Mentorships Overview
Vivian Fung maintains a teaching studio of private music theory and composition students in the Bay Area of California and also teaches via FaceTime and Skype. She has experience teaching students from a wide variety of backgrounds and in different settings, from private lessons to public lectures and master classes, as well as in classroom and residential settings. She has taught beginner-level students of all ages, as well as students embarking on professional careers as musicians.
Vivian’s extensive professional experience as a composer and educator make her a communicative, intuitive, and creative teacher. She treats each student as a unique individual and tailors her lessons according to the student’s learning style and needs.
Academic Background
Vivian received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Composition from The Juilliard School in New York in 2002 and immediately went on to join the Juilliard faculty. Her tenure there included eight years of teaching graduate and undergraduate theory (harmony, counterpoint, and analysis), composition, and liberal arts electives. She also served as Co-Founder and Director of the World Music Series at Juilliard and later taught in the school’s Evening Division (extension division) while maintaining a private studio.
Her guest teaching and lecturing appearances have been many, including at the New York Summer Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, University of British Columbia, and Dankook and Yang-In Universities in Seoul, South Korea.
Mentorship Opportunities
“This is my tenth year of studying privately with Vivian. I began with lessons on the piano and some theory and score analysis when Vivian was on the faculty at The Juilliard School, where she was very highly regarded and sought after. We then expanded the lessons equally to piano and to theory and score analysis. Since she moved to California, we have done theory and score analysis weekly on Face Time. Vivian is an ideal teacher. She has all of the following qualities to a very high degree (and in no order of importance): knowledge, intelligence, professionalism, clarity of expression, patience, flexibility and a sense of humor. Studying with Vivian is sometimes hard work, and always rewarding and enjoyable.”