Welcome to the first post of Plumrose Notes! While we do have our seasonal Studio Announcement emails, this is a space to highlight what’s been going on both in and out of the studio:
Plumrose Piano Students win Top Prizes at International and State-Level Piano Competitions, to Perform at Carnegie Hall
Congratulations are also in order to Samantha P., one of award-winning piano teacher Ichinkhorloo (Ichko) Batnasan’s wonderful students! She recently won the Little Mozart International Music Competition 2025, and will be performing at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City this month! “This is a dream come true—not just for Samantha, but for me as her teacher,” says Ichko. “Watching her grow into such a poised and passionate young musician has been one of the greatest joys of my teaching career. We are now working tirelessly to prepare for her Carnegie Hall debut, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
PPS is also proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of its talented young pianists at the prestigious Sonor International Piano Competition 2025 held this past February in Lafayette, and at the North California Young Talents (NCYT) Competition last December. Miles N. and Eme N. both won 1st Place in their categories at NYCT. Samantha P. earned 2nd place at NYCT, and 1st Place in her category at the Sonor Piano Competition; she was honored with a performance at the Laureates’ Gala Concert, where Samantha took the stage alongside the competition’s top winners. “I’m incredibly proud of all three students,” said Ichko. “Their hard work, perseverance, and passion for music were evident in every note they played. It’s an honor to guide such promising young talents at Plumrose Piano Studio.” As a piano teacher deeply committed to nurturing young artists, Ichko continues to inspire and elevate the next generation of musicians. These achievements are a testament to the studio’s commitment to excellence in music education and to Ichko’s dedication as a teacher and mentor. Bravo to Miles, Eme, and Samantha for their successes!
Samantha P. and teacher Ichko at the Little Mozart International Music Competition 2025
Miles N. performing at the Little Mozart International Music Competition 2025
Seeing an Action…In Action!
Another highlight from April! Plumrose Piano Studio and our partners at Steinway and Sons hosted our first ever Piano Field Day event! Students and their families got to visit the San Francisco Gallery and learn how a piano as built, as well as get up close and personal with the action of a piano (a.k.a how playing a key translates to making a sound), and explore all sorts of different types of pianos. Throughout the day, students had a quest list to fill out in exchange for a prize, and the whole thing was wrapped up with the perfect bow of a recital performed by several of our talented teachers! If you’d like to see some video recordings of those performances, please visit our Facebook page!
Students exploring the action of a grand piano at the Plumrose Piano Field Day
Up and Coming Events
While May is a bit quiet in terms of events for the studio, it’s because we’re gearing up for some exciting stuff this summer! Our Summer Studio Recital will be on Sunday, June 8th at Christ Church Lutheran. Our recitals are a great chance for students to show off what they’ve been working on, as well as meet other students from both studios! We encourage current students of all skill levels to sign up - if you would like to, please check your email for the link! Don’t want to or can’t perform, but still curious? All current studio families are invited to attend! We will also be livestreaming the whole recital on our Facebook page.
This summer also marks the re-launch of our Plumrose Piano Studio Composer Competition! As with our recitals, students of all levels are invited and encouraged to work with their teachers on creating an original composition—the only limitation is that the composer needs to be able to both notate and play their own piece. Compositions will be judged by PPS Senior Teachers Abby Baker, Jason Zucker, and Ichinkhorloo Batnasan.
Three winners will receive the following prizes:
Three printed and bound copies of their composition
A $50 gift card to musicnotes.com
The debut of their composition at the Fall Studio Recital
Photo recognition at the studios (and on Plumrose Notes!)
The 1st place winner will also receive the following opportunity:
An hour long composition lesson with Matthew Cmiel, the Director of the John Adams Young Composers Program at the Crowden School of Music!
A San Francisco native, Matthew Cmiel is a composer, conductor, guitarist and enthusiastic advocate of new music and young performers. As well as being the director of the Young Composers program, he is the founder and co-director of the new music ensemble After Everything. “What Plumrose Piano Studio is doing here is encouraging their students to think of music not as a museum piece, locked in an ivory tower, but rather as a playground; a place to build and to create.” Matthew Cmiel says. “This is nothing short of vital to the survival of music as a whole, for what could make an art form more relevant, more alive, than having people add to it? Thank you, Plumrose Piano Studio, for encouraging this.”
That’s about it for now with highlights and news at the studio! Thank you for reading along with us today, and we hope to see you back soon!