Diane Slone, Author at Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

Nicole’s experience with Iskandar Wdjaja

October 27, 2016 By Diane Slone

At the Suzuki convention this summer in Bali, I had a masterclass with Iskandar Wdjaja. It was a fun experience and I learnt a lot.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the masterclass was that there were other people too. There were a least a dozen people watching the person playing, so I was pretty nervous. When it was my turn, I played Fiocco Allegro. He gave me some advice and we went through the piece together a few times, with some more tips along the way.

It was definitely an enriching class and I feel a lot more confident playing that piece now. Mr Wdjaja was a good teacher and was very helpful and encouraging.

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Iskandar Wdjaja is giving a recital in Hong Kong!

His program even includes a piece from the Suzuki repertoire…the Handel Sonata No. 4 in D major that’s in Book 6!

Here is the information so that you can take advantage of this amazing opportunity:

http://www.pphk.org/concerts/recitals/iskandar-widjaja/

Faculty Retreat…or “how we spent our day off”

October 5, 2016 By Diane Slone

by Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Sandra

Last weekend, the KSMA faculty (and a very furry stowaway belonging to Ms. Diane) spent an entire day hard at work…on their day off! Early in the morning, the tireless faculty boarded a lovely junk boat to cruise toward Lamma Island. The day was tough from the start, we ate muffins, croissants, and fresh fruit. Whew…that was hard work! Then, we spent some time soaking in the sun, swimming in the ocean, and enjoying each other’s company.

After some quick power naps, it was actually time to get to work. Ms. Diane lead the group in some discussions about our personality types and the ways we relate interpersonally. We spent time reading about ourselves and sharing experiences from our teaching lives. We learned about each other and what a complex and diverse faculty we have! Well, that was enough work to earn a banana boat ride…so we did!

Ms. Sandra, Ms. Monica, Ms. Elizabeth, and Mr. Graham all went out for a banana boat ride where there wasn’t any fun at all. No, it was a very serious endeavor. You can tell from the pictures that no one had any fun.

Back on boat, Mr. Graham and Ms. Elizabeth decided to live on the wild side for a little bit and jump off the top of the boat into the ocean. Everyone thought they would be safe and dry on the boat…think again! Ms. Elizabeth and Mr. Graham worked hard to splash everyone standing on the boat taking pictures.

We spent more time eating and delicious chicken, samosas, and spring rolls were among the wonderful spread of food we had. It was nearly time to head back to Central, so we took one last dip in the ocean, being very careful to avoid any jellyfish, and got on the boat to head back home.

On the ride back to Central, we spent more time together as a faculty working to brainstorm ideas for the upcoming year. All too soon, we were back at the Central pier and our very long, tiresome day was at a close. We had such a great time working and playing together for the whole day, and we hope you enjoyed the pictures and story too!

Ms. Elizabeth’s (before KSMA!) Suzuki Summer

September 28, 2016 By Diane Slone

Welcome to Hong Kong!

I am already feeling so welcomed here in Hong Kong, especially by everyone at KinderU. I am overwhelmed with the beauty of the school and the wonderful families here. I have especially been enjoying getting to know my students and spending time with the awesome teachers that make up our faculty. I have also spent lots of time experiencing the variety of dumplings Hong Kong has to offer (which the other teachers and Ms. Lan love to tease me about) and exploring the many different neighborhoods here.

Before moving to Hong Kong in August, I was living and teaching in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia is a wonderful city, which I still love very much, but is so different from Hong Kong. I used to think the pace of life was fast in Philly (after growing up in the southern US), but Hong Kong is an entirely new level of fast-paced for me!

Summer Teaching and Mountain Climbing

This past summer, I taught in Philadelphia nearly up until the time I left for Hong Kong, but I also spent lots of time with my friends and family who I love all across the US. I kicked off my summer with a quick trip up to Boston to see friends, and followed that closely with my first ever trip to the Jersey shore! After spending every summer on the beach in South Carolina for my entire life I was excited to see how the shore compared to what I was accustomed to. My week at the shore was filled with all sorts of new experiences for me: the boardwalk, eating a local delicacy known as pork roll, and seeing the world’s largest elephant, Lucy! A few weeks later, I headed out to Colorado for my annual mountain climbing trip. Every summer I spend about 10 days climbing some of the highest peaks in the continental US, which are mountains over 14,000 feet tall in Colorado. I spent my time entirely in the backcountry, cut off from most phone connections, backpacking and climbing day in and day out. One of my favorite highlights from this trip was my first time summitting a mountain at sunset. It was so beautiful! After returning from Colorado, I spent a few last days in Philadelphia before driving to South Carolina to see my family. I was able to spend a few days with them in Columbia, SC before heading to the beach for my last week in the US. I spent the week surrounded by my family (including my 93 year old grandmother!) and boyfriend, Andrew, and enjoyed running on the beach, playing in the ocean, and being stung by a jellyfish twice!

Heading to Hong Kong after this adventure-filled summer was a whirlwind of emotions. I have felt so supported and welcomed by everyone here, that it has made the transition to life in Hong Kong wonderful! I am looking forward to continuing to get to know everyone at KSMA over the next few months as I also work to grow my Cantonese vocabulary and eat all the dumplings!

Mr. Graham’s Suzuki Summer

September 23, 2016 By Diane Slone

Processed with VSCOcam with m5 preset — *Mr. Graham and Ms. Sandra in Chicago*

Violin Studies in Chicago

My Suzuki Summer brought me full circle back to my Suzuki roots. I was able to attend the Chicago Suzuki Institute where I spent several childhood summers as a young Suzuki student playing, performing, learning and making new friends. This time, returning for teacher training, I once again had time to play and learn, but also to renew some acquaintances with my old teachers and meet some new teachers.

One of the highlights was being in class taught by Nancy Jackson, a friend of Ms. Diane’s and a teacher at one of Chicago’s finest Suzuki schools. I also enjoyed observing large and small group classes taught by teachers whose classes I remembered enjoying as a child. These teachers are still able to get smiles and joy from the students along with solid instruction. It was fun to observe some of the exercises. games and instruction Id’ enjoyed as a student and also to get some new ideas from these master teachers.

Piano Training at KSMA

While at the Chicago Institute, I was able to catch up with my first Suzuki piano teacher, Dr. Suzanne Baker, who was teaching at the Institute,. She was quite excited that I had the opportunity to study Piano Book 1 with Caroline Fraser here at KSMA. This August training was an intense week of reviewing my Suzuki piano roots, observing a master teacher and gathering many new ideas, many applicable to teaching violin as well as piano.

Back to Chicago in the Winter?!

Having Ms. Yuko in class with me for the piano training was an added bonus as we can now discuss Caroline’s instruction and ideas with each other. And, I’m looking forward to seeing Nancy Jackson again for another violin class. This time, the training will be at her school in the Chicago area in January – brrrr!

Play-a-thon for Earthquake Relief!

September 18, 2016 By Diane Slone

On Saturday, 17 September, KSMA string students and faculty joined with HKSMI students and faculty in a play-a-thon for Earthquake Relief. Playing in front of the clock tower at the Cultural Centre, on a bright sunny day, students performed non-stop for about 75 minutes. Selections ranged from the Twinkle variations to violin Book 8; including the Twinkle parades to begin and end the play-a-thon, the most advanced students played about 40 pieces! After the playing was finished, students had a chance to get “refreshed” at Mobile Softee 🙂

We are excited to have students and parents turn in their donations to contribute to CARE and Unicef to help displaced families have access to clean water, food, and aid in rebuilding their homes. Please make sure to turn yours in no later than 30 September.

Even if you were unable to join us on Saturday, you can still participate in the play-a-thon by getting sponsors and then making a special time to play, whether in front of friends, or just with your own family.