How much of their success is due to their teachers? Several
studies state that the teacher is the most important factor. That certainly
applied to Tomoko and her piano students. She asserts, “I see the potential in my
students, and help them to build their expertise and self-confidence.” In
either case, many of her students have blossomed in their lives. Here are a few
examples of her more recent students.
Matthew Blair Vorsatz, who studied
with Tomoko, graduated with honors from the Conservatory. He said, “From Tomoko
I learned how to learn. I became thirsty for success. Learning piano from her
was the single most contributing factor in defining my life.” Matthew went on
to double-major in economics and Chinese at Georgetown University, with a 4.0
GPA and now teaches at Harvard in the Department of East Asian Languages and
Civilizations. He also learned from Tomoko “how important to be humble. Once
you perform you have a different kind of
connection with audience.”
Emma Rose Wirshing recently graduated
from Cornell Univeristy in Computer Science. Besides studying, Emma served as a
career peer advisor, led the Speech and Debate Society British Parliamentary
team, and worked remotely for a fintech start-up in San Francisco. In her
college essays, Emma wrote a lot about Tomoko as her piano teacher, quoting one
of Tomoko’s favorite pieces of advice: “ Be the best you can be.” Emily’s
mother Karen Melander appreciated being able to listen in on Emma’s lesson.
Karen stated, “Tomoko has raised so many children; we’ve all grown because of
that.”
Niraek Jain-Sharma, who studied piano
with Tomoko as a youth, now attends UC Berkeley as a math major, ans is the
administrative assistant for Berkeley’s math circle. Nireak remembers Tomoko’s
advice: “Do life to the fullest; when you practice to it to the highest; solve
problems when you have difficulties.” Her words certainly resonated with
Niraek’s math focus.
Niraek’s brother Vishank Jain-Sharma
also pursued the sciences after studying piano with Tomoko. He earned a BA in
physics at UC Santa Barbara, and served as a graduate lab assistand there.
Recently he earned his graduate Certificate in quantitative and computational
biology from Princeton. He said that Tomoko “opened doors” for him. She told
him to follow his dreams, which he is doing very successfully.
Shruthi Sukir is a recent student of
Tomoko. Shruti performed on the piano with the Livermore-Amador Symphony Youth
Orchestra as a ninth grader. That year she was also on the Lawrence Hall of
Science robotics at UC Berkeley. Shruti is indeed talented: as California
National Merit Semifinalist, as an intern for Harvey Mudd College Computing and
Information Services Centerr, and as a
top-notch athlete. Her father stated, “Tomoko taught Shruthi how to
behave in a tight or tense situation. Tomoko would advice her: ‘Have the right
focus, calm your mind, and know when to relax and when to practice.’”
Rowan Whitteny is one of Tomoko’s
youngest students. He started at age 7 with her, mainly because his Kenyan mother loved
music. However, Rowan hated the piano, and wanted to escape from it. Tomoko
advised his mother: “Love your dream and it will come true. Don’t have him drop
out now; it is not good to stop possibility. You need to read to your son; read
about opera, for instance. Who knows what experience leads to.” Rowen learned
the importance of reading and playing music. Hearing about Tosca turned Rowan
around. He joined the San Francisco’s Boys Chorus, and continued piano lessons
with Tomoko.
