• Acceptance to Juilliard BM in Piano Performance

• Acceptance to Brown University and University of Pennsylvania

• Award Winner of National YoungArts Competition (Piano)

Our son Lucas has been studying piano with Ory for about 3 years and a half.  Since then, we have had a wonderful journey, together with Ory and his wife, Maria, at every step of the way.

When we started looking for a new piano teacher for Lucas,  Ory’s name came to us with high recommendation through many channels.

At that time, Lucas had studied piano for 3 years and had felt that he was quite behind his peers. Naturally, making the initial contact was very intimidating because of Ory’s stature as both a performing artist and an educator. 

We still remember the disbelief on Lucas’s face when Ory responded to our inquiry and offered to hear Lucas’s playing!

Ory uses impressive high-tech equipment for highly effective teaching both in and out of the “classroom”. 

What is more, however, is Ory’s unique approach to teaching and Lucas’s growth as a musician and as a person.

Ory is very attentive to Lucas as both a pianist and an intellectual scholar.  For music education, Ory not only teaches techniques at their highest standard but also explores together with Lucas on different ways to create beautiful sounds.

Ory does not “force” a curriculum but carefully manages lessons to guide Lucas, affording him both great freedom and solid stepping in carving his own path to progress. 

The teaching also goes beyond just playing the notes on piano. They engage each other with very interesting dialogues on all kinds of topics: anecdotes of musicians, the zeitgeists of past and present, political and cultural events.

We have always felt that learning music makes a  better person. We have found Ory and his teaching have been such a blessing that provide the sources for both.

In the short 3 years, Lucas has made tremendous progress as a pianist, with the recent honor of becoming a 2022 YoungArts Award Winner and acceptance to The Juilliard School.

But perhaps more importantly, his passion and love for music remains strong, which is precisely what we hope for to accompany his life.

We recommend Ory most enthusiastically to young artists who thrive on the excellence of learning and who are passionate about pursuing their lifetime dreams. 

— Fei Sha and Ping Liu, parents of Lucas Sha