TWoA asked four of the artists portrayed in some of our most popular interviews about their favourite seasonal activities. Curl up with a hot drink and enjoy the spirit of this season with Eunike Tanzil, Sumina Studer, Isabella McGuire Mayes and Seokyoung Hong.

Rae Yue Pung is a 21-year-old pianist from Singapore who recently released her debut album “Piano Sonatas” on all digital platforms. TWoA talked to Rae about classical music education in Singapore, her musical journey, and the challenges and rewards of embarking on the transition from highly-gifted child musician to mature artist.

Find out from former Royal Harpist Alis Huws about the special connection between the harp and Wales, about her time as Official Royal Harpist, and about the healing power of music. Right in time for the festive season, be enchanted by Alis’s tales of blind medieval bards and the coronation of a king, of compassion and the gift of music.

There are some performances that stick with you. Paloma Livellara Vidart’s interpretation of Christopher Wheeldon’s  “You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio” at the Prix de Lausanne 2024 is one of those. TWoA talked to the Prix de Lausanne 2024 prize winner about her dance journey from Buenos Aires to Monaco and about her first couple of weeks at New York’s ABT Studio Company. Get ready for some deeply personal insights.

Do you enjoy watching classical music content on YouTube or Instagram? If the answer is yes, you are probably a fan of Nahre Sol, the Juilliard-trained pianist, composer and content creator. TWoA talked to Nahre about composing variations on an iPhone ringtone and much more.

To understand art (or Bridgerton!), you may as well start with the clothing. From the Old Masters to the TV screen, style reveals unspoken stories, offering a peek into characters’ interiority.

Are you planning to compete at a ballet competition this school year? Choosing the right variation is a key condition for success. What principles should guide your choice? TWoA talked to Inna Bayer, artistic director of Bayer Ballet Academy, and one of her students, Crystal Huang, prize winner at the Prix de Lausanne 2024, the Youth America Grand Prix 2024, 2024 YoungArts (Dance/Ballet) and of the Grand Prix at the 2024 South Africa International Ballet Competition.

Crystal Huang, 15, is having a remarkable year. Until about two years ago, Crystal was training in commercial dancing. In 2024, Crystal became a prize winner at the Prix de Lausanne, one of the most prestigious international ballet competitions. She is also a prize winner at the Youth America Grand Prix 2024, 2024 YoungArts (Dance/Ballet) and of the Grand Prix at the 2024 South Africa International Ballet Competition. TWoA talked to Crystal about her unusual dance journey, gathering some valuable tips on how to succeed at competitions.

Spencer Rubin is an oboe student at The Juilliard School in New York. He has earned numerous grand prize and first place awards in national and international competitions and has performed as a soloist with orchestras. He grew up on Long Island, just outside Manhattan. TWoA talked to Spencer about his favourite things to do in the Big Apple.

Spencer Rubin is an oboe student at The Juilliard School. He has earned numerous grand prize and first place awards in national and international competitions and has performed as a soloist with orchestras. Spencer is also a trailblazer on social media, making classical music and the oboe accessible through his channels on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. TWoA talked to Spencer about his musical journey, the oboe and much else.

Bravery requires fear: “I wish I could tell you whether the rest of the recital went well or not, but honestly I wasn’t even listening to myself, I was just thinking: Don’t fuck up. Don’t fuck up, or you’ll have wasted all of their time. Don’t fuck up, or they’ll all wonder why you were asked to play in the first place. Don’t fuck up, or they’ll find out that you’re the worst organist in Cambridge. “

This is part II of our interview with performance psychologist Noa Kageyama. Noa is on the faculty of The Juilliard School, teaching performing artists how to use principles of sport psychology to perform to their full abilities under pressure. TWoA talked to Noa about beating performance anxiety, building confidence, effective practice and building mental resilience.

Performance psychologist Noa Kageyama is on the faculty of The Juilliard School, teaching performing artists how to use principles of sport psychology to perform to their full abilities under pressure. TWoA talked to Noa about beating performance anxiety, building confidence, effective practice and building mental resilience.

Yuka Iwai is a principal soloist with K-Ballet Tokyo. Two weeks before K-Ballet’s recent revival of Giselle, she found out that she would step in for an injured dancer and dance Giselle at the production’s opening night. TWoA talked to Yuka about the special challenge of learning a principal role in two weeks.

Eunike Tanzil is a composer, pianist and producer. She writes music that tells a story and has gained social media fame with her “Hum me a melody” Instagram series. On 26 April 2024, Eunike signed an exclusive agreement with Deutsche Grammophon. TWoA talked to Eunike about composing and finding your own voice.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good scroll through some classical music content on social media? But the role of social media in the world of classical music goes beyond entertainment. Social media might help create a vision of classical music suited to modern society, and reaching a diverse audience that reflects this society.

TWoA talked to Royal Ballet soloist Mariko Sasaki about her upcoming debut in Swan Lake. It is her first leading role in a three-act classical ballet.

Good music isn’t made on an empty stomach. Discover the stories behind the culinary pastimes of three of the most celebrated composers of the 19th century, Gioachino Rossini, Giacomo Puccini, and Giuseppe Verdi through three recipes they left behind.

It starts with one harmless minute on your phone, right? Just a few minutes on Instagram, one more video on YouTube, and soon enough hours have passed and nothing you originally set out to accomplish has been done. But you can learn to turn this form of procrastination into a vital tool for your own artistic education.

Award-winning violinist and music entrepreneur Sumina Studer is a true citizen of the world who has captured the hearts of millions on her various social media platforms. She has now made London her home. TWoA talked to Sumina about her favourite music and art spaces in London, and about social media in the arts and de-pressurising classical music.

From 29 January 2024 until 4 February 2024, dance students and ballet lovers all over the world got to experience the Prix de Lausanne in daily live streams. Apart from the dancing, one of this year’s highlight were the inspiring words spoken at the awards ceremony by two former prima ballerinas, President of the Jury Darcey Bussell and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Alessandra Ferri.

Pianist Tiffany Poon is about to launch her solo album Diaries: Schumann. Hong-Kong born, but New York-based, Tiffany is an artist with a mission: to demystify classical music by emphasising the human side of it. Her more than 323K subscribers on YouTube prove she’s on to something. TWoA talked to Tiffany about her first mini-toy keyboard, life and, of course, Schumann.

Join Thy-Lan Alcalay on a tour of her dorm room turned mini fitness studio. Thy-Lan is a dance and architecture student at Barnard College of Columbia University, New York.

Dance in NYC has a deep and powerful history; shaped by cultural fusion, rebellion, and preeminence. Below are six films in no particular order, both new and old, famous and obscure, of genres from ballet to salsa, to watch this Christmas break to relax and get in the spirit of dance in the city!

Balletcore is “just” a fashion trend (think cottegecore, blokecore, gorpcore…the list goes on) - but do you sometimes wish for more? What isn’t included in the phrase Balletcore is the implicit understanding of what it means to be a ballerina. Sometimes, Balletcore makes any serious dancer cringe. But take heart: there are some fashion houses who get it right!

Benal Tanrısever is a Turkish pianist and music educator. She completed her musical education at The Juilliard School in New York and performed at Carnegie Hall and the Berlin Philharmonic before founding BT Music and Performing Arts, a music and performing arts school in Istanbul,Turkey. TWoA talked to Benal about her journey from Istanbul to New York, her experience at Juilliard, and her philosophy of learning and teaching music.

Cathy Marston’s one-act ballet “The Cellist” tells the tragic story of star cellist Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987). TWoA spoke to Royal Ballet principal Marcelino Sambé, who created the part of “The Instrument” – Jacqueline du Pré’s cello. Sambé is performing the part again in the Royal Ballet’s current run of the ballet.

Even talking on Zoom from her office at English National Ballet School, Viviana Durante exudes that special something that made her one of the most celebrated dancers of her generation. Since 2020, she has been the artistic director of English National Ballet School (ENBS). TWoA talked to Viviana about leaving home at age eleven to train in a foreign country, her vision for dance education, the importance of giving meaning to every step, and much more.

We’re officially in the dog days of summer, which means it’s time to gather up your puddle of a brain and start priming it for the coming fall. And what better way to do that then with a little bit of art history? Here are some great ways to integrate art history into the rest of your summer relaxation.

It’s finally summer! The summer holidays are the perfect time to escape into nature. Take your queue from Yo-Yo Ma, the superstar cellist whose boundless curiosity and idealism lead to many unusual projects.