The Founder
Sally Yapto
Founder · Classical pianist · Educator
Trained in New York. Teaching in Surabaya.
An award-winning Indonesian classical pianist, and the founder of Symphony Acoustic Studio. International conservatory training, brought home and given to one student at a time.
Bachelor & Master of Music
Manhattan School of Music · New York
Her story
Two coasts, then home.
Ory Shihor Institute · Diploma, 2020
Los Angeles
Learning to listen.
Sally studied under the pianist and pedagogue Ory Shihor at the Ory Shihor Institute, completing her diploma in 2020. the foundation everything since has been built on.
Manhattan School of Music
New York
Bachelor, summa cum laude. Then Master.
She moved to New York City to study with the pianist Alexandre Moutouzkine at Manhattan School of Music, earning her Bachelor of Music summa cum laude, and then her Master of Music.
Symphony Acoustic Studio
Surabaya
Bringing it back.
Having navigated the pathway to advanced training herself, Sally knows how hard it is for young musicians and their families to see the next step. The studio is where that knowledge comes home.
The record
On paper, and on stage.
2024
Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition
Winner.
Youngest
Trinity College London ATCL Diploma
The youngest pianist to receive Indonesia’s highest score for the diploma.
Summa cum laude
Bachelor of Music, Manhattan School of Music
Followed by a Master of Music from the same school.
Has performed in
New York · Los Angeles · Italy · Bangkok · Singapore · Indonesia
On the wall
The documents, where they hang.
Four of them, framed in the studio: the two from Los Angeles, and the two degrees from New York.
Ory Shihor Institute · Los Angeles
- Young Artist Diploma of Piano Performance, 2020
- Certificate of Achievement, Piano Level II, with high distinction
Manhattan School of Music · New York
- Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude
- Master of Music
In the press
2024
Sally Yapto, the Painter
The color of the sound is something abstract, but in the hands of Sally Yapto, the elements become a material manifest in the change of atmosphere momentum, a painter describes the mood in their paintings.
Playing
What the students are learning from.
In the lesson
Understood first. Then taught.
Every student deserves to be understood as an individual, not simply taught through a fixed method, or prepared only for examinations.
Sally takes time to understand each student’s personality, learning style, pace, strengths, and aspirations, and the lesson is shaped from there.
What develops is more than technique and repertoire: theory, aural skills, musical understanding, and with them, confidence and independence at the instrument.
For parents
You will always know where your child is.
Progress is followed in a way a family can actually read, so you can see what your child is learning, how they are getting on, and how to support practice at home.
- 01
Clear learning goals
What the student is working towards, stated plainly.
- 02
Personalised materials
Repertoire and exercises chosen for this student, not from a syllabus.
- 03
Regular benchmarks
Fixed points to measure against, so progress is visible.
- 04
Written lesson reports
A record you can read after each lesson: what was learned, and what to practise.
The longer view
Clearer pathways for the next generation.
Her long-term vision is to bring the knowledge and perspective she gained in the United States back to Indonesia, and to create clearer pathways for students seeking examinations, advanced training, or conservatory education.
Whether a student is discovering the piano for the first time, learning for personal enrichment, or working toward a professional future in music, patience, honesty, meaningful standards, and genuine care.
Find the right beginning.
A trial lesson is the simplest way to see whether the studio is the right fit.