And the winner is…..Hsing-ay Hsu!

Winning Captions

First place: (Singing:) “Five thirty-seconds, Four eighth notes, Three instr’ment parts, Two frozen hands, And a trom-bone in a snow-ball!” by Hsing-ay Hsu (Piano, ACMP Coach Directory, New York, NY)

Second place: An Avalanche of Glorious Music by Victoria Bryan (Cello and piano, Boulder, CO)

Third place: Bob continued to disregard the ppp marking… by Christopher Minarich (Violin and viola, Englewood, NJ)

In what is bound to become an annual ACMP tradition, we received 39 captions from 22 ACMP members. The quality was astounding, and the cartoonist (that’s me!) enjoyed the wide range of interpretations – so many fun ideas I would never have imagined! It was a testament to the creativity of ACMP members, and a reminder of how many interesting people we have in our Players and Coach Directories.

Thanks to all who submitted captions and to the team of people who helped choose this year’s winners.

And stay tuned next Fall – you will be able to purchase ACMP holiday cards with the winning caption!

About the Winners

Hsing-ay Hsu

Hsing-ay Hsu accidentally became a passionate teacher to adults at the age of 14, when a stranger overheard her practicing, appreciated her ability to explain concepts, and asked her to give lessons. Since her stage debut at age 4, Steinway Artist Hsing-ay Hsu (“Sing-I Shoo”) has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center NYC, and infuses her experience as an international prizewinner, concert producer, adjudicator, in her work as teacher/educator/owner of Nutmeg Studio NYC. She also hosts a YouTube channel and Conscious Listening™ workshops to engage lifelong learners and music-lovers. Born in Beijing, Ms. Hsu trained at Juilliard, Yale University, Aspen, Ravinia, and Tanglewood. She is currently on the summer faculty of Rocky Ridge and Chautauqua Institute Special Courses adult programs, was a faculty member at the University of Colorado for fourteen years before recently returning to New York, and will be guest coaching for Special Music School at the Kaufman Center this spring. Bio at hsingayhsu.com.

Upcoming Chamber Music Related Events:

3/26 Chamber music masterclass 

3/4 Orchestral Colors of the Piano Intensive – matching instrumental timbres

1/21 Conscious Listening™ Café 

YouTube with Geraldine Walther (Takacs Quartet) 

YouTube of recent masterclass excerpt 

Connect with Hsing-ay through the ACMP Coach Directory

Victoria Bryan

Cellist Victoria Bryan from Boulder, Colorado

Located in Boulder, Colorado, Victoria is a Cellist and long-term member of the ACMP.. Music is her passion. Beginning at age 5, she took piano lessons  through high school studying piano at Loretto Heights, a private women’s college in Denver.  At age 9, she began private cello lessons and during Jr. and Sr. High School,  studied cello with Fred Hoeppner, then Principal Cellist of the Colorado Symphony (formerly the Denver Symphony).  In high school, she competed and was awarded a place in the cello section of the Colorado All-State Orchestra.  Since graduating high school,  Victoria has performed on cello in many community orchestras and chamber music groups.  Currently, she’s a member of the cello section in the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra in Broomfield, Colorado.  

In addition to symphonies, she  coordinates, and performs with a string quartet that performs regularly for civic and private events.  In addition to classical repertoire, the quartet performs contemporary and classic popular music and many other genres of music.

Connect with Victoria through the ACMP Players Directory

Christopher Minarich

Christopher Minarich teaches Music at The Episcopal School in the City of New York, an independent preschool on the Upper East Side, where he has the delight of teaching Music to over 200 two-to five-year olds. He enjoys playing violin and viola in chamber groups and orchestras, including the Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, where he is Concertmaster and Assistant Conductor. Christopher plays Baroque violin in a period-instrument ensemble that explores unpublished works of the 17th century. Besides Music, Christopher enjoys foraging mushrooms, cooking, baking, and foreign languages.

Connect with Christopher through the ACMP Players Directory

Congratulations to all of our winners and to everyone who came up with an original caption for my cartoon!