The Inspiring Odyssey of Ezoza Nomazova
It was late in the summer of 2010, and Collegiate was hardly at its aesthetic best.
Besides the stifling heat and humidity, the campus abounded with construction crews busily renovating and refurbishing, dust and dirt were everywhere, and yellow caution tape created a labyrinth of detours.
As Ezoza Nomazova toured the grounds along North Mooreland Road, however, she saw nothing but beauty.
Besides the stifling heat and humidity, the campus abounded with construction crews busily renovating and refurbishing, dust and dirt were everywhere, and yellow caution tape created a labyrinth of detours.
As Ezoza Nomazova toured the grounds along North Mooreland Road, however, she saw nothing but beauty.
A native of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who for the past two years had lived in Moscow, she was an applicant for the sophomore class, and despite the distractions of the moment, she was exhilarated beyond belief about the prospects of a Collegiate education.
“My aunt (Dilbar Beyad) told me that there is a school, Collegiate, that you should try to get into,” Ezoza explained.
“When I saw it, it was amazing. I was so impressed.”
There was a catch.
“My aunt told me that I needed to take a test,” she continued. “They timed me, and it went really fast because I had to translate into Russian to understand.
“I told her I probably did really bad. I was 100 percent sure I wouldn’t get in.”
While the language barrier would be a factor and there was much ground to make up, Ezoza’s personality was engaging, her attitude and diligence projected success, and her story was incredibly compelling.
During a second interview a week later, she received word from Amanda Surgner, director of admission, that she had been accepted.
As she was leaving, elated, she said, “Mrs. Surgner, may I play the piano for you?”
So they walked through the clutter and cacophony to Room 123 in the Hershey Center.
Ezoza opened her notebook and selected Henry Mancini’s “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet.”
Gently, reverently, she placed her hands on the keyboard of the Steinway grand and began to play.
“That’s when we knew we had something special,” Surgner said.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When Ezoza was 7, she enrolled in School 182 in Tashkent and began her formal piano instruction.
By third grade, she was singing in the chorus and taking music theory classes. Three years later, she added opera to her academic regimen.
“All classes were in Russian and Uzbek,” she said. “I chose Russian. It was a little bit hard because it was my second language, but it was nice.”
At 13, she moved to Moscow where her brother Timur, two years older and now a pre-med student at Virginia Commonwealth University, home-schooled her.
“We were trying to come to the United States,” she said. “My mom (Mokhira) and aunt told me to do everything in English, so I started taking classes in English language. We did everything online. Sometimes, when he didn’t know something, we studied together on the Internet.”
On June 23, 2010, Ezoza and Timur landed at Dulles International with their father (Radjab), then traveled south to join their mother and extended family in Richmond.
“When we left the airport, it was really humid,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe at all. Moscow and Tashkent are really dry, so it was really hard at first. And we had always lived in big cities, so I thought (Richmond) was kind of a village.
“It was OK, though. All my relatives were here, and I had everything I needed.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Adaptable, resilient, nimble of mind, and indefatigable, Ezoza has never recoiled from challenges.
She found plenty as she immersed herself into a new school, a new culture, and, indeed, a new world.
“When I came, I didn’t understand anything,” she said. “English classes were so hard. Studying took hours. I went to sleep at five in the morning for, like, two months.
“Students were so friendly to me. They helped all the time. Still they help me, encourage me.”
Her industriousness, perseverance, and mental acuity have paid great dividends.
Over the past three semesters, Ezoza has more than successfully navigated a challenging course of studies that includes a host of honors and advanced placement classes.
“Far beyond being a high-achieving scholar who seeks out the most demanding courses, Ezoza exudes a pure zest for learning and for life itself,” said Brian Leipheimer, director of college counseling.
“To her, the recipe is simple: ‘I love to learn something new every single day.’
“Guided by her unquenchable spirit and her personal mantra of ‘Dream Big,’ Ezoza has her sights set firmly on the horizon.
“Her character is as deep and genuine as her mind is bright and curious.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
During Ezoza’s time in Moscow, a neighbor in her apartment complex gave her occasional lessons on an old piano.
At Collegiate, she’s been an enthusiastic pupil of Connie Tuttle, who has found her to be quite teachable, focused, and determined to improve upon her already prodigious skills.
Chopin is her favorite composer. His work is not just her area of expertise but her passion as well.
"The way she interprets Chopin is not like what you hear a 17-year-old play," Tuttle said. "Most adults have difficulty interpreting the way she does or having the facility she does."
Ezoza carries with her an inch-thick white binder containing pages and pages of musical scores tucked into its sleeves.
“She’d learn of a piece and pull it off the Internet,” Tuttle added. “I was amazed at her repertoire. She likes the Romantics and the big, lush sounds. Give her a flowing, even highly technical, Romantic piece, and it oozes out of her. She makes it look so easy.
“Ezoza plays with amazing sensitivity, expression, and intuition. She has an inner drive. She always pushes herself. Give her the smallest suggestion, and she takes it to heart.”
It would seem, then, that Ezoza has a gift.
True to her humble nature, though, she begs to differ.
“Really, I don’t have a gift at all,” she explained.
“It is effort, hard work.
“When I was in Uzbekistan, my teacher was really strict. She helped me with how to interpret (the music). She helped me to be able to play the hard stuff. In order to play even harder music, Mrs. Tuttle did everything.”
Ezoza will perform 13 pieces at her junior recital April 29 at 3 p.m. in the Choral Music Room.
She will be at her artistic best, of course.
She will no doubt bring the music to life as she loses herself in the effort.
Chances are, her virtuoso performance will prove quite emotional for many in the audience.
“Music is everywhere,” she said. “I can’t live without it. How can we not love music?
“But I will never be satisfied with myself, ever. I just need to keep improving, practice. That takes a lot of time.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Despite the relentless demands on her time, Ezoza has also become a talented practitioner of the game of chess.
She began playing at age 5 and even represented Tashkent, the capital of Uzbeckistan, in age-group championship events.
She’s a stalwart of Collegiate’s team.
“For a while, I dropped (chess) because of moving and concentrating on English language and math to be ready for an American education,” she explained.
“When I don’t practice for even a week, I just forget the strategies and everything else. In order to improve, I shouldn’t stop.
“Now, I don’t read books or do chess problems. I just play online.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As Ezoza has become more acclimated to Collegiate, the whirlwind pace of her life has mercifully slowed, at least a bit anyway.
She’s become much more efficient with her studying as her English has improved though she acknowledges that she thinks in Russian and still translates the material in her textbooks into Russian.
Bedtime now is generally around 1:30 a.m.
College is definitely in her future. She plans to major in pre-med and minor in music.
She has told her piano teacher that in a perfect life, she’d like to practice medicine by day and play piano concerts at night.
“Ezoza has an incredible intellect to go along with her God-given talent and personal attributes,” Tuttle said.
“What an amazing gift she has been to Collegiate!”
-- Weldon Bradshaw
Back
“My aunt (Dilbar Beyad) told me that there is a school, Collegiate, that you should try to get into,” Ezoza explained.
“When I saw it, it was amazing. I was so impressed.”
There was a catch.
“My aunt told me that I needed to take a test,” she continued. “They timed me, and it went really fast because I had to translate into Russian to understand.
“I told her I probably did really bad. I was 100 percent sure I wouldn’t get in.”
While the language barrier would be a factor and there was much ground to make up, Ezoza’s personality was engaging, her attitude and diligence projected success, and her story was incredibly compelling.
During a second interview a week later, she received word from Amanda Surgner, director of admission, that she had been accepted.
As she was leaving, elated, she said, “Mrs. Surgner, may I play the piano for you?”
So they walked through the clutter and cacophony to Room 123 in the Hershey Center.
Ezoza opened her notebook and selected Henry Mancini’s “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet.”
Gently, reverently, she placed her hands on the keyboard of the Steinway grand and began to play.
“That’s when we knew we had something special,” Surgner said.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When Ezoza was 7, she enrolled in School 182 in Tashkent and began her formal piano instruction.
By third grade, she was singing in the chorus and taking music theory classes. Three years later, she added opera to her academic regimen.
“All classes were in Russian and Uzbek,” she said. “I chose Russian. It was a little bit hard because it was my second language, but it was nice.”
At 13, she moved to Moscow where her brother Timur, two years older and now a pre-med student at Virginia Commonwealth University, home-schooled her.
“We were trying to come to the United States,” she said. “My mom (Mokhira) and aunt told me to do everything in English, so I started taking classes in English language. We did everything online. Sometimes, when he didn’t know something, we studied together on the Internet.”
On June 23, 2010, Ezoza and Timur landed at Dulles International with their father (Radjab), then traveled south to join their mother and extended family in Richmond.
“When we left the airport, it was really humid,” she recalled. “I couldn’t breathe at all. Moscow and Tashkent are really dry, so it was really hard at first. And we had always lived in big cities, so I thought (Richmond) was kind of a village.
“It was OK, though. All my relatives were here, and I had everything I needed.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Adaptable, resilient, nimble of mind, and indefatigable, Ezoza has never recoiled from challenges.
She found plenty as she immersed herself into a new school, a new culture, and, indeed, a new world.
“When I came, I didn’t understand anything,” she said. “English classes were so hard. Studying took hours. I went to sleep at five in the morning for, like, two months.
“Students were so friendly to me. They helped all the time. Still they help me, encourage me.”
Her industriousness, perseverance, and mental acuity have paid great dividends.
Over the past three semesters, Ezoza has more than successfully navigated a challenging course of studies that includes a host of honors and advanced placement classes.
“Far beyond being a high-achieving scholar who seeks out the most demanding courses, Ezoza exudes a pure zest for learning and for life itself,” said Brian Leipheimer, director of college counseling.
“To her, the recipe is simple: ‘I love to learn something new every single day.’
“Guided by her unquenchable spirit and her personal mantra of ‘Dream Big,’ Ezoza has her sights set firmly on the horizon.
“Her character is as deep and genuine as her mind is bright and curious.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
During Ezoza’s time in Moscow, a neighbor in her apartment complex gave her occasional lessons on an old piano.
At Collegiate, she’s been an enthusiastic pupil of Connie Tuttle, who has found her to be quite teachable, focused, and determined to improve upon her already prodigious skills.
Chopin is her favorite composer. His work is not just her area of expertise but her passion as well.
"The way she interprets Chopin is not like what you hear a 17-year-old play," Tuttle said. "Most adults have difficulty interpreting the way she does or having the facility she does."
Ezoza carries with her an inch-thick white binder containing pages and pages of musical scores tucked into its sleeves.
“She’d learn of a piece and pull it off the Internet,” Tuttle added. “I was amazed at her repertoire. She likes the Romantics and the big, lush sounds. Give her a flowing, even highly technical, Romantic piece, and it oozes out of her. She makes it look so easy.
“Ezoza plays with amazing sensitivity, expression, and intuition. She has an inner drive. She always pushes herself. Give her the smallest suggestion, and she takes it to heart.”
It would seem, then, that Ezoza has a gift.
True to her humble nature, though, she begs to differ.
“Really, I don’t have a gift at all,” she explained.
“It is effort, hard work.
“When I was in Uzbekistan, my teacher was really strict. She helped me with how to interpret (the music). She helped me to be able to play the hard stuff. In order to play even harder music, Mrs. Tuttle did everything.”
Ezoza will perform 13 pieces at her junior recital April 29 at 3 p.m. in the Choral Music Room.
She will be at her artistic best, of course.
She will no doubt bring the music to life as she loses herself in the effort.
Chances are, her virtuoso performance will prove quite emotional for many in the audience.
“Music is everywhere,” she said. “I can’t live without it. How can we not love music?
“But I will never be satisfied with myself, ever. I just need to keep improving, practice. That takes a lot of time.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Despite the relentless demands on her time, Ezoza has also become a talented practitioner of the game of chess.
She began playing at age 5 and even represented Tashkent, the capital of Uzbeckistan, in age-group championship events.
She’s a stalwart of Collegiate’s team.
“For a while, I dropped (chess) because of moving and concentrating on English language and math to be ready for an American education,” she explained.
“When I don’t practice for even a week, I just forget the strategies and everything else. In order to improve, I shouldn’t stop.
“Now, I don’t read books or do chess problems. I just play online.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
As Ezoza has become more acclimated to Collegiate, the whirlwind pace of her life has mercifully slowed, at least a bit anyway.
She’s become much more efficient with her studying as her English has improved though she acknowledges that she thinks in Russian and still translates the material in her textbooks into Russian.
Bedtime now is generally around 1:30 a.m.
College is definitely in her future. She plans to major in pre-med and minor in music.
She has told her piano teacher that in a perfect life, she’d like to practice medicine by day and play piano concerts at night.
“Ezoza has an incredible intellect to go along with her God-given talent and personal attributes,” Tuttle said.
“What an amazing gift she has been to Collegiate!”
-- Weldon Bradshaw
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