Students

Angela (Angie) Zhang is a senior at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and has studied music for 12 years. This is her sixth year as a student of Lisa Emenheiser Sarratt. Angie has won awards and scholarships in numerous piano competitions, including first place at the MSMTA Gertrude Brown Memorial Concerto Competition, MSMTA Miriam Shields Gottlieb Memorial Piano Competition, NVMTA Robert Spencer Concerto Competition, NVMTA Piano Achievement Awards Competition, WMTA Hungarian Piano Competition, and WMTA Viola Hartman Piano Performance Awards. She has been invited to perform at the Embassy of Hungary, Embassy of France, and Young Artists’ Musicales. Angie’s passion for music also includes playing chamber music and performing with orchestras. Last year, she played the Beethoven Piano Concerto in C minor with the Amadeus Orchestra and New England Youth Ensemble of Washington Adventist University. As a participant of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Youth Fellowship Program, she performed for the First Lady and state governor’s spouses as well. This past summer, Angie attended the NSO Summer Institute and participated in a youth orchestra performance at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. Angie believes that music is meant to be shared with others to ignite hope and joy. She volunteers regularly at nursing homes as a Live Performance Chief Intern of the Tacy Foundation. Besides playing the piano, Angie also enjoys rocketry, gardening, hiking, and reading.

Yuting Liu is 14 years old, and she has been playing piano for almost nine years now. It is her fourth year studying with Mrs. Sarratt. In previous years she won second and third place for the NVMTA Concerto Festival, and was selected for the NVMTA Sonata Festival Honors recital. She received Honorable Mention twice at the MSMTA piano solo festival, and was selected for the second round in the NVMTA Bach festival twice. Yuting received Honors in the NVMTA Judged Recital, and was awarded third place in the WMTA Specialty Competition. Recently, she was awarded with Honorable mention in the Viola Hartman Piano Awards and the NVMTA Judged Recital. Apart from piano, she loves skiing, reading, hiking, and programming. She looks forward to another year of learning with Mrs. Sarratt!

Albert Xu is an 9th grader, and he joined Mrs. Sarratt’s studio in 2021. His past achievements include second place in the NVMTA Achievement Awards, first place in the WMTA Viola Hartman Competition and the NVMTA Concerto Festival, Honorable Mention in the Northern Virginia District Auditions, and the honors recital in the NVMTA Bach Baroque Competition. He also has received awards in the NVMTA Sonata Festival, MSMTA Gottlieb Competition, MSMTA Solo Piano Festival, WMTA Hungarian Competition, William Knabe International Piano Competition, and George Mason Spring Music Competition. In addition to piano, he also enjoys playing the cello. He is enjoying studying the piano with Mrs. Sarratt.

Caroline Su is a rising 8th grader. She started her piano studies at the age of 6 and has been studying with Mrs. Sarratt since 2021. Caroline draws great inspiration and knowledge from her teacher.

Caroline has made great musical strides in the past year. She won first place at the 2022 William Knabe International Competition. Her many accomplishments include awards at Miriam Gottlieb Competition, WMTA Hungarian Music Competition, NVMTA Achievement Awards and Sonata Festival, VMTA District Auditions, Robert Spencer Concerto Competition and AAMS International Competition.

Caroline performs regularly as member of the Tacy Foundation, sharing her love of music with communities across the DC area. Her favorite composers are Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt. She also cares very much about preserving the planet and enjoys math, writing, and swimming.

Wilson Chen is a 12th grader. He has been studying with Mrs. Sarratt since summer of 2015, and he really enjoys his piano lessons. Wilson has participated with excellence in numerous competitions at regional and state competitions, including the Robert Spencer Concerto Competition, the MSMTA Gertrude S. Brown Memorial Concerto Competition, MSMTA Elizabeth Davis Memorial Piano Competition, the MTNA Junior Performance Competition, the Steinway Competition, the NVMTA District Auditions, Piano Achievements, the Bland Competition, the MSMTA Gottlieb competition, the WMTA Viola Hartman awards competition, the NVMTA Sonata Festival. He has been invited to perform at the Embassy of Hungary twice as a top winner in the WMTA Bi-Annual Bartok Piano Competition. As a first place winner, he was also invited to perform with the New England Youth Ensemble of Washington Adventist University at Peters Music Center. In the 2022 summer, Wilson participated in the NSO SMI program and had the opportunity to play both in chamber ensemble and Orchestral. Wilson believes that music is meant to be shared with others, and volunteers regularly at elderly homes as a member of the Tacy Foundation. Besides piano, Wilson is an avid participant in math competitions, playing baseball, and computer science. He is eager to keep playing the piano and is looking forward to another great year of studying under Mrs. Sarratt.

Lauren Joelle is a rising senior and will be completing her eighth year with Mrs. Sarratt. A music lover, she enjoys listening to and performing classical and contemporary works, exploring melodic Romantic works as well as the harsh and dissonant tones of the Contemporary era. Lauren has competed and placed in various competitions such as the James A. Bland Music Scholarship Competition, NVMTA’s Sonata Festival and judged recitals, VMTA’s Districted Auditions, and MSTMTA’s Gottlieb Piano Competition. Aside from events, she also had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the Youth Fellowship Program 2021-2022 at the Kennedy Center. Lauren thoroughly enjoyed attending the NSO rehearsals and concerts, broadening her exposure to different types of repertoire. Stepping out of her “musician shoes,” Lauren enjoys being outdoors, spending time with family, reading Japanese manga, and drawing. She is looking forward to this final year with Mrs. Sarratt and hopes to continue her passion for music in some form in college and beyond!

Amber is an 12th grader at Oakton High School. She has been playing piano for twelve years and a student of Lisa Emenheiser Sarratt for eight years. In the past years, she has participated in many events, such as the NVMTA Judged Recital, WMTA Specialty Competition, NVMTA Bach Baroque Festival and Competition, WMTA Lichtenberg Competition, NVMTA Piano Achievement Awards, MSMTA Gottlieb Competition, Robert Spencer Piano Concerto Competition, and more. Amber has received many awards in numerous events, including second place in WMTA Speciality Competition, third place in NVMTA District Auditions, top awards for both NVMTA Sonata Festival and Bach Baroque Competition, and honorable mention for 2021 Virtuoso International Music Competition. Besides the competitive aspect of playing the piano, Amber loves incorporating music when giving back to her community. Last year, she founded Senior Smiles, an organization dedicated to bringing joy to senior citizens through the power of music. Every week, her chamber music ensemble would play live online performances. Through this organization, Amber hopes to uplift and bring together senior citizens from around the county, despite the hardships COVID-19 brought. In addition, Amber was also an Executive Board officer for Oakton Academy’s Annual Music Fundraiser, raising more than $2500 for Inova L.J. Murphy Children's Hospital, specifically the sector for child cancer patients. Outside of piano, Amber is also on the Oakton High School Varsity Dance Team. This past year, her team received 3rd in the entire nation! Some of her all-time favorite hobbies include building legos, crocheting, reading, bullet journaling, watching Netflix, and baking.

Sophia is in 12th grade, and this is her 13th year of piano lessons and her fifth year with Mrs. Sarratt. She is grateful for the opportunities she has had to grow and mature as a musician, which include numerous competitions and judged recitals, such as VMTA District and State Auditions, Steinway Competition, WMTA Viola Hartman Awards, MSMTA Gertrude Brown Memorial Concerto Competition, Gottlieb Memorial PIano Competition, and NVMTA Sonata Festival, at which she received prizes and recognition. Sophia enjoys chamber music and loved being a member of a piano quintet, a woodwind and piano sextet, and a trio through the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute (2020) and Youth Fellowship Chamber Program (2020-22), a highlight of which was performing on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Sophia also plays the violin and has been a part of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras since 6th grade. She performed as a soloist in 2019 as the concerto competition winner and is Co-Concertmaster of AYP. Sophia is Concertmaster of her school orchestra and was selected for All State Orchestra the past three years. She regularly performs and accompanies at retirement homes with the Tacy Foundation and her church. She also teaches elementary and middle schoolers through the AYPO Music Buddies program.

My name is Jessica Chen, and I am 14 years old. This is my seventh year studying piano with Mrs. Sarratt, and I enjoy studying music with her! I have been the first place winner of numerous events including the VMTA State Auditions, NVMTA District Auditions, the Robert Spencer Concerto Competition, Viola Hartman Performance Awards, NVMTA Achievement Awards, and WMTA Raissa Tselentis Bach Competition. In addition, I was awarded Alternate in the Junior MTNA performance competition in 2021 as well as in the MSMTA Gertrude S. Brown Memorial Concerto Competition. I also earned Honors in the WMTA Judged Recital, the NVMTA Judged Recital, and the NVMTA Sonata Festival, and I was invited to perform in "Young Artist Musicales" at the George Mason University Center for the Performing Arts. Most recently, I was selected to be the pianist in NSO Youth fellowship 2022-2023 and was awarded Alternate in the NVMTA District Auditions. I’m an active member of the Tacy Foundation, and I regularly perform at assisted living centers. Besides piano, I enjoy drawing, reading and hiking. In school, my favorite subject is math, and I have won top awards in the American Mathematics Competition and MathCounts.