem, and more.

4.25.25 - Calling all Musical Theatre goers!

"Hamilton", by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has returned to Orange County, CA, and would be performed in the Sergerstrom Performing Arts Center until May 4th, 2025. This epic saga follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of the United States of America.

4.23.25 - Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare!

Maybe the best playwright, poet, and actor ever, Shakespeare was born on this day in 1564 (and died on this day in 1616) in England. Do you know that his wife's name was Anne Hathaway (not who you think)? Shakespeare's most famous works including "Romeo & Juliet", "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "Othello", "King Lear", and many more.

4.22.25 - Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. Wow! Keep it going!

4.10.25 - Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold in OC!

The Pacific Symphony, led by maestro, Carl St.Clair, will perform Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold on Thursday, 4/10/25, Sunday, 4/13/25, and Tuesday, 4/15/25. Wagner's Ring Cycle consists four operas and about 15 hours long together. It took him from 1848 to 1876 to work on them. There are over 100 leitmotifs in the operas.

3.31.25 - Spring Break everyone!

The Samueli Academy and Irvine Unified School District are both on Spring Break this week. Ms. Lee will be on her way to the middle of California to visit her sister and other family members. She loves to stay at the El Encanto resort in Santa Barbara. Enjoy the great weather of California everybody!

3.27.25 - Bucket Drumming at the Samueli Academy!

Ms. Lee's Music Fundamentals class 7th graders presented bucket drumming with "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg at the Samueli Academy Firewolf Festival 2025. What a fantastic job from the youngest students at this event!

3.25.25 - Support the Girl Scouts of Orange County!

There were many Girl Scouts, with their parents, attending last night's PSYO concert. They had the opportunity to meet one of the harpists and had a hands-on experience on the harp, at the end of the concert. It was so much fun for the Girls Scouts. We thank them for the cookies each year!

3.24.25 - Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra Performs!

The Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra will be presenting their "Triumph & Tragedy", All-Russian, concert this evening. A student pianist, Kyle Yeung, will be the pianist to perform Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, 3rd mvt in the program.
***A quick congrats to all Ms. Lee's piano students for passing CM!

3.22.25 - Happy Birthday, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber!

Andrew is an English composer & impresario of musical theatre. He graduated from the Royal College of Music, Westminster. Some of his musicals have very long running records, such as the Phantom of the Opera (13,981), and Cats (?). He started the Really Useful Group to support musicians. He has won more than 300 awards.

3.21.25 - Happy Birthday, Modest Mussorgsky!

Sharing his birthday with J.S. Bach, Mussorgsky was one of the Russian Five. Most of his music were inspired by Russian history, folklore and national themes, such as "Night on Bald Mountain" and piano suite, "Pictures at an Exhibition", that was transcribed for orchestra by Maurice Ravel.

3.21.25 - Happy Birthday, Johann Sebastien Bach!

How did the "Father of Music", J.S. Bach, have time to create so much music and father 20 children? No internet, no video games, no TV, no radio, just work and family! Ms. Lee presented a series of Teacher Workshops to Orange County classroom teachers for the Pacific Symphony's "Class Act Program" in 2000 and 2023.

3.20.25 - Happy Birthday, Rachmaninoff!

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in 1873 in a musical family in Russia. He studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory and influenced by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. He settled in New York in 1918 and moved to Beverly Hills, California in 1942.

3.17.25 - Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Learn about the religious and cultural holiday of Saint Patrick's Day, held on 17 March in honour of the patron saint of Ireland. Most of school children know to wear some green today to avoid being pitched by their friends. Are you wearing green?

3.14.25 - Happy Pi Day!

Pi Day was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw, an employee of a science museum in San Francisco, the Exploratorium. It is an annual celebration of the mathematical constantπ (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14th, since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant figures of π.

3/14/25 - Happy Birthday, Albert Einstein!

Born in a middle class Jewish family, Einstein excelled in math and physics at an young age. He earned a PhD at age 26 and was awarded a Nobel Prize for his work in Photoelectric Effect; however, he was more famous for his work on "Theory of Relativity", "Cosmology", and "Quantum Physics."

3/2/25 - Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

On this day in 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born. He was an American children's book author and cartoonist. His works have been adapted for feature films, Broadway musical, and TV series. He won a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. His birthday is now "National Read Across America Day."

3/1/25 - Happy Birthday, Frederic Chopin!

In 1810, pianist and composer, Chopin, was born in ?elazowa Wola in the Duchy of Warsaw, Poland. His piano works include Mazurkas, Aaltzes, Nocturnes, Polonaises, Ballades, Études, Impromptus, Scherzos, Preludes, Sonatas, and two Concertos.

3/1/25 - Happy March 2025!

March is the month that we welcome Spring and Solar Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemisphere celebrates the beginning of Autumn. Ms. Lee has been celebrating with students for this "Music in our Schools Month" for 36 years! Yes, let's make music and be happy!

2/22/25 - Happy Birthday, President Washington!

Washington was a Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. He was born in the Colony of Virginia in 1732 and later was the leading man in the American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783, as a general first, against the British Empire.

2/22/25 - The Lantern Festival and "Mambo" at the Segerstrom

Presented in partnership by Pacific Symphony and South Coast Chinese Cultural Center/Irvine Chinese School, the Segerstrom Concert Hall will be adorned with traditional floating lanterns to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and the public can view performances by talented local musicians and dancers.

2/22/25 - "My Heart Will Go On"

Canadian born singer, Celine Dion, went to No.1 in 21 countries with "My Heart Will Go On" on this day. As the theme song for the movie "Titanic", composed by James Horner, it was the world's best-selling single in 1998.

2/10/25 - The Half-Time Show at the Super Bowl

Ever imagine how quickly the Half-Time Show Stage can be put together and tear-down? Kendrick Lamar was the featured performer this time. He had included SZA as a special guest and invited Serena Williams for a special appearance to demonstrate "Black Lives Matter."

2/10/25 - "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl

It would be an extreme honor to be invited to sing our National Anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", at the Super Bowl. Throughout the years, we have had many world-class performances such as Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga. Jon Batiste, of New Orleans, added a twist of Jazz this time.

2/10/25 - Lift Your Voice and Sing by Ledisi at the Super Bowl!

Most people watch the Super Bowl for the game, but not Ms. Lee. From the preshow songs and "The Star-Spangled Banner", to the Half-Time Show, she watches and takes notes of every performance, then relate them back to her students. That is how we learn from the pros!

2/2/25 - The Groundhog Day!

A 1993 movie named "Groundhog Day", with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell playing the main characters, was a huge hit! Phil (Murray) was trapped in a time warp and was doomed to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right.

2/1/25 - Celebrating Black History Month!

Observed by the United States, Canada, Ireland, and United Kingdom, the Black History Month is for us to learn and treasure all the African-American had given to this country. Information at The Library of Congress, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, and Smithsonian Institution.

1/27/25 - Happy 269th Birthday, Mozart!

Wolfgang Amadeus was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756; however, he preferred Vienna when he was older. Many books have been written about the effects of his music and "Amadeus" the movie had portrayed what a genius he was. Ms. Lee had given Teachers Workshops about Mozart for PSO in 2023-2024.

1/16/25 - Happy Birthday to British Jazz and R&B singer, Sade!

Born on this day in 1959, Nigerian-born British singer, her legal name is Helen Folasade Adu. Can you see where the "Sade" comes from? She was an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 for services to music. She said the award was, "a great gesture to me and all black women in England."

1/15/25 - Swan Lake, Anyone?

Peter Tchaikovsky composed the ballet in 1875-1876. It was first presented by the Bolshoi Ballet at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, but not well received. The score was revised and the Imperial Ballet presented it in the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on this day in 1895. Success!

1/6/25 - Have you heard of Maurice Ravel's "Miroirs" from 1906?

It was a great day in films about different styles of music at the Golden Globe Award ceremony back in 2019. Rami Malek in "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Mahershala Ali in "Green Book" both won for their roles as Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.