Ambler Student Selected for Prestigious Music Camp

PA Virtual Charter School 10th-grade student and aspiring concert pianist Isaac Hallberg has been selected to attend the prestigious pre-college summer music program at the Luzerne Music Center on Lake Luzerne in the Adirondack Park region of New York.

Isaac, 15, of Whitpain Township near Ambler in Montgomery County, will live in residence at Luzerne Music Center July 20 to Aug. 15 with other pre-college students at the same time the Philadelphia Orchestra is in residence in nearby Saratoga Springs. Isaac will participate in the piano program. Other students-in-residence play string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.

Philadelphia Orchestra members and renowned visiting artists present masterclasses and sectionals for all instruments throughout the summer. Isaac will have the opportunity to rehearse under the direction of eminent conductors and coaches to prepare for weekly public concerts and to attend concerts of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Isaac practiced four to six hours a day for six months to prepare for the challenging video audition required with his application to the Luzerne Music Center, which was founded by a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1980 and has one of the top piano programs in the country with 18 pianos. Isaac was awarded a partial scholarship and started a GoFundMe campaign to raise additional money toward his tuition.

For the audition, Isaac memorized five classical works by Bach, Mozart, Liszt and Chopin.

“If I was attending a regular brick-and-mortar school, I definitely would not have had enough time in my schedule to prepare for the audition because I would be in school all day and then have homework at night,” Isaac said. “At PA Virtual, I can complete all my classes and school work in about 6½ hours and not have to spend time on a school bus.”

Isaac enrolled in PA Virtual Charter School in third grade shortly after he began taking private piano lessons from Nancy Beale at Church of the Open Door in Fort Washington, Montgomery County. PA Virtual is a Pennsylvania Department of Education authorized cyber charter school and serves approximately 2,700 Grade K-12 students throughout Pennsylvania.

Isaac’s parents, Rebekah and Timothy Hallberg, said they decided to enroll him in PA Virtual when it became apparent he was gifted musically and academically. The Hallbergs’ younger children, Eli, 11, and Sarah, 8, also attend PA Virtual Charter School and take private piano lessons.

If Isaac had remained in a brick-and-mortar school, they said Isaac would not have been able to devote as much time to piano or advance as quickly academically as he has at PA Virtual Charter School. Isaac is enrolled in PA Virtual’s Scholars Program, and he will be graduating next year at age 16. His classes this semester are Algebra II, Honors Biology, Honors U.S. History, and Latin II.

“He is very determined and knows he wants to be a concert pianist,” said Rebekah Hallberg. “He carries a full load or more of courses at school and has high grades, and he devotes several hours every day to piano. He definitely is not your typical teenage boy.”

Isaac said he developed a liking for classical music at a young age because his parents played it for him since he was born to help develop his brain. As a professional concert pianist, Isaac said he would raise awareness about the benefits of having high-quality music programs in schools.

To pursue his concert pianist ambitions, Isaac has applied to other prestigious pre-college music programs. He was invited in March to audition live with about 130 other pianists for two or three open spots at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Isaac said the experience helped him further develop as a musician.

On May 30, he will be auditioning in New York City for the Manhattan School of Music’s pre-college program. If accepted, he will study exclusively at the school on Saturdays next school year. Isaac’s goal is to attend a music conservatory, such as Curtis, after he graduates from PA Virtual.

Graduates of the Luzerne Music Center’s pre-college summer program have been accepted to The Julliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Contributions to Isaac’s Luzerne Music Center tuition fund can be made at www.gofundme.com/q9vbws.

Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (PA Virtual) is an award-winning online K-12 public school that offers a home-based, student-centered education to students throughout Pennsylvania. For more information on PA Virtual, visit www.pavcsk12.org.