Ethos Music
Curriculum
At Ethos, we utilize most of the Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum. We have tailored RCM’s offerings to our own in order to craft a comprehensive body of knowledge for our students.
Our curriculum covers three areas of musical mastery with two sub-masteries in each category. Thorough training in each of these areas enables students to do much more than play an instrument. They will be able to approach music in a holistic manner.
Musicianship (Audiation MLT)
A. Ear Training
i. Understanding and Writing what is heard.
ii. Solfege
iii. Dictation
B. Eye Training
i. Hearing and Reproducing what is seen.
ii. Score Reading/Sight Singing
iii. Conducting
Scholarship
A. Theory
i. Notation
ii. Harmony
iii. Form
iv. Composition
B. History
i. Composers
ii. Styles
iii. Periods
iv. Socio-Political Issues
Mastery
A. Practice
i. Effective Practice Habits
ii. Technical Mastery
iii. Repertoire Development
B. Performance
i. Preparation
ii. Planning
iii. Execution
Methodology
At The Ethos School of Music we approach education based on the humanistic model of the Renaissance philosophers. It is a mixture of apprenticeship repetition, formal theoretical instruction, and Socratic inquiry. Because we engage the students in private as well as small and large group settings, we are able to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of each musician and pace their lessons accordingly. Additionally, through individual assessment and exposure to a master teacher, we identify and cater to the individual learning styles (visual, auditory or kinesthetic) of each student.
Faculty Bios
With over 20 years of pianistic training and experience, Douglas Loomis is a skilled pianist and accomplished teacher from Conroe, Texas. Douglas holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Southwestern University. He joined Ethos School of Music soon after graduating and his teachers have included Kiyoshi Tamagawa, David Englert, and Khoren Ouzounian. Douglas is devoted to helping musicians reach their highest potential. This has included teaching music theory camps, leading music ensembles, accompanying at high schools, and adjudicating for music events. He is also instilling the love of music in children through early childhood music classes.
Ms. Anna Alikhanov is a concert pianist, experienced accompanist with different instruments, vocal coach, and skilled music instructor with 38 years of consecutive teaching. She received her Bachelors and Masters degree from Yerevan State Conservatory Named After Komitas, Armenia. In her many years of experience, she has mentored hundreds of students, some of which going on to win notable competitions such as the International American Protégée competition, the San Jose International Russian Music Piano Competition, the Lansum International Piano competition, and countless other state and local festivals. Ms. Anna herself has received several certifications, such as The Certificate of Recognition from the International American Protégée Piano and Strings Competition in 2019, the Certificate of Achievement from the Rocky Mountain Strings Competition in 2020 and recognition from the Amadeus School of Music for 5 years in a row.
From her intense education based on the principles of world famous Russian music school, she is well versed in all musical periods and in performative arts. She has performed in front of live audiences, made and participated in recordings in musical studios, and taught her students to do all of the above, with some students even being invited to play in prestigious venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York. Because of her expertise, she had served on the jury of the Southern California Youth Mozart Festival in San Diego for 3 years.
Native Houstonian Heather Garcia began her musical studies of violin and piano at the age of 9. Graduating Cum Laude from The University of Houston, Moores School of Music in 2022 with a Bachelor's degree in Violin Performance and Music Education focused on All-Level Teacher Certification. Throughout her career, she has studied with distinguished violinist Dr. Lisa Burrell, internationally acclaimed Polish violinist Andrzej Grabiec, as well as The Juilliard School alumnus Ertan Torgul. She has performed in masterclasses with renowned performers, such as Jasmine Lin, Wayne Lee and violist James Dunham, Professor of Viola at Rice University. She has received numerous awards over the course of her career, and has more than 15 years of performance experience.
Heather is passionate about chamber and orchestral music and currently performs with the Woodlands Symphony Orchestra where she holds Principal Second Position. She continues to perform with many ensembles, such as Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra, Energy Corridor of Houston Orchestra, Conroe Symphony Orchestra and Virtuosi of Houston. During her time at Moores School of Music, she performed with the Moores School of Music Symphony, Ballet and Opera Orchestras, where she held an associate concertmaster position. In addition, she has also performed in several chamber music ensembles.
Outside of performing, Heather strives to share her passion and love for music through teaching, mentoring and inspiring upcoming generations of musicians.
With over 20 years of pianistic training and experience, Douglas Loomis is a skilled pianist and accomplished teacher from Conroe, Texas. Douglas holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Southwestern University. He joined Ethos School of Music soon after graduating and his teachers have included Kiyoshi Tamagawa, David Englert, and Khoren Ouzounian. Douglas is devoted to helping musicians reach their highest potential. This has included teaching music theory camps, leading music ensembles, accompanying at high schools, and adjudicating for music events. He is also instilling the love of music in children through early childhood music classes.
Teresa L. Matchett earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, graduating cum laude in cello performance in 1987. Her cello studies were with Martha Gerschefski, Hans Jensen, and Anthony Elliot. Her performing positions have included principal cello of the Lake Charles Symphony and assistant principal cello of the Theater Under the Stars orchestra.
She is a past president of the Houston Area Suzuki Strings Association (now STXSA), and works actively to organize events for young musicians. She teaches students of all ages starting as young as 3 years old, and her older students are regularly chosen as members of the Texas Junior High and High School (region 9) Region Orchestras, as well as the Texas All State Orchestras. Teresa has completed all of her Suzuki training for cello through level 10, as well as Suzuki Principles in Action, and the Cello Practicum. She also teaches Suzuki Early Childhood Education, and Music Mind Games (music theory) in Houston, Sugar Land, and The Woodlands area of Texas. She an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, Southeast Texas Suzuki Association, American String Teachers Association, and Texas Music Educators Association.
Stephanie Miess (RCM Smart Start)
Stephanie Miess has taught children in music, dance, and in the school system for 30 years. She graduated in Dance Education with a math minor and has training in the Kodaly method and with the Royal Conservatory’s Smart Start program. She sings, plays the flute, piano, and Irish whistle, but considers her primary instrument her body. She owns a Creative Arts Academy, in Magnolia which offers dance, art classes and is privileged to be partnered with Ethos and their music program. She has lead choirs and children music in a church setting and has composition training has written, children songs, hymns and other choral arrangements. She has a great love for children and teaching and has five grown children of her own and has a string quartet and fiddling band in her family. She love’s her three grand children, exercise, cooking, and church service.
Khoren Ouzounian (Piano, Organ, Composition, Music Theory, Chamber Music, MusiCore, RCM Smart Start)
Khoren Ouzounian is a nationally recognized educator, composer, conductor, organist, pianist, and entrepreneur. As the founder of the Ethos School of Music, his students have successfully enrolled in conservatory and college music programs throughout the United States and he is well recognized for his work as a teacher-trainer and master class presenter. His philosophy and methodology in teaching has garnered international recognition and acclaim at such events as the World Piano Pedagogy Conference and his contributions have been published in The American Music Teacher, the journal of the Music Teacher’s National Association. Khoren’s compositions and arrangements have been published and presented by Celebration USA™, Faiths United of the Woodlands, and in LDS church services throughout the U.S. Khoren holds a Master’s in Music from Rice University where he specialized in piano performance and composition. He also studied piano performance and pedagogy at Houston Baptist University and at Brigham Young University where he also majored in comparative literature and economics.
As a performer and collaborator, Khoren has performed extensively throughout the United States both conducting and performing solo and collaboratively on organ and piano. Most recently, he has launched a chamber music series in The Woodlands in conjunction with Glade Art Gallery where he has been hosted many times. Because of his foreign language and comparative literature training, Khoren is fluent in Italian, French, and conversant in German, making him highly sought after as a vocal coach.
Gabriel Polakoff is a piano teacher from Houston, Texas, with a career in education. He started his piano playing journey at four years old, and continues on it to this day. Gabriel has competed in competitions around the country, including the Glissando Youth Piano Competition where he made it to the final round, as well as winning a Rachmaninoff competition held at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Gabriel has studied under several noted pianists such as Khoren Ouzounian and Sergei Kuznetsov. After graduating with his Bachelor’s degree, Gabriel pursued education in the public sector working for Conroe ISD for two years. After making the decision to quit teaching for CISD, he made the choice to start teaching private lessons, which led to him returning back to Ethos, where this time, he would return as a teacher instead of a student
Recognized for his versatility and artistry as both a violinist and violist, Konrad
Rudowicz has performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral
player. He has appeared as a featured performer with the KNN Broadcasting Orchestra in
South Korea and the Wieniawski String Orchestra in Poland, with festival engagements
at the Busan Maru International Music Festival, the Redlands Music Festival in
California, and Leipzig’s Preis für die Freiheit und Zukunft der Medien ceremony. His
performances have taken him to major venues including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg,
Gewandhaus Leipzig, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Busan Grand Theater, Athens’
Megaron, and Brussels’ Bozar Centre for Fine Arts.
Konrad has been recognized with awards as both a violinist and violist, earning first
prize in the Young Artists Competition held by the Redlands Bowl Association
(California), second prize at the Busan Maru International Music Festival Concerto
Competition (South Korea), and third prize in the Lowell Chamber Orchestra Concerto
Competition (Massachusetts). His performance activity spans a wide range of settings
across North America, Europe, and Asia.
He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in violin and a Certificate in Music
Performance in viola from the University of Houston, with additional studies at the
Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, the Academy of Music in Łódź, and Azusa
Pacific University in Los Angeles. Dedicated to music education, Konrad serves as
Director of the Strings Department at Ethos School of the Arts and is a registered
member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, having completed eight units of
teacher training. His students regularly earn placements in TMEA Region orchestras,
hold leadership roles in their school programs, and excel in competitions.
Yilong Wang started his formal music study at the Shenyang Conservatory of Music when he was 6 years old in China. Concurrently, he studied with a Ukrainian professor—Vladimir Petruccioru—at Liu Ning Piano School. In high school, Yilong studied with Professor Jin Zhang, who was the chair of the piano area at the middle school attached to the Central Conservatory of Music. In 2019, Yilong moved to Houston, US, and started his studies with Professor Timothy Hester at UH.
Yilong was also very fortunate to have lessons/masterclasses with faculty from The Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory & Boston University, as well as renowned pianists such as the Cliburn gold prize winner & Curtis alumnus.
Furthermore, Yilong enjoys performance very much. He performed a 90-minute-long all-Beethoven program when he was only 14 years old. He traveled to NYC to perform when he was 15 and performed in Europe when he was 16. In 2022, Yilong was invited as a soloist to perform Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto with Symphony North of Houston. He also had many other orchestral experiences performing as the principal pianist of the symphony, ballet, opera & chamber orchestra. Additionally, Yilong actively presents Chinese music through the Presbyterian Church.
Ms. Xinruo Wei is a prize-winning pianist and a dedicated teacher based in Houston, TX. Her awards include First Prize as a collaborative pianist in the Voice Virtuoso Competition and Second Prize in the Tennessee Music Teachers Association (TMTA) Collegiate Piano Solo Competition, both in 2021.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from East Tennessee State University, studying under Dr. Esther Park. She received her Master’s degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Houston and is currently pursuing a second Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the same institution, studying with Professor Timothy Hester. She has also been mentored by faculty from prestigious institutions such as the Juilliard School and Yale University.
Ms. Wei teaches students of all ages and levels. She specializes in preparing students for piano competitions, recitals, and international examination systems including ABRSM and RCM. Her students have received honors and awards in local and state-level competitions. She is passionate about helping each student grow both musically and personally.
In addition to teaching, Ms. Wei collaborates regularly with vocalists and instrumentalists from around the world, and regularly serves as a pianist for choirs and opera productions at both school and church. She believes music has the power to connect people and build a positive, supportive community.
Born and raised in the Houston area, Halle Yap began playing the cello at the age of 8. She is an experienced cellist with over 10 years of performance experience. A winner of many awards in high school and college, Halle is a graduate of Baylor University where she focused on the study and performance of chamber and small ensemble music. In 2018, she was a finalist in the Sempre Pro Musica competition for chamber music held at Baylor University. She is passionate about sharing her love, appreciation, and knowledge of music with her students and peers.
Ethos Partners:
