Here is what our students/parents say about us...

Hi Viktor and Anna,

Hai and I would like to thank you both for doing such a fabulous job
teaching our kids music and making the camp the most valuable and fun
experience for our children this summer  It's incredible what they could
learn from you in just one week!  And please tell Anna that our kids LOVE
her Russian cooking.  Thank you for feeding them such healthy and tasty
foods!  Even with all the sweats and tears they had endured in your camp,
our kids are really looking forward to go again next year.  Also, we were
glad that we did not miss your hiking trip. That was an awesome adventure.
So a really BIG THANK YOU to you and Anna from our hearts.  

Warmest regards,
Phung & Hai

Dear Viktor and Anna

Thank you very much for arranging such a wonderful and unique summer camp.
It is our kids' pleasure to have chance to learn music from you and Anna. They learned a lot from short 10 days.  Not only they learned how to practice piano, how to appreciate music, but also they learned how to live without parents' care.

The next day after they were back, i asked them to play what they learned from summer camp. Erica became so musical.  I can tell she is really INTO the music and know what she is doing.  She even explained to me phase by phase of the piece SWAN. She said the first few phases are the time the swan swam in the lake happily and relaxingly. Suddenly the hunter shot her so the music gets a little bit faster, then the Swan was slowly dying, music becomes soft and slow. Anna, you are genius. You made the music alive. After Erica explained to me, the music became so vivid. It seems that i can feel the happiness and sadness watching Erica played that piece.  They also played lots of the other pieces they learned in the summer camp and explained to me one by one the stories you told them and the meaning of the music. For one thing i am sure that my kids start to understand what music are about. This is really what i want them to get from summer camp. Understanding
 music is hard and long way of learning.  It is something i don't know and i can't teach my kids at all. I am so glad that you can make 6 years old kids understand so abstract concept of music......

second thing i would like to share about you is that they did enjoy Anna's food.  On the night they came back, Nanny prepared their favourite food noodle soup for them. I said to them,   "you did miss you home made food, didn't you?". Surprisingly they said, " hmm, Anna cooks much better than Nanny".  Erica said, " it is true. Anna is a much better cooker than Nanny. Mommy, she's even better than you." Oh, my God. I needed to lower their voice and tried not to let nanny hear our conversation. I told Erica what she said really hurt my feeling.  Erica gave me a sneaky smile and said she did enjoy Anna's food.

That night I tug them in and i said to them, " i am proud of you that you can survive without mommy."  They told me that they did worry about it at the beginning. But it turned out much better than what they thought. They said they still wanted to go next year. And they hope they can go fishing with Viktor next year.

The next day morning when they woke up, they felt a little bit lost. They told me they missed Viktor and Anna and the other friends.  I asked them to send a text message to Viktor. One day later, Teresa was getting bored at home and said she really wanted to go back to Shelter cove. ......Viktor, look at what you have done to kids.  They loved you and they enjoyed spending time with you even you made them practice piano for a long time. isn't it amazing?

From bottom of my heart, THANK YOU VIKTOR AND ANNA. 

Love
Cammy Huang

Dear Dr. Anna & Viktor Polonsky,

Thank you for inviting us to attend the lovely concert at the end of the camp and the seafood dinner party at your beautiful beach house in Shelter Cove. We enjoyed the little campers’ performance a lot. They were actually making music! I especially love the duet. The kids were amazing. I couldn’t believe they only had 8 days to practice together. You did a great job on them and we had a great time there.

It’s been a week since the camp was end. Andy still often talks about his friends and their adventures at the camp. He told us how Viktor taught them fishing and catching crabs, how he and his friends built sand and rock wall  and saw the beautiful sunset on the black sands beach and how they roast their marshmallows on a campfire…… I could tell he had a lots of fun.

“ We also practiced piano a lot,” he told us once.

“ I heard from Anna that you work 3-4 hours a day on the piano, do you feel bored?” I asked him.

“No, we liked it. When Anna and Viktor taught us, they gave us a goal every time. They wanted us to perform like a real musician and show our passion in our music. Viktor even taught us how to compose. We work on our goals. If we achieved our goals, we will get some rewards. It was fun. Beside we practice together as a team. We all had a bigger goal to give a good performance to our parents and the people from the town at the end of the camp. We have to work hard to get there. I also liked the part that we appreciate the music at the end of the day. we listen to the beautiful music that these famous composers made. Now I decide my favorite music is from Romantic period and my favorite composer is Chopin.”

Wow, my husband and I looked at each other and smiled. We know we made a right decision sending him to the camp with you.

We now often joke about Andy’s three “ I’m used to……” I want to share with you here, too.  First one: First morning we came back from camp, I happily discovered Andy not only made his own bed but also helped his little brother did his after they got up in the morning. When I tried to compliment on it, he told me that “Oh, I’m used to make my own bed and take care of my own stuff at the camp.” By the way I was impressed by seeing the three boys’ bedroom at the camp. It was so neat, everything in order and they proudly told me that they did this all by themselves. The second one: Sometimes he complains he’s hungry not long after he had his meal. If I ask him “Didn’t you just eat?” He would answer me “ Oh, yeah, maybe I’m used to eat a lot of food at the camp.” I ask him to give me some his favorite food at the camp so I can make them for him at home. He gave me quite a list. Like Anna ‘s famous fish soup, fresh crab, spaghetti meat ball sauce with chicken…… The third one: After he’s done practicing his piano, he likes to sight reading some pieces he’s interested in. We asked him to take a rest. He will say, “It’s OK,” and here it comes again, “Maybe I’m used to working in front of the piano for a long time at the camp.”  I don’t know how long he will “be used to” all these things. But I think this special experience, the friendship he build with his friends and you at the camp and the passion to the music will always last. I really appreciate for all you did for him.

Wish all the best to you!

May

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Hi Dr. Anna & Viktor Polonsky,

How are you? Hope you had a relaxing 4th of July.

Andy really missed you, the kids and Shelter Cove after he came back.

He told us all about his staying in Shelter Cove and every story Viktor told them on the way home. When we were almost home, he said he felt uncomfortable. We thought he was hungry, so we stopped the car and went to eat. But he told us he felt he really miss the place and you he spent 10 days with, with tear in his eyes. I believe he had a wonderful time with you. His father was kidding him, he asked if he wanted to join you again a month later, Andy said "yes" without
any hesitation. The next morning, he got up early, he said he was doing his morning exercise while he kicked off his pj. Then he made up his own bed, which he doesn't usually do it before camp. After breakfast he went to practice piano without stopping. He even taught his little brother how to fish again and again in our backyard. Thank you very much to give him the chance to join you and thank you for making the camp so interesting and meaningful. Now I understand why a lot of kids join you year after years.We had a wonderful time there, too.  Just hope we didn't wear you off. I cooked Ling Cod your way
for 4th of July. Taste really good. Andy was crazy about it.

Thanks again, hope we will be able to join you next year.

Best regards,

Songmay  Sheng

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Brian and I were just in time for their final concert held in Ehrbar Hall, one of the city’s most beautiful concert halls - in which Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler once performed. Before the concert started, there was much excitement in the air. Dressed in their handsome shirts and beautiful concert gowns, the young boys and girls were running around laughing, joking, and exchanging email addresses. The buzzing noise came to a halt when Mrs. Susanna Spaemann, the Camp Director, stood on stage to introduce the first performer. One after another, the playful teenagers instantly transformed into serious musicians as they performed their beloved Mozart, Schumann and Liszt. The concert ended on a happy note. April won the 1st Prize for the best Mozart interpretation. Elodie won the 2nd prize out of all performances of a contemporary American composer from San Jose Mr. Lothar Bandermann, and Tommy the 3rd in the same category. As the camera flashed, the boys and girls wrapped their arms around each other and shouted “jabba!” – a secret name they gave themselves for their union of music and friendship.

The camp ended, but the musical journey for our sons and daughters will go on. As April continues to pursue her dreams, this summer will surely remain one of her most treasured memories.

Helene Deng,
The proud mother of April Luolly good.

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Dr. Polonsky,
 
Thank you for your email. We do appreciate your time sending us this email considering how busy you are. We would like to let you know that we are honored to be accepted by your school.. We are very happy with our teacher. To be honest with you, we have been going around and trying out too many piano schools (5) and we feel we have finally found one that we will stay with. We love other emails that you sent to us and we hope that you could please send the ones that you feel you need us to know. We are very impressed with the high standards that Russian music school require in order to become a piano teacher. We are actually told by a friend about your school. They are also happy and proud that their child is studying at your school. Now are also proud that our children are studying at PPS.
 My focus right now is to push my children to keep up with the homework from the teacher (I am the daddy). Sometimes I feel guilty because I could not devote more time helping them with the homework because of my work schedule. My children also have a busy schedule because I send them to after school math program and swimming not mentioning their homework at school. However, I will try the best to work with my kids on the piano homework because I know that there is only so much the teacher can do but the practice must be done by the students.
  Once again, we would like to thank you for letting our children studying at your school and thank you for creating a wonderful piano school.

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Both of my kids are studying in Polonsky Piano School. I'm very happy with the school and satisfied with the progress they are making towards piano learning. When I sent my kids to learn piano, like most of the parents, I'm not expecting them to become pianists someday. But I would like to see them enjoy what they are doing and go as far as they can. Polonsky Piano School offers piano lessons for all levels. If the kids show their interest and ability to do more, the teacher will try to provide the right training and get the best out of them. The school believes that constant performance is an important part of musical study. The students usually have the opportunity to perform 3-4 times a year in school recitals, including studio recital, honored recital, festivals and school competitions. I think my kids gain confidence and great experience and strengthen the skills they learned at these well prepared recitals. Some kids are also encouraged to participate in other recitals, festivals and competitions outside of the school. These activities give them a reason to work hard and love what they are doing. It is a well organized school, I'm glad I send my kids there. I definitely would recommend it.

Review in TeachStreet.com

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When parents starts their children on piano, I think everyone comes into it with rather different set of expectations. Some kids have immense amount of talent to begin with that is very clear from the beginning, others are hard to tell and it has to be discovered thru practice and training. Still very small % of kids will ever become professional level pianist, so going into the process expecting your child to become concert pianist is probably not a good idea. My son was definitely in the latter category, where it was not really clear just what he could do. I had some musical traning myself, but had no talent. When I looked at my son at an early age, even I could tell that he definitely had more talent for music than myself. So the objective was to see what is there, and see how far it can be taken. That is the really the responsibility of any parent. My parents spent the effort and money to provide me with lessons so that I can really appreciate and enjoy music later. I am really grateful, but the process was quite hard at least when I was taking lessons. What the Polonsky School provides is the system for developing the talent that is there to full potential. From rather casual level to concert pianist level of training, they have the capability to develop the skill level to very high level actually. They have the system. It all starts with very sound fundamentals in music, technique, and step by step approach to learning the piano. They have the size and teachers with the discipline needed to accomplish the task. The system is part based on constantly having performance and judging where the student are with the skill level, and it is being watched over by many teachers in the staff making observations. If you had just one teacher, you may not get the benefit of having many teachers observing the relative progress of the child thru these performances. I should also say that it is not so easy on the child or the parents to go thru these processes. The lessons are not easy, and your child will have to practice. My son has been taking lessons since 5 and with the Polonsky School since age 7. Even to this day, my son struggles with lessons sometimes, as well as practicing. But I think this school is about as good as I have ever seen in terms of commitment to music education and getting the most out of your child's capabilities. They have commitment to get this from each student like I have never seen anywhere else. My son plays very well now, but I don't think he has reached his full potential yet. It takes full effort of the parent and the teacher to get this out and I am absolutely convinced that this school and the teachers have it all together to get this done. It requires full commitment from both the parent and the teacher. If you are willing to do this, you will get fantastic result from this school. So I don't expect my son to become a professional musician, but he is getting a very good training to be a proficient pianist, and also learn the discipline that is required to be good at anything that you try. Most of all, I hope that he will really enjoy the music that he chose to hear or play with great deal of appreciation.

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