Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

"Music Exists for the purpose of growing an admirable heart" ~Shinichi Suzuki

Reflection from the Performer: Isabel Zeng Book 7 Violin Recital

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~by Isabel

Upon completion of my Book 7 recital, I felt quite satisfied with the whole experience, and I felt like all the work I put in really paid off. Surprisingly, I felt a lot more comfortable during the recital, and was a lot less nervous than previously, which definitely helped my playing, and allowed me to be more expressive. 

In the weeks leading up to the recital, I was responsible for scheduling rehearsals with Ms. Sonomi, and although that was a responsibility that I hadn’t had to take care of in the past, it was important, and even though I struggled a bit with communication at first, it soon got easier.

Regarding my playing, I think that it went smoothly for the most part; there were some slip-ups here and there and I played the wrong piece by accident, but I was actively trying to implement all of the techniques that I worked on such as using my elbow, using the right amount and intensity of vibrato, using my arm (especially for more tone-related pieces), and trying to keep my tempo consistent (such as in the 1st movement of Bach A minor and the 3rd movement of Handel A major).

Some pieces were, of course, less challenging than others both regarding technique, and how easily the musicality aspect of it came to me, but even though playing them was like taking a small break, it was still a bit of a challenge to remain engaged while that was happening. 

In contrast, pieces such as Legende were far more difficult. I had performed Legende once previously, and because of that, it made this performance of the piece go more smoothly. I was able to get a better grasp of what I wanted the piece to sound like and be, and that allowed me to be more expressive and lean into the musical aspects rather than only focusing on the technical parts. Of course, I did have to pay significant attention to things such as intonation, given its rather lengthy passage of double-stops and chords, which although was something I worked really hard on, some sections were still difficult but I tried to not let that stand in the way of the piece overall. Despite all of its challenges, I enjoyed playing Legende again, and I think that it was definitely a great experience.

Overall, I think that I did well in my Book 7 recital, and I am proud of the progress I made between this recital and the one prior. I was able to not only grow in my technical abilities, but also in confidence and expressiveness, and scheduling rehearsals and communicating with Ms. Sonomi helped me improve my communication skills and become more responsible.

Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Sonomi, Ms. Diane, and Ms. Marie Ann so much for everything they’ve done in order to make the recital possible. To Ms. Sonomi, thank you so much for all of the effort and time you put into this and thank you for being patient with me throughout the rehearsals. Ms. Diane, thank you for working on the pieces with me and helping me improve certain sections over and over again, and also for making the amazing programme. Ms. Marie Ann, thank you for bearing with me especially when I had some communication related mess-ups. Last but not least, thank you again to everyone who came and made this experience so memorable.

Reflection from the Performers: Elaine & Evelyn Book 1 Violin Recital

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~ from Evelyn

After spending my daily effort to practise the violin, I am happy that I can share the music I’ve learnt, and show others that, with effort, there will surely be a day of success. I hope I can continue to work hard and finish book 2 soon. Thank you Ms Diane for teaching me, and Ms Sonomi for playing the piano with me in the book 1 recital

~from Elaine

My book 1 recital is an experience I will never forget. When I was younger, I vividly remember watching Eric and Wesley do their recital once. The music, layout, just everything seemed perfect. As I watched them take a final bow, I couldn’t help but wonder when it would be my turn. 

And then suddenly, it was my turn. Though I understood that the recital would be complicated, I never expected the amount of work involved. It started when my mom forwarded me the email Mrs. Diane sent a congratulation note and recital information. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was really happening. With a mixture of fear and excitement, me and Evelyn (My recital partner) went to Mrs. Dianes room after group class. Then we decided on the pieces and had a brief overview of what was going on. From then on, we each spent time working on them in private lessons and the joined pieces on joint lessons. Through this process, I revisited and corrected the old skills that I used to learn each piece. For example, one piece I was playing was Allegro. I needed to use quick bows for the whole bows, because you had to be quick to have a nice staccato sound. (Hence the name) And for Gavotte, I learned that I had to relax rather than tense up to do the hooked bows in the D section. 

I also learned how to collaborate with a partner. I got to know Evelyn better and we had to learn how to communicate to succeed. We both led a different piece and learned how to be a leader and follower. Skills like listening to each other were used often and we became closer. We both worked really hard to make the recital work, and I think it paid off. Though mistakes were made, I think we actually got to enjoy it and share music with others. The recital did make me nervous, after I learned that so many people were coming. But me and Evelyn handled it, (sort of) and did a great job.  With the help of many people, Mrs. Diane, Mrs. Sonomi, our parents, and friends, we completed our book 1 recital. Thank you!

Reflections from the Performers: Cristal and Ursula Book 1 Cello Recital

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Cristal and Ursula performed their first-ever Book Recital together! Here’s what they had to say about the experience:

~ from Ursula

 I have been learning cello for a relatively short time, so let me share my experience: I hope my pitch is correct, I will play each note with my heart, make each note have life, and finally let the listeners communicate with me through the music. Although it is difficult to make the listeners feel the emotions I want to express in the music, I am trying my best.

~ from Cristal

My first book recital went brilliant! And I’m really happy that I didn’t do huge mistakes. I think that Ms. Sonomi and Ms. Silvia helped me a lot and the beats of our joint pieces with Ursula become much stronger and steadier.

My family supports me a lot and I was so excited to have my little brother and cousins joining my recital. When we played our solo pieces, I felt I performed good for Allegretto, Lightly Row and French Folk Song. However, my bow got stuck when I was playing O Come Little Children because there was no space left with my long bow.

At last, we played the two joint pieces, I didn’t feel nervous any more and I enjoyed our performances very much. I felt so thankful to everyone who helped me during our practice and I hope I can have our second recital with Ursula very soon.

Reflections from the Performers: Elise & Nicole Book 2 Recital

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Nicole and Elise joined together to give their Book 2 recital. Having piano and violin together for this book is a special experience for the performers. Violinists learn to play Happy Farmer “piano style” – a much more difficult key for violin than the way it was learned in Book 1. Pianists learn to play Musette, which is not a piece currently in the piano repertoire. Here are the girls’ reflections on their experience:

~ from Nicole

I was really glad when I heard that my partner was going to be Elise. I felt like Elise and I collaborated exceptionally well for our book recital, demonstrating a strong partnership that enhanced our overall performance.

During joint lessons, we worked hard to practice the flow of every joint piece. For the twinkle variations, we practiced playing the twinkles at 80, having the right articulation, and remembering about the retard at the end of the twinkle theme. Musette, I felt like the first time when we played Musette together, we were challenged since Elise just started learning it and I hadn’t practiced the harmony well enough. However, as we began to focus on coordinating our parts and improving the ending, we were able to play the piece well. As for Happy Farmer, since it was the last piece of the whole recital, we were really relaxed which made us not concentrate and caused us to mess up in the beginning, but that shows how well I and Elise can collaborate. I think part of why the joint pieces were great is that we practiced them over and over during all the joint lessons and dress rehearsal. 

I think I had good energy in Two Grenadiers and I used whole bows. I also really liked how I played Waltz. I had good dynamic changes, and the last note was really good. Chorus from Judas Maccabaeus: I used my thumb and elbow to have whole bows to have a good tone. In Hunter’s Chorus, my ti tis were even, which made the notes sound even and clear.

In Lully Gavotte, my high c was not in tune so it sounded kind of messy. I could have had a better contact point when I started Gossec Gavotte. In Boccherini Minuet, I felt like sometimes my third finger A was out of tune and I could have made my trills sound clearer.

After the recital, we had lots of snacks and drinks at the reception. I want to say thank you to Ms. Diane, for teaching me all the pieces I performed and supporting me. Ms. Sonomi, for collaborating with me and also teaching me during the joint lessons. Ms. Marie Ann, for organizing everything. My family for supporting me. Elise’s parents for supporting me and Elise during the joint lessons, dress rehearsal, and book recital. Elise, for being a wonderful friend and partner!

Although I was still feeling a little sick, the whole book recital was a really fun and enjoyable experience. All the hard work paid off! 

~from Elise

Overall, this has been my favourite recital out of the two recitals that I’ve done. During the recital, I feel like I was able to try and not stress despite my short term memory loss on the last piece but it added humour to the whole experience. I also personally feel like I work really well with Nicole, I just feel like because we have similar personalities it was easier to communicate even without needing to speak and when making our poster we had a lot of fun. Nicole was a great partner and she was one of the very few violin friends that I ever made after I met her in orchestra. Never did I ever think when asking myself who I would be paired up with for the recital, I never even thought of Nicole. I’m so proud of both of us and we make a really good team.

Reflections from the Performers: Hanson & Andrew Book 3 Violin Recital

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Andrew and Hanson were the last of three Book Recitals on our first day of Spring Term Book Recitals. Here are their reflections on the experience:

~from Hanson

When I discovered I had an upcoming recital, I was overjoyed to be able to perform the pieces I had spent so much time practicing, as well as the learning opportunities provided by the numerous joint lessons and rehearsals on teamwork and technique. 

Before the recital, I meticulously practiced all of my solo and collaborative pieces to avoid becoming a burden to my partner. I was also looking forward to playing with my partner, Andrew, because it would allow us to get to know each other better and learn how to work with people other than our close friends and family. 

During the recital, I remembered all of the different queues, ritards, and techniques I was supposed to use, and they all worked really well with Andrew. The audience was occasionally distracting, but I gave the recital my undivided attention, and the many hours of preparation paid off.

Although I made a mistake and forgot an entire section, Ms. Sonomi and Andrew were able to follow along, demonstrating that we made an excellent team and were able to collaborate effectively. 

I felt like this was one of the best recitals I would ever give, thanks in large part to the amount of practice I put in with my mother. It was truly heartwarming at the end of the recital when the audience cheered and congratulated us, particularly those from my family.

~from Andrew

This year, I had my book 3 recital. It was quite similar to the previous two, but instead of playing lots of solos, this recital was mainly focused around duo pieces and making music with your partner. I like this way of recitals a lot because it really shows that working together can create a better tone than playing alone. 

The recital wasn’t always smooth sailing. I had lots of trouble keeping up with Hanson during Bach Bourree. I think this is because I didn’t practice much, or maybe because it was the newest piece of music I had just learned. But on the other hand, I think I did quite well during Martini Gavotte. I think this is because my part had to start 2 beats after the main melody, which caused some confusion at first.

Overall, I think this recital was a fun experience, and I wish to have more duo pieces and solo pieces in the next recital.

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