TIMOTHY GUAN

Timothy is a Senior at Shanghai American School, an international high school located in Shanghai, China. He studied under Dr. Lam for 10 years. I discovered at a very young age that music could often express what words could not. I'll admit that when I first began to practice piano I resented the amount of work it brought. But under the guidance of Dr. Julia Lam, I was able to see that there was more to music than just playing "correctly" or "precisely." That does not mean that her students don't play to a very high standard. I'm proud to say that I've contributed to her excellent track record by receiving, inter alia, first place in solo, duet, and duo in MEANJ's Young Artists' Piano competition, Third place in NJMTA's Young Artist's piano competition, First Place in the Steinway Society Piano Scholarship Competition, a master class with renowned pianist Ann Schein, and (for seven years in a row) the Cecilian Music Club competition. What sets Dr. Lam's students apart from others' is not their impeccable technique but their ability to use music to express emotion. In this way, her students are often more mature, both musically and personally, than other students their age. Not all of her students go on to make music their careers, but Dr. Lam has taught each of us the following lessons: that we must always have high expectations of ourselves, that hard work is always rewarded, that we should always stay true to our emotions, and, most importantly, that we should love what we do and what we create. Music has given me a solid foundation of discipline and passion on which to build my life and career, and for that I am forever in Dr. Lam's debt.