Payam Music students win awards at district, state and national level at annual PTA reflections competition

Participating in the National PTA Reflections competition has become a beloved tradition for Payam Music. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students in pre-K through grade 12 across the country create original works of art, including music composition. Over the past decade, Payam Music students have swept local, state, and national awards… and have made their teachers very proud!

The importance of composition 

Learning piano shouldn’t just be about playing pieces from other composers. Piano lessons should allow for creativity as well, something the classical world doesn’t allow.

The traditional world of piano is black and white. You sit behind the piano, you play exactly the notes placed in front of you, and there is no personal interpretation or creativity allowed. However, at Payam Music, we encourage our students to bring their own emotions into their playing. We don’t just embrace the different styles our students play, but we motivate them to create their own music.

Composing music acts as a creative outlet for many of our students, and you can truly hear their emotions in the songs they write. It is also a great way for students to take the techniques they’ve learned and write their own songs using them. Our students are proud of the songs they write, and seeing them performing their own work at our recitals is one of the most beautiful things we get to witness as instructors.

Personally, my passion and love for piano grew deeply once I began composing at age 9. It became one of the most important things in my life and serves as the core reason why I was able to develop the Payam Music notation and curriculum. For me, composition turned piano from just being an instrument, to becoming my best friend. No matter what life threw at me, I knew I could turn to the piano and just let my emotions loose. I would sit and compose for hours, and every time, the piano healed me and served as my outlet.

While I didn’t have the privilege of having an instructor teach me how to compose and had to learn on my own, I wanted to make sure that every student at Payam Music who wanted to learn composition had the opportunity to do so. That’s why I built an entire curriculum that encourages this and teaches our students. However, we don’t force our students to learn composition, as some don’t have a passion for it. Just like how some people like to read books, while others like to write their own stories. The piano becomes your best friend, it either speaks to you, or listens to you.

Composition and the PTA Reflections program

This brings us back to PTA Reflections. One of the reasons I love the PTA Reflections program is they have been dedicated to helping students explore their creativity, gain confidence, and find a love for learning for over 50 years. Creativity is a skill that is a skill that is often taken for granted. Since music composition is grounded in creative expression, we are incredibly proud of our students’ achievements in the competition.

2024 results

• 13 of our students won their district
• 5 out of 5 state winners and national qualifiers came from our students
• 4 went on to win nationals

In 2024, Payam Music students achieved almost unbelievable results at the PTA Reflections competition. Thirteen students won at the district level which qualified them to advance to state. Five won at the state level, securing five of the top five spots in Washington state. We were blown away by these results! Ultimately, four of the five Payam Music students who advanced to nationals won their age division. It’s still crazy to us that four of the top 14 spots in the country were our students. Out of 300,000 students who participated!

2025 results

• 15 of our students won their district with majority being new to the competition
• 4 out of 5 state winners and national qualifiers came from our students
• Awaiting results of nationals

In 2025, Payam Music students continued to dominate the competition. This is especially impressive since many of our students competed for the first time. Fifteen students won at the district level which qualified them to advance to state. Four won at the state level, securing four of the top five spots. As of time of writing, we are still waiting on national results!

Why does this matter?

As our current families know, we do not believe in pressuring students to succeed. We believe that intrinsic motivation is the key to success. The student has to be the one who wants to learn, who wants to challenge themselves, who wants to progress. Our curriculum and teachers support their advancement, but in a low pressure environment.

I truly believe that if you love what you do, you’ll get good at what you do. Now imagine you love the instrument, you love the teacher, and you love the songs you learn. There's no way you won't become successful… but the results even blew us away.

To be clear, we would be proud of our students even if none of them won. But when you’re teaching piano using a new methodology, skepticism is inevitable. Our students’ success is a strong signal that what we’re doing at Payam Music is working. We hope it also encourages our students to challenge the status quo and take risks. Just because something has been done a certain way for hundreds of years, doesn’t mean it’s the best way.