Faculty

One of the first students to begin lessons with Dr. Suzuki in the U.S., Ms. Diane has been active in Suzuki Talent Education for most of her life as a student, teacher, administrator, and (now) parent. An avid performer and student, in addition to Dr. Suzuki Ms. Diane’s teachers and mentors include Myron Kartman, Roger Shermont and Peter McHugh.

Ms. Diane has served as a presenter at Suzuki Association of the Americas National Conferences and Leadership Retreats,  as guest faculty (and translator) at International Suzuki Association World Conventions -including the 2013 Suzuki World Convention (Matsumoto, Japan) – as well as at institutes and workshops throughout Asia, Europe and the US.

Co-founder of the East Cleveland Rainbow Suzuki Strings, one of Ms. Diane’s passions is bringing Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy and method to underserved and at-risk populations. During her tenure on the faculty of the Hartt School of Music, Ms. Diane founded, directed and served on the faculty of the Blue Hills Suzuki Project and Strings at West, and taught students in the school’s TIP program; bringing the joy of music instruction and Suzuki philosophy to underserved populations was the focus of each of these programs.

During her time at Hartt, Ms. Diane also served as Chair of the String Department for the Community Division and Director of the David Einfeldt Chamber Music Seminar. Ms. Diane has taught on the faculties of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, Merit Music Program and the Lexington (KY) Talent Education Association.  She has also directed Suzuki programs in Chicago, IL; at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; in Houston, TX; and in Lexington, KY where she also served as head of the String Department for the School for Creative and Performing Arts.

Ms. Diane has held seats in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Madison Symphony, Matsumoto Philharmonic, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and Cleveland Chamber Symphony.   She is grateful to have had the opportunity to work under conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Daniel Barenboim, and Pierre Boulez.  She also enjoys chamber music;  as a member of due a D.C., she enjoyed a very successful European tour including a fun “house concert” on a cruise ship between Sweden and Finland.

Ms. Diane’s training includes MM and Doctoral studies, Northwestern University; Graduate, International Conservatory of Talent Education, Matsumoto, Japan.  In addition to her work with Dr. Suzuki, other Suzuki training includes long-term training with Cathy McGlasson and Yuko Mori, as well as short-term training with Margery Aber, Louise Behrend, Anastasia Jempelis,  Doris Preucil, William Starr, and many others.

Ms. Diane was excited to arrive in Hong Kong in August, 2015 as director of SMAHK.   She and her daughter enjoy exploring the unique culture of Hong Kong, and are also thrilled to be close to DianBai, GuangDong to have an opportunity to give back to the orphanage that raised MaryChun during her first 13 months.

“I was so impressed to see such a petite body ingeniously manoeuvring a relatively huge instrument and I could feel her passion from the rich tone and intensity of her playing.” Legendary cellist and educator,  Nelson Cooke best describes Silvia Li’s distinguished playing style.   Ms Silvia actively participates in a variety of performances from solos, chamber music to symphony works, performing in many countries across different continents including Australia, Europe, China and Southeast Asia. She has recorded an exclusive interview and  solo recital for Radio 4 Hong Kong and the album ‘Crown Him’ with the Te Deum Ensemble.

Ms Silvia is very passionate and devoted to the art of cello education. Since 1998, she has been researching and practising pedagogy.  Her dream is to teach students not only the exquisite art of cello but also to cultivate their character and develop a love of life and music. Silvia has three children and has for many years volunteered as a Sunday school teacher, enabling her to reach-out and explore the child’s world.  In recent years, she has been deeply inspired by the Suzuki philosophy. Her primary training in Suzuki Talent Education has been with master pedagogue Takao Mizushima. She has received both her Primary and Intermediate Teacher Certification from the Suzuki Talent Education Association of Australia. Ms Silvia has an Advanced Diploma from Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. She has also received both a Bachelor of Arts in Performance and a Master of Music in Education and Performance from the University of Melbourne.  Ms Silvia’s guest teaching invitations include the Austrian Berwang Music Festival, the Hong Kong International Christian Quality Music School, Brisbane Milton State School, Brisbane Northside Junior String Camp and Suzuki Festivals in Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane. To her, the greatest satisfaction from her many years of teaching is that she can accompany and witness her students’ development from their performance.   

Ms Silvia believes that the modes of art are infinite and transferable as the pursuit of art is not limited to music alone, it can penetrate through the bits and pieces of life. Ms Silvia’s belief is also vividly reflected in her creative and artistic oil paintings. 

Ms. Sonomi studied piano under Dr. Scott MaCarrey at Brigham Young University – Hawaii. She has appeared with the Honolulu Symphony as a concerto soloist and presented numerous degree recitals as a collaborative artist and accompanist. After working for three years as adjunct faculty of Piano at Brigham-Young, she moved to Hong Kong in 2010. Ms. Sonomi has been a private instructor and an accompanist for RAD Ballet examinations, Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong and Kawai Music Courses. A keen chamber music lover, she has getting more involved in ensemble performances lately.

Ms. Sonomi joined SMAHK as a collaborative pianist in 2016.  She was already interested in Suzuki Talent Education, and having ongoing involvement with SMAHK group classes, concerts and recitals made her even more excited about the philosophy and pedagogy.  Ms. Sonomi’s first Suzuki teacher training was with Ms. Caroline Frasier, with whom she had enrichment classes about teaching note reading and group classes, as well as basic Suzuki Talent Education philsophy and pedagogy. She has also learned with Ms Zohara Rotem, Ms. Annette Lee and  Ms Kasia Borowiak.

Ms Susan is a violist and violinist who has served as concertmaster for the First National Broadway tours of An American in Paris, Lincoln Center’s South Pacific, Evita, and the National tour of The Wizard of Oz as well as other productions.  She has held positions with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony (Assistant Concertmaster), Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, Des Moines Metro Opera, Ann Arbor Symphony, and Flint Symphony. She has even appeared on stage as viola soloist in The Glass Menagerie! In the summers, she joins the Cabrillo Festival.

 As an educator, Ms Susan has served on the faculties of Long Island City Academy of Music, Berkshire Music School,  and Flint School of Performing Arts where she was the conductor of the Youth String Orchestra. Ms Susan’s Suzuki training includes unit courses with Geri Arnold, Carol Dallinger, Nancy Jackson, Allen Lieb and Craig Timmerman, among others. She has also taken Suzuki enrichment courses for teachers, with Carol Dallinger, Terry Durbin, Carey Beth Hockett and Charles Krigbaum.  In addition to M.M. and B.M. degrees in Violin Performance from the University of Michigan, Ms Susan has a B.A. in Psychology and  is a graduate of the Music for Healing and Transition Program.

Ms Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies from the University of Louisville, where she focused on Music and Asian studies.  She was awarded second prize in the McCauley Competition as a member of Quartet Captiva. She received Honourable Mention in the WUOL Young Artist Competition.  In addition to being a member of the Honour Orchestra of America, Ms Rachel has participated in Music Festivals in Italy and the US.  As part of the Hong Kong Baptist University Exchange Program, Ms Rachel focused on Chinese Art History and Hong Kong Culture.  She loves music of the Romantic period and spicy food.  Ms Rachel is very interested in Early Childhood and Music Education, and is currently combining these interests in her job as a Native-English and Music teacher!

Ms. Sonomi studied piano under Dr. Scott MaCarrey at Brigham Young University – Hawaii. She has appeared with the Honolulu Symphony as a concerto soloist and presented numerous degree recitals as a collaborative artist and accompanist. After working for three years as adjunct faculty of Piano at Brigham-Young, she moved to Hong Kong in 2010. Ms. Sonomi has been a private instructor and an accompanist for RAD Ballet examinations, Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong and Kawai Music Courses. A keen chamber music lover, she has getting more involved in ensemble performances lately.

Ms. Sonomi joined SMAHK as a collaborative pianist in 2016.  She was already interested in Suzuki Talent Education, and having ongoing involvement with SMAHK group classes, concerts and recitals made her even more excited about the philosophy and pedagogy.  Ms. Sonomi’s Suzuki teacher training has been with Ms. Caroline Frasier, with whom she has had enrichment classes about teaching note reading and group classes, as well as basic Suzuki Talent Education philsophy and pedagogy.

Thomas and Betty Ho, Directors, are the founders of Rightmind Kindergarten and KinderU learning group, pioneers in Hong Kong early childhood education. Thomas and Betty have been bringing innovative and inspiring ideas for developing educational and training materials and curriculum for KinderU and Rightmind Kindergarten since 2002, and are the China distributors for BabyPlus. Children as young as two years old are currently reading English newspapers and speaking six languages at their schools, and their graduates enjoy placement in top primary schools throughout Hong Kong.

Thomas and Betty are also devoted to charities and in recent years, have worked with and contributed to the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Nick Vujicic’s “No limbs, No limits” movement, Professional Musicians Association of Hong Kong, Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, Chi Heng Foundation and Nuksin China Heart Foundation in their fundraising efforts.

Jennifer Moberg Pforte was the Founding Director of KinderU Suzuki Music Academy.  She spent several years as head of the strings department and violin and viola teacher at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM). ANIM is the only music school in Afghanistan, a conflict zone where, during Taliban times, there was an outright ban on music of any kind. ANIM seeks to revitalize musical traditions, assure musical rights, and serve Afghanistan’s most vulnerable, street kids and orphans. She is currently Manager at the Centre for Refugees.

Ms. Jennifer holds an MA in International Development from Chulalongkorn University, Bachelor of Arts in Music from Houghton College, and has post-collegiate coursework and studies in Psychology from the University of Hartford. Her primary training as a Suzuki Teacher was with Teri Einfeldt at the University of Hartford.