Suzuki Music Academy of Hong Kong

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

International Live Virtual Concert!

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Several SMAHK students participated in the 22nd International Live Virtual Concert. This is the third time we have been fortunate to have students participate in this global event. The organisers are in Ireland and Spain. We are so grateful that our students are able to have this opportunity to connect with other young musicians from around the world.

For this concert, there was a special guest artist who was a young professional guitarist, also from Spain. In addition to Hong Kong, performers who played at this concert were from India, Indonesia, Ireland, Iran, Japan, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey. We were lucky to be able to have our SMAHK students perform at our school, so they had both the joy of playing in front of an in person audience, as well as the chance to interact with others from around the world.

Here are what the students have to say about the experience:

~Andrew

I have greatly enjoyed this afternoon, as it has allowed me to share my music with people from all around the world. Despite the technical difficulties, music was able to connect all of us, the concert providing a platform for different people at different stages of learning to share their music.

~Stacey

Having an opportunity to play in the international live concert was simply unimaginable for me. During the concert, I got the opportunity to listen to everyone across the world and learn the style of their playing with different instruments. For example the flute, the trombone, the guitar and many more. To me performing isn’t just performing. It’s like sharing part of my soul to others even though I might not be there. I enjoyed the experience very very much after that concert. I’ve reflected on my performance by reviewing the live stream after. In the future, I might want to add more dynamics to my piece to enhance the emotions of this song.

~Isabel

The full concert is available to view on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kDXW54-k0wk. Please enjoy all of the performances!

Reflection from the Performer: Julian Mak

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One of the positive and exciting things that has come about as a result of the pandemic is the realisation by teachers worldwide that technology allows us to do things together no matter where in the world we might be!

Recently, SMAHK student Julian Mak had the opportunity to play for an international concert organised by the American Suzuki Institute as part of the lead-up to its (delayed) 50th Anniversary Celebration. Performers based in the ASI’s home of Stevens Point, Wisconsin played in person, while other students joined on zoom from around the world. Julian was the only performer from Asia, so the recital began at midnight Hong Kong time!

Here are his thoughts about the experience:

Last Saturday, I was invited to perform in a virtual studio recital which was based in Wisconsin.
Obviously, waking up at 7am and staying up until midnight is not the most promising sleep schedule for playing well in a concert, so I took a nap for around 4 hours, just in time to eat dinner. Dad also made a setup for the recital, which looked ridiculous. 
Overall, the concert was a very fun and new experience for me. I certainly never have had to stay up until midnight to perform in a concert, let alone a virtual one!   

SMAHK Students Join 4 Nations Virtual Concert!

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On Sunday, 22 November, several of our students were wearing their concert best at the early hour of 7:30a.m. Their instruments were in tune, and they had their pre-recorded accompaniment ready for the sound check before the 4 Nations Virtual Concert. Sponsored by the Centro Suzuki Buenos Aires, SMAHK students were joined by performers from Argentina, Chile and Japan. Here are the students’ thoughts about the concert:

~from Annika

I think the concert was brilliant, special, and very well organised. It was nice seeing kids from different countries (that study the Suzuki method) play their pieces too. Since it’s challenging to see kids in person even from HK, it was super special to see kids from Chilé, Argentina and Japan on Zoom. The part I enjoyed the most was watching kids play pieces familiar to me as well as new pieces. I also enjoyed getting to share my piece which was Minuet 2.

~from Bianca

It was fun! I liked hearing other students play from other countries. They all sounded pretty. I feel proud about how I did my song.

~from Cecilia

Overall, I was proud of my performance for the online concert. I was most confident about my intonation. I was happy that I could match with the piano accompaniment almost all the time. The vibrato was also consistent. Although the thumb and elbow technique were the ones I practiced most, and were the ones that were most important about playing the piece, I could have really thought about it more in the process of playing Rameau Gavotte. I could improve by checking and paying attention to it from time to time. I could have also had more dynamic differences, making the music more interesting for the audience to listen to. even though I practiced the sweet tone for Gavotte 2 for a long time, there still was not a very sweet tone when I played it, making it sound like I was playing a straight line out of my violin with no emotions. I am very grateful that I was invited to the 4 Nations Virtual Concert Performance held by the Suzuki staffs from Argentina!

~from Charlotte

This was an interesting concert. It was enlightening to know how music can transcend ethnicities to express feelings. While hearing the performances, although they were played by musicians from different cultures, I felt a sense of connection over the feelings that were expressed. Music is universal!

A memorable part was hearing Suzuki pieces played on guitar. The notes had a special vibration to it, emanating a distinctive, warm feeling compared to the violin, viola, cello, and piano. It surprised me like when I heard the Cello version of Gigue by Bach (Book 7). It broadened my understanding of sounds and musical interpretation. 

Thank you for this opportunity. 

~from Shreyas

I really enjoyed playing in the Four Nations Concert. It was inspiring to see how the love of music can connect communities from all around the world. Especially in times like these, when we can feel disconnected even from our own communities, it was exciting to perform alongside students from Argentina, Chile, Japan and Hong Kong. Thank you to SMAHK for providing us with this wonderful opportunity.

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