Thursday's Internet Edition, September 09, 2010.
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| Shirley and David Lung are pictured here with their parents, Sandy and Chang. |
Shirley and David Lung received the awards from the American College of Musicians.
Their teacher, Carol C. Cook, described them as “top-notch” performers and a teacher’s dream.
“This award is so difficult to achieve,” Cook said. “Most teachers never have a student who would want to go for the award. I have two.”
Shirley, 18, and David, 15, are the children of Chang and Sandy Lung and live in Clemmons West. Shirley recently graduated from West Forsyth High and will soon leave for Duke University. She plans to major in English.
They devoted three years to learning the complex Bach pieces— memorizing five a year. They had to perform them before a judge.
Both play other instruments. Shirley received all-county and all-district honors for flute and played in the West Forsyth band. David received all-county and a regional honor for violin and plays in the school orchestra. He can even scratch out a decent “Orange Blossom Special.”
Both said piano has been part of their success in the classroom.
Shirley said memorizing piano helped train her to learn classroom material. She was ranked third academically in her graduating class.
“It teaches discipline and the importance of hard work,” Mrs. Cook said. “It goes across all fields. I would recommend musical study at sorme level for every child.”
Many parents don’t heed her advice.
“There has been a sharp decline in recent years, and it worries me, not because it’s my income, but because of what they are missing,” she said.
Sandy Lung said musical training had been a family priority, but her children were self-motivated.
“I guess internally it’s me," Shirley said. “I personally want to do well. It’s not arrogance. I just want to do well.”
Her piano practice declined in the past two years because of the weight of a heavy academic load at West Forsyth. She took a full diet of college-level courses. She plans to continue playing piano at college.
David is considering a future in medicine or biology, but his music teacher isn’t through with him yet. She is preparing him for other piano competitions.