Victoria Chiang | Student Comments

Jessica Alberthal
Peabody class of '04

I feel very fortunate to be able to say that Vicky Chiang is the first viola teacher I've ever had. I came to Peabody as a violinist, but after a semester of that, I quickly realized that I needed to pursue my dream of playing viola. Luckily, Ms. Chiang agreed to teach me, starting at Aspen that summer. Switching to viola is one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I've never regretted it for a second. This is largely because of Ms. Chiang.

So what's it like studying with Vicky Chiang? Wow...well, I've never had a teacher like her. She's so positive and encouraging that I always look forward to my lessons. I've never gotten the impression from her that she didn't want to be there. When you're studying with Ms. Chiang, you might feel overwhelmed with everything you need to "fix," but she helps you set attainable—yet definitely challenging—goals. For example, over breaks, like Christmas or summer, you are given an assignment of what you're going to learn/memorize, and a couple things to "obsess over" (great sound all the time while keeping a loose left hand, etc.). She always makes sure it sounds do-able, and sometimes it might not seem like it at first, but she always convinces me otherwise!

A great thing about being a Chiang student is the studio experience. We always get to play in studio class when we're ready, and after playing, people are asked to give feedback, which always consists of one thing we liked and another thing to work on. Everyone is very supportive, so it's a lot less scary than it could be, but makes us nervous enough that it's a good performance experience. After people play, the rest of the class is devoted to technique, and the great thing about this is that we have to do things arpeggios at 120, shifting exercises, scales, etc.) in front of other people which is really difficult!

You might be getting the impression that Ms. Chiang is really technically oriented, but her ultimate concern is the music. I think her main goal is to get all the technical problems out of the way so they don't hinder the music. If you're relaxed this should be no problem! Much easier said than done. If I could, I would study with her even longer because there is so much to learn from her. She has a rule though that after four years, you need to move on and study with someone else, so spend your time with her well! When you leave Peabody, you'll be a MUCH better violist.

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Jessica Alberthal Peabody class of '04

Jessica Alberthal
Peabody class of '04