Member Spotlight
2023-2024
Congratulations to the members of the Etobicoke-Mississauga Branch, whose students received:
NATIONAL CONTEMPORARY SHOWCASE AWARD (THE ANN SOUTHAM JUNIOR AWARD)
Rocco Signorile – student: Teren Yu
2022-2023
Congratulations to the members of the Etobicoke-Mississauga Branch, whose students received:
PROVINCIAL RCM GOLD MEDALS
Barbara Prins – student: Nicholas Gryniewski (Level 10 Voice)
Barbara Prins – student: Maria Klymenko (Level 8 Voice)
Barbara Prins – student: Maria Klymenko (Level 7 Voice)
Barbara Prins – student: Sophie Xia (Level 5 Piano)
Barbara Prins – student: Sophie Xia (Level 3 Voice)
NATIONAL RCM GOLD MEDALS
Barbara Prins – student: Nicholas Gryniewski (Level 10 Voice)
Barbara Prins – student: Maria Klymenko (Level 8 Voice)
Barbara Prins – student: Maria Klymenko (Level 7 Voice)
OMFA PROVINCIAL FINALS AWARDS
Nicholas Gryniewski- 1st place in Diploma Level Voice – teacher: Barbara Prins
Sevi H. – 1st place in Level 2 Voice – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Liepa Spakauskas – 2nd place in Level 5 Voice – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Caitlin Hung – 3rd place in Level 4 Piano – teacher: Barbara Byczko
2021-2022
Congratulations to the members of the Etobicoke-Mississauga Branch, whose students received:
PROVINCIAL RCM GOLD MEDALS
Ani Essegulian (Piano)
Winston Kim (Piano) – student: Karen. L. (Level 10 Piano)
Sofia Peycheva (Voice) – student: Ena M. (Level 4 Voice)
Barbara Prins (Voice)- student: Anna Klymenko (Level 4 Voice)
OMFA PROVINCIAL FINALS AWARDS
Nicolas A.-K. – 2nd place in Level 4 Voice- teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Camila D. – 2nd place in Popular Voice Primary – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Nicholas Gryniewski- 3rd place in Level 10 Voice – teacher: Barbara Prins
Jeshua and Jovita A. – 3rd place in Senior Musical Theatre Duet – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Ena M. – 3rd place in Level 4 Voice – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Camila D. – 3rd place in Level 3 Voice – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
Ria C. – 3rd place in Level 2 Voice – teacher: Sofia Peycheva
ORMTA PROVINCIAL
Mathew Dao – 2nd place in Level 10/ARCT Competition- teacher: Thuy Bach
The Etobicoke-Mississauga Branch of ORMTA is proud to announce that
Thuy Vi Bach is a recipient of a 2022 ORMTA Contribution to Teaching Award (OCTA).
Mrs. Thuy Vi Bach has been involved with ORMTA for over 14 years. She became a member in 2008 then started her work as treasurer for the Etobicoke-Mississauga branch in 2013. Located in Etobicoke, her piano studio has housed countless students through all life stages. She’s known for being a detail-orientated and relational teacher. She has extensive experience teaching piano in both online and in-person settings. Thuy was studying under the guidance of Christopher Kowal, Jana Skarecki, and Martha Dorland. Her teaching journey began in 1991 when her father’s passion for music and belief in his daughter’s skills inspired him to recruit students, whom she taught in the evenings after work and school. Thuy was also a Parenting supply teacher for the Toronto District School Board, from 1999 at 14 different schools across the GTA. When her second child was born in 2004, Thuy decided to focus only on piano teaching, gaining a waitlist of students through word-of-mouth. In 2021, Thuy’s father passed away from brain cancer. Bach continues to serve as a pianist at her Vietnamese Baptist Church in Mississauga where he dedicated his life. To this day, Thuy teaches up to 61 students and participates regularly in RCM and ORMTA workshops/masterclasses. Her students have won awards in both local and regional competitions, such as the Level 2 Gold Medal from RCM in 2003, scholarships from Milton Festival, ORMTA Etobicoke-Mississauga branch competitions, Vietnamese Talent Show, Peel Festival. Her students are also attending Arts High Schools, such as Mayfield or Cawthra, or attending Music Major in Universities, and registered internationally with programs such as Con Brio Examinations.
It is an honour and a privilege to nominate Thuy Bach as our OCTA recipient for 2022. As soon as we welcomed Thuy into Etobicoke Mississauga Branch, we were most impressed with her willingness to take part in our Branch activities.. Thuy always has a beautiful and engaging smile, which denotes her bright and happy personality! This permeates everything that she accomplishes, as well as the joy that is obvious in her teaching. Thuy presently is our Treasurer, and definitely keeps us on the straight and narrow path financially. Thuy approaches her position as with care, professionalism and is always most prepared for our Executive meetings. Thuy successfully coordinates our “Fun Afternoon”, where the students enjoy snacks and perform “Fun Pieces”. During this activity, we also have a Silent Auction, where we raffle off donations from our contributors. The proceeds go to our Scholarship Fund, and we credit each year’s success of our “Fun Afternoon” to Thuy’s capable leadership. We are proud to acknowledge Thuy’s teaching abilities, and celebrate with her as her students move forward with great success. Thuy’s students demonstrate not only her expertise as a teacher, but also showcase her sunny personality and her dedication to them. It is with great joy that I present Thuy Bach as our 2022 OCTA nominee.